I’ve noticed an interesting phenomenon in which the older my brother gets, the more difficult he is to buy for (maybe some social scientist could map age of males vs. how difficult they are to find a gift for). When he was little, it was a piece of cake – I could literally make him happy as a clam with a dollar store gift of fake, plastic construction tools (he was obsessed with being a “worker man” for years). Then he got a little older and Legos were a safe bet. A little older and anything skateboard related, even if it was just a sticker from a popular company, was a solid choice. Nowadays, the only way I know what to get him is by demanding a list of options.

So with my limited knowledge of what my own brother and plethora of cousins seem to have enjoyed over the years, here are some DIY suggestions of gifts for the boys in your life:

1.) Detective Kit – with a little imagination, a bunch of items lying around the house and a quick trip to the dollar store, you too could be the coolest aunt or mom around (check out the book titles at the Dollar Tree too and maybe you could incorporate an age appropriate mystery novel as well).

2.) Incognito Kit – along the same vein, if you have some cloth scraps lying around, this is an awesome and easy DIY gift for your little secret agent.

3.) Dinosaur Tails – if you keep an eye out for a deal (or happen to have) a small bag of batting, you can easily get the rest of this project for less than $5

4.) Homemade Tool Belt – you can make the “worker man” in your life a homemade toolbelt out of an old pair of jeans. Swing by a craft store and pick up 1 parachute clip, a foot (not 1” like the top of the article says) of nylon strapping and a few precut quilting samples for less than $5. You can really make the kids day if you stop by the dollar store and pair this project with some (harmless!!) tools.

5.) Super Hero Capes – again, if you have some scrap cloth, you should have no problem keeping this cute super hero cape under $5.

6.) Paracord Bracelet – this tutorial shows you have to weave this super easy bracelet. Supplies can be picked up for less than $5. I would include a little note about the uses of paracord for survival in wilderness situations and how to undo your knots or something so the boy who is getting it understands why it’s such an awesome gift.

7.) DIY Soap Carving Kit – collect things like a pencil, some toothpicks, old pumpkin or sculpting tools (even that old cheese server thing that you never use), bundle them up in a box with a few bar of Ivory soap and print out directions on how to care soap.

8.) Make Your Own Silly Putty – collect some borax, white glue (NOT Elmer’s School Glue, but apparently any other kind, including other types of Elmer’s are ok) and a container to hold it all. Add some directions and give to the recipient.

9.) Belt Guitar Strap – turn an old belt into a guitar strap for the musically inclined boys in your life.

10.) Electronics Sleeve – you can create protective covers for laptops, iPads and eReaders using this pattern here. The supplies should come out to about $5 and there’s no reason you can’t do it by hand if you don’t have a sewing machine.

Again, if DIY is not your thing, here are some $5 or less (shipping not included) options for the little (and not-so-little) fellas you love:

1.) Homemade Science Kits – put together the ingredients for 1 of these experiments with instructions. Different science experiments are appropriate for different ages.

2.) Foam Glider Planes – swing by the Dollar Tree to check out these cool planes for only $1.

3.) Boxing Gloves – my favorite store (Dollar Tree) also has these cool superhero boxing gloves for only $1.

4.) Toy Guns – if you’re into the whole boys will be boys and playing with guns thing, Dollar Tree has you covered there too. This gift will be a double winner if the little boy in your life has a sister he can shoot at. Things that annoy her are always a plus.

5.) Hot Wheels – there is pretty much no boy under 10 that this is a bad gift for.

6.) Wii or PS3 Games – you can find a pretty good selection over at Five Below (one of my new favorite stores!)  or by swinging by a Game Stop for preowned games.

7.) Astronaut Ice Cream – for the little boys interested in being space cadets, you can get them an astronaut ice cream here or they can sometimes be found at Dick’s Sporting Goods – but without the cool astronaut packaging (I recommend the Napoleon flavored one – mmm, mmm).

8.) For a Magic: The Gathering enthusiast – you can purchase packs of cards for less than $5 or pick up this nifty Mana Energy Drink for $4.99 (trust me, it’s a thing, they’ll think it’s cool).

9.)   For the Energy Drink Fiend – pick up these Bawls caffeinated mints. Bawls is a ridiculously caffeinated drink, so if your teenager is into those drinks and you don’t mind that he is, he may get a kick out of the mint version.

10.) Gas Gift Cards – these are a great option for older boys who are driving. $5 isn’t much, but it’s still better than nothing and it’s definitely something they will use.

If you want more ideas to keep the holidays thrifty, enter for a chance to win Zero Budget Christmas by Jason Anderson and a bottle of ModPodge to get you started craftin’! Contest ends on November 30^th.

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brokeGIRLrich readers, especially the brokeBOYs, what suggestions do you guys have? Anything on here you totally disagree with?

This post is linked up over at Financially Savvy Saturdays – the link up for the best personal finance posts of the week! Check it out!