Christmas Present Bargains for Teenage Boys

Shopping around for nice Christmas gifts for teenage boys - while on a budget - can seem like a pretty daunting task. In a world full of the expensive and hi-tech, it can be easy to forget the more simple, lower-cost choices to choose from. Listed below are five great bargain gift ideas.

Food and Candy

If you're really on a budget, a little bit of money can go a long way when it comes to candy and other delectables, and you can hardly go wrong with this type of thing when it comes to teenage boys. General merchandise stores like Target or Wal-Mart tend to have a large year-round selection of low-cost candy, which are all great for filling up stockings with. Even better, around the holidays these types of stores throw out a whole new section of food and candy in the form of gift packages. With this you can easily get a nice gift box or basket themed with all kinds of different foods or candies for under $10 or $20.

Sports Apparel

Many teenage boys are into sports; even the ones who don't play team sports may have a favorite sport, team or play they like to watch. If this is the case, consider getting him a clothing item to do with his favorite. You can find jerseys for low prices (around $20-$30) at general merchandise retailers such as Target or Wal-Mart. Otherwise a hat or T-shirt featuring his favorite sports team or player is a nice choice. If the boy you're shopping for does not happen to like sports at all, a good idea instead would be a cool or funny T-shirt, which usually run under $10 at the same types of stores.

Flannel Sleepwear

This is a great choice, especially as a Christmas gift - just around a time when warm sleepwear is always welcome. Flannel lounge pants come in all types, from plain-colored to licensed with characters or sports logos. In other words, there should be something for just about any teenage boy with this gift. And they can be found just about anywhere - department stores like JC Penney or Macy's, general retail stores like Target or Wal-Mart, etc. Usually they are lower cost in the latter - I generally see them at the retail stores ranging in price from $15-$20.

Video Game Magazine Subscription

It's a well-known fact that most teenage boys are into video games. However, video games and their accessories can run at some pretty high prices. A nice alternative to this is something any boy into video games will appreciate - a subscription to a video game magazine. With this gift, he'll get a monthly magazine full of upcoming games along with reviews, ratings and pictures. Sometimes even video game discs or CD-ROMs come with the magazine, offering trailers and demos for games that have yet to be released.

Game Pro Magazine is one brand of a general video game magazine subscription. It's one of the most popular out there, and on their website they offer 12 issues for $17.97 or, even better, 24 issues for $27.97.

Game Informer is another popular video game magazine, also encompassing all kinds of video games (including those on the PC). The website offers 12 issues for $19.98 or 24 issues for only $5 more.

Some teenage boys particularly enjoy computer games, and in this case PC Gamer Magazine may be the best choice when it comes to video game magazine subscriptions. 12 issues are just $14.95, or you can choose to get 12 issues each with a CD-ROM for $19.95.

Humor books

While there are many teenage boys who enjoy reading in general, there are also quite a few who aren't particularly interested in books. If you are unsure, try getting a book with a comic flair. Barnes and Noble has a humor section for this purpose, with many books of a joking and satirical nature. Even most book-haters are sure to appreciate something really funny! Some examples are:

The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks. Many teenagers (and even adults) would enjoy this funny and amusingly detailed guide of how to prepare for a day when zombies may rise. This book is around $14 at Barnes and Noble, or $11.16 on Amazon.com.

Probably better for younger teens and surely for fans of Harry Potter, is the satirical The Government Manual for New Wizards by Jacob Sagar Weinstein and Matthew David Brozik. This is a hilarious handbook for those rising wizards, detailing just about every aspect of wizardry.

For $10.95 on Barnes and Noble.com, it's a real bargain.