These days, most teenagers are into gaming, and sometimes buying presents for them can be hard. To help you out, we’ve created this list of great presents that they are sure to love. This list ranges from things that give a competitive advantage to decor, and your child will be so grateful (hopefully) with these new additions to their gaming setup. We kept everything under a $400 budget, but don’t let that scare you away from the list – most things were kept under $100.
With the rate that tech is advancing these days, your teenager is going to be wanting new gadgets to assist them in their games. Headphones especially have come a long way from just plain audio output, and now companies are producing headphones with full surround sound and enhanced hearing capabilities. Headphones don’t have to be expensive either; you can get things such as the Steelseries Arctis 1, which has surround sound and is noise-cancelling, which comes in at a cheap price of only $49.99 (USD). Amazon has a great gaming headset range, and if you’re worried about buying something that is not good enough for your teenagers’ standards and you have a large budget, we suggest something like a Steelseries Arctis 9X, which has great sound, a crystal clear microphone, and is fully wireless, so it won’t be getting in the way. Amazon has a great gaming headset lineup, and regularly have them in stock.
- Gaming Mice
Gaming mice these days are incredible – they can change sensitivity with the press of a button, have multiple buttons that you can customize to your liking, and have gotten more and more comfortable over the years. However, the chances your child has the absolute best gaming mouse is slim, as every month new products are releasing claiming to be the best. Gaming mice have surprisingly short life spans, and it is recommended to change every one and a half to two years. Like headphones, gaming mice don’t have to be overly expensive, and products like the Razer Viper Mini
, which is light and comfortable, and features multiple re-mappable buttons on the sides. The price is admirable, at only $39.99 (USD). On the downside, the sensor is not the best, but it should do the job for most gamers. If you have deep pockets and only want the best for your child, we would recommend the Logitech G502 Lightspeed
, which has a great design and feel, is fully wireless, has 12 buttons that are all fully re-mappable and has a precise sensor. The only thing that puts people off from buying this is its pricy cost – $269.95 (USD). Additionally, wireless mice need to charge, and if you don’t want to plug it in, Logitech has a great alternative for that – purchasing a Logitech G PowerPlay
mousepad. This mousepad is more than what meets the eye – it charges your G502 Lightspeed wirelessly. Simply rest your G502 on the mouse pad (while playing or while on a break) and it automatically charges. The only problem with it is that it is $199.95 (USD). Again, Amazon has a great lineup for Gaming Mice
, and products are regularly in stock.
Ah, RGB. You cannot be a gamer without having RGB on everything. Companies are releasing RGB Face masks, RGB Mice, RGB Keyboards, RGB Computer parts, the list goes on and on. Unfortunately, RGB (despite looking great) parts come at a higher cost than RGB-less parts, so a majority of gamers get by with only one or two RGB components. So, to spice up your teenager’s gaming build, why not buy them some RGB Strip Lights? RGB Strip Lights can go on pretty much anything, and most can change colour to your liking. Some have lots of modes and settings, and others just go for simple solid colour. Either way, it will make your teenager’s gaming setup look that much better. RGB Strip lights aren’t expensive either, with prices ranging from $5 – $50 for simple but effective lighting.
Gaming is separated into three categories – PC, Console, and Mobile. Chances are, your teenager doesn’t have a whole gaming setup just for playing mobile games, so we’ll focus back on PC and Console. These can be divided into more subcategories – PC can be separated into Desktop and Laptop, and Console can be separated into Xbox and PlayStation. Now, focus on Console. Console games use controllers – I’m sure you know what they are. For console players, apart from upgrading the console, there aren’t many upgrades available, apart from buying a new controller every 5 years. But, there is one option that console players can use to upgrade their controller without paying a lot for a customized controller – thumbsticks. While they don’t make all the difference, it can be the difference between casual and professional gaming, and they are specialised for individual game types. The leading producer of thumbsticks is KontrolFreek
, which have thumbsticks for several different types of games – FPS (First Person Shooters), Battle Royale, Sniper Games, and so much more. They also have specified ones for a select variety of games – Rainbow Six Siege, Call of Duty: Warzone, The Show 20, Apex Legends, Fortnite, Call of Duty: Cold War, Madden 21, FIFA 21, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. KontrolFreek claims that their thumbsticks increase KD Ratio by 26%, so if you want to tell your kid some statistics about them. KontrolFreek thumbsticks sell for retail at $14.99 (USD).
- Controller
Like we said in the last gift idea, there are only two upgrades for controller players – thumbsticks, and controllers. We explored thumbsticks, so it’s only appropriate that we now venture into the land of gaming controllers. These can be pretty expensive, but definitely will make your teenager a better gamer. While you can just buy a new Playstation/Xbox controller, as controllers age very quickly and dust gets in them easily, if you want the absolute best controller for your kid and have no budget, then we recommend Scuf controllers. Scuf create controllers that are fine-tuned for gaming. Let’s use PlayStation as an example. Scuf boast a system where you can customize your controller down to the colour, which is a wish come true for many die-hard gamers. They offer two pre-set ones, but even with these, you are prompted to customize. You are given selections for colours and patterns, thumbstick colours, heights, shapes, back paddle shapes and colours, grips and handles, vibrations, so if you do plan on purchasing one for your child, you will most likely have to ask them the customizations that they want on their controller. Each customization comes with a cost of about $20 (USD) each, so by the time you’ve gone through and customized everything to your liking, you may have just added another $100 onto the controller. And they don’t start cheap either – the basic controller ‘Scuf Impact’ is $190 (USD). I went through and customized everything to the best possible setting, and I was met with a small fortune – $384.07 (USD). However, if you do have the money and want to spend this on your child, and know the customizations they want, I would get them this as they will most likely show a big improvement in your child’s gaming skills, however, that isn’t guaranteed and some players are already incredible without $384.07 controllers.
So there you have it – 5 Great Christmas present ideas for your gaming teenager. We have scoured the internet for the best presents, and we think we’ve found them. If you enjoyed reading this list, why not subscribe to our weekly newsletter to make sure you don’t miss any other lists like this?
Disclaimer – This is not a product review, and if you plan on purchasing one of these we suggest you do a little bit of additional research about it first. We only provide the basics to give you a gift idea.