16th Birthday Gift Ideas for a Grandson

At sixteen your grandson may be taller than you, busier than ever and not always easy to talk to. A good 16th birthday gift for a grandson is something he will use without being reminded, with a little of you built in. These 12 ideas range from practical to personal. Our top pick is a song about him, because it says what you are proud of without making him sit through a speech.

Hear a real Songbond song first

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry his name and your stories.

12 16th birthday gift ideas for a grandson

1. A song about him ($39.90). Share the stories you still tell about him, the nickname he has probably outgrown and what you see in him now, and Songbond turns them into an original song. It is ready within 24 hours, and it lives on his phone.
2. A dash cam for his first car. It records the road while he drives, which is good for him and reassuring for his parents. Usually $50 to $120.
3. A portable waterproof speaker. For the garage, the lake and his room. Usually $40 to $120.
4. A wallet with something in it. A plain leather wallet with a first bill tucked inside and a short note from you. Usually $30 to $70 before the cash.
5. The game he wants, and a lesson for you. Buy the video game he has been asking for, then ask him to teach you to play it. Usually $30 to $70.
6. His first proper shaving kit. A good razor, a brush and a stand, with you there to show him how. Usually $30 to $70.
7. Good boots for his first job. Work boots for a summer job outside, or solid shoes if he works indoors. Usually $80 to $150.
8. Lessons in something he wants to learn. Guitar, welding, coding or boxing. Pay for a block of lessons. Usually $100 to $300.
9. The good version of his sport's gear. A better glove, bat, cleats or racket than the one he has now. Usually $60 to $200.
10. A day out at the thing he loves. A car show, an air show or a race, with you as his ride. Let him set the schedule.
11. Something of yours, handed down. Your old guitar restrung, your camera cleaned up or your fishing reel oiled, with a note about where it has been.
12. A savings match. Promise to match every dollar he saves this year, up to an amount you choose. It teaches more than cash alone.

How to choose for a sixteen-year-old boy

Look at what he spends his own money on. That tells you what he values. Then give him the better version of it, or give him time with you doing it.

• If he just got his license: the dash cam, the wallet or the day out.
• If he has a first job: the boots, the savings match or the shaving kit.
• If you want him to keep it: the thing you hand down, the lessons or the song.

One story beats a page of advice

Most sixteen-year-olds tune out advice, even good advice. They listen to stories. So instead of writing “work hard and be kind” in his card, tell him something that happened to you at sixteen: your first car and what went wrong with it, the job you hated, the time you did something foolish and how your own grandfather reacted. Keep it to a short paragraph. End with one line about him, like “You are a better sixteen than I was.” A story tells him you were once exactly where he is now. He may not say anything about it, but he will keep the card. And if you are ordering the song, that same story is the kind of detail that makes it sound like it could only be his.

Make his 16th birthday song

Create a birthday song for your grandson from the stories you have been collecting for sixteen years. It is ready within 24 hours, and express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: song ideas for milestone birthdays and songs for Grandparents Day.