Ask your nephew. If they don't already have a 529 set up that might be more hassle than it's worth, who wants to keep track of savings bonds, etc
My standard gift is always a savings bond. It's the safest thing to invest in nowadays and you're guaranteed a return.
As an aside, when I was a kid, the only way my family (immediate and distant family) knew to give a gift was to give money -- whether it was a holiday or a visit to relatives and someone would press a $10 bill into my palm. My mother always grabbed the money and I never saw it again. Fast forward 20 years later, I went into my father's safe deposit box and found a stack of savings bonds in my name. A really nice surprise that helped me buy my first car.
I'd like to give a gift to my nephew's child. A few hundred bucks.
Savings Bonds; Custodial Acct invested in the S&P 500; 529 Educational... what do you recommend?