A good, maybe even inexpensive gift for a boy, based on #19 of
50 Things for Bored Boys To Do is a kit for cleaning, shining, and weather-proofing shoes. Start a boy out with this and he'll have the tools to master one of the most useful of skills. (There is a nice division of labor implied here: the boy can shine his sister's shoes and she replace the buttons. See
The Sewing Kit.)
It doesn't need much, just a plastic bag or case to put the materials in where they won't stain anything else.
And in it, the following essentials:
- Soft rags
- Mink oil for weather-proofing shoes
- Shoe polish in appropriate colors
- Optional: a great shoe brush
