S/O Gifts for 7 year old boy who doesn't...

[LynnS6]

I didn't want to hijack the other "7 year old boy gift thread".

Can someone please suggest gifts for a 7 year old who doesn’t build, do crafts, play sports, play with action figures, play music or like to read?

He likes board games, but we've got a lot of those.
He likes buses and bus schedules - but we've got 2 Playmobil buses for him, and he only wants a new one if it can (a) be 12" or larger AND (b) have real bus like doors that he can open.
He's interested in bridges, but doesn't want to build them.

He spends a lot of time in his head, imagining things. He likes to pretend to BE the bus driver (or the fire fighter when it was that obsession).

He clearly needs some new things to do (he's getting a bit bored).So, he is a hard kid to buy gifts for, and I'm getting requests for a gift list from the family.

The only thing I can think of so far is a rain gauge.

[OakBerry]

Does he like dress up clothes?
How about some documentary type movies (about buses, maybe?)

[mmgarda]

Costumes?

You said he likes to "BE" something. What about costumes to go with his imaginary play?

Or what about a small tape recorder for him to record the stories he is telling in his head?

[sunnmama]

Dress up was my first thought, too. Maybe a transportation themed box? (pilot, bus driver, ship captain, train conductor...).

You mention rain gauge. Does he like science? Circuit systems, ant farm, potato battery....

Maybe his bus driver obsession could segue into a travel obsession.....leading a safari, a band of camels across the desert, guiding climbers up Everest.....maybe he'd like some travel material and dress up items related to amazing destinations.

[bumblebeeskies]

You mentioned that he likes bus schedules... What about a collection of different schedules from across the country? You could probably request them free online. If you are at all crafty, you could make him a special "bus" scrapbook to keep them in.

[sunnmama]

Or what about maps? Road maps, state maps, trail maps.....

If you (or any of the gift givers) are a member of AAA, you can get the maps free, shipped directly to your home! That is my favorite feature of AAA

[Thalia the Muse]

I know you said upthread that he doesn't like to read, but do you think he'd be interested in something like David Macaulay's "how things work" books? Macaulay also has a DVD series about how large things are built, and I'm pretty sure there's one on bridges.

[amynbebes]

If he's into maps maybe as others suggested get him some cool maps for his room. There also used to be a cool interactive globe you could buy. It may have been made by leapfrog, I don't remember.

[earthmama369]

A compass? Costumes?

[Geofizz]

A day out someplace fun and take the bus?

[bestjob]

Lego suits a lot of kids.

For the totally lost adults in his life, suggest gift cards from Amazon so that you can buy a book to satisfy an obsession. (Then you have to, perhaps in April, send an email describing his ecstacy upon receiving a copy of "Stingrays Among Us" or "Why Lightning Happens" and your apparent pleasure at being able to read it 50 times over from cover to cover...)

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by Thalia the Muse

I know you said upthread that he doesn't like to read, but do you think he'd be interested in something like David Macaulay's "how things work" books? Macaulay also has a DVD series about how large things are built, and I'm pretty sure there's one on bridges.

thank you! Yes, there's one on building bridges. (Building Big: Bridges.)

Dress up clothes are another good idea -- I'm trying to find a uniform shirt/jacket for our local bus company. The "problem" is that he doesn't want to just any bus driver, but the bus driver for our local bus company. And he's a stickler for details.

He already has every bus schedule in town and doesn't appear to be interested in other city's buses unless he's ridden them. (He's an oddly focused child.)

Dh and I can give him "bus rides", but alas, extended family are 1500 miles away and can't do that.

Keep the ideas coming, they are all helpful in getting me thinking in new directions!

[*jeanine*]

You should have hijacked (if it's mine you're talking about). I'm still looking for ideas :

[peachweenie]

How about a globe? That's on my son's list.

I also got my son an underwater periscope - it's kind of cool:
http://www.hearthsong.com/hearthsong...c=1005&pgc=148

[CarrieMF]

The only thing I can think of so far is a rain gauge.

What about a weather station?

Would he be interested in growing crystal rocks or other things that are more sciency but not really crafts

[lindberg99]

Does he like books other than fiction books? My 8 yo son has never has cared much for fiction but really likes books like the World Almanac for Kids, Guiness Book of World Records and a Children's Encyclopedia. He likes the facts and figures in them.

Or maybe find an theater class somewhere in your town?

Stamp book & stamps to begin a stamp collection?

Coin book to collect the state quarters?

Sticker book of world flags? My kids really like looking at all the different flags. I think Usborne has one.

[eepster]

Would he enjoy videos of people he knows taking bus rides in other cities? Then maybe he would want scheduals from those.

[pinky]

The rain gauge made me think of maybe a science kit? My 7 y.o. dd LOVES the science kits that I've bought. We're doing one now on crystals made by ThinkBox (I think it came from Target). They also have a lot of great stuff at Home Science Tools.

[LauraLoo]

What about a stop watch? (I know that may sound a little weird, but I know many kids that like to time things -- or time themselves doing things.) I was also going to suggest a voice recorder, but a pp beat me to it!

Are you near snow? What about a snowboard, ice skates, or something like that?

What about some action figurines? Lynn- you answered a post I had about figurines - I got ds some Safari brand figurines.

And to piggy back on the David Macaulay thing, what about this CD-Rom?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...X0DER&v=glance

The New Way Things Work:
What can a Wooly Mammoth possibly know about machines? Ironically, this ancient beast is your animated guide to history's great inventors and their mechanical creations stemming back to 7000 B.C. Accompanied by comedian David Macaulay, the Wooly Mammoth explores over 150 simple and complex machines with 25 live action videos, 24 movies, and over 1,000 illustrations. -- You'll discover the inner workings of inventions we often take for granted today. Each lesson is divided into four segments - "The A-Z of Machines", "Principles of Science", "History", and "Inventors" - for an all encompassing overview. Witty anecdotes and clever animation make learning a joy in this interactive software application

There's also a "How things Work" game -- if he could stand another.

Do you think you could bridge him into another form of transportation, like maybe airplanes or ships?

[Mama2Bug]

What about one of the kid-tough digital cameras, to make videos and take pictures? Maybe while on the bus! He could even make a scrapbook to go along with the schedules, with a picture of each bus stop and the buses that stop at them.

As far as the uniform for dress-up goes- maybe you could give the local company a call. They may have some uniforms around that are no longer suitable for the drivers to wear. Maybe they'd sell you one cheaply.