Buying gifts for teenagers is basically an extreme sport. Get it wrong and you'll get the dreaded polite smile. We've done the research so you don't have to. These are gift ideas that teens actually want, from cool tech accessories and gadgets to funny novelty gifts and stuff they'll show off to their mates. No gift cards, no cop-outs.
Four metal pieces, one grandmaster-level headache. Pull this elegant hourglass apart, then discover that reassembling it is a completely different argument.
The colours change when you tilt it, because an ordinary 3x3 cube apparently wasn’t frustrating enough. A shiny little menace for confident solvers.
Seventy obstacles, one tiny ball and nowhere to hide your shaky hands. Flip, twist and spin this handheld maze towards the finish.
No scenery, landmarks or friendly patches of sky. Just 654 silver pieces spiralling towards one deeply satisfying victory.
This cheesy little brain teaser looks friendly until none of the pieces will fit. Compact, clever and sneakier than expected, it’s a cracking gift for puzzlers aged eight and up.
Forget matching colours. This metallic mirror cube scrambles into a glorious geometric mess, then challenges you to restore its shape. A clever little gift for anyone who reckons ordinary cubes are too easy.
Build Tintin’s iconic chequered Moon Rocket from 1,283 pieces. Standing an impressive 49 cm tall, it’s a nostalgic creative project with serious shelf presence.
One thousand tiny multicoloured squares and not a helpful landmark in sight. This brutal mosaic jigsaw is for the puzzler who hears “impossible” and starts clearing the dining table.
Build an 84-piece wooden orrery, then wind it up to watch the colourful planets orbit as music plays. It’s part puzzle, part music box and one very impressive shelf ornament.
