We have 13 and 16 yr old niece and a 13 yr old nephew. Other than gift cards and games what do teenagers like and would be a good but inexpensive gift?
If you will be with them at Christmas, then a homemade "shopping outing coupon" is cool. My dad and stepmom do that with some of the grandkids. It allows them to go for lunch and a shopping outing for clothes or shoes or whatever. It is the time spent together and the choosing together that creates the memory and a fun time on both sides of the gift equation.
You can't go wrong giving teens gift cards or straight out cash. Honestly. But if you wanted to do something more, give it in a gift basket. if one likes basketball, maybe do some sports themed basket with a gift card to a sports store - it may not get him/her the $80 shoes, but it's a dent in it! Or same with coffee. But that one is easy. Or things to decorate their rooms? Maybe Itunes?
Really depends on the teen and some input from parents if you are not as "in the know" as they are. I have a 16 yr old daughter..and magazines are a great idea! For girls..as far as what mine likes.....silly slippers and pj pants..the sillier colors the better for her! Last year, just to have a few more "for fun" things for her to open (as we got her one BIG spendy thing and wanted more opeing time)...I got her some cheap, on clearance boot type slippers at old navy..funky colors and stripes...and she loved them and still wears them all the time!
Ear buds for MP3 players are about $20...crazy colors and "fun factor" and who doesn't need a new pair. I love the Skull Candy brand..definately good quality (and this is from an adult who can buy whatever brand she wants, not necessarily budget ones)..they have great sound, fit comfortable and as I said..fun colors....
My daughter loves owls..anything with cute owls on them...do any of these girls have a specific "like" in this way? (we do cooking aprons and pot holders as she bakes alot....jewelry/keychains, socks/slippers, shirts, pj's, etc...notebooks, journals...all of it!) Any tshirt, inexpensive necklace off ETSY.com (they have these sellers who do scrabble tiles with things on them..add a cheap chain and shipping and they are fun)...keychains if the 16 yr old drives or if they are all home alone after school and have keys of their own?
For a boy...no clue! I have a brother in law with 4 boys and another with 1..and I am clueless!!!!
This is my standard gift for teens if you don't really want to do gift cards per say. Get a popcorn bucket from the dollar store (they have cute red and white striped ones at dollar tree) inside it put some tissue paper all bunched up. put in some 20oz bottles of pop, a box of microwave popcorn, some big boxes of theater candy (also sold at dollar tree for a buck) and a couple of movies or a gift card to blockbuster or whatever the local video store is to your home. or skip the movie theme part of it and throw in some card games or yhatzi. kids love these baskets I make several of them every year.
For the girls... clothing and makeup. MAC is huge with teens and it's kind of pricey considering what it is so you may want to go to the MAC counter with photos of your nieces (so they can see coloring) and pick out a lipstick set for each! They have some nice compacts that you can mix-and-match different "mini size" lip sticks and glosses. You may even hit on a good sale or "free gift".
It is very hard to buy for anyone over 10 years old anymore. We just do gift cards or cash. I know it is not very personal, but we try to make it fun. One year at Walmart, we ordered gift cards with their picture on them. They also like the Visa/Mastercard gift cards that are good anywhere. I sometimes include something personal, like my nephew loves beef jerky. Also, if we do cash we have fun with it. One of the most popular things is to tape numerous dollar bills (say $16 for a 16th birthday) together end to end. Roll them up and put them in a small box with a slot cut in the top. Make it so the first dollar bill (with a piece of paper taped to it that says PULL) sticks out and you can grab it and pull out a roll of money. Lots of fun! We have done dollar bill origami, rolls of quarters, a bouquet of flowers made from dollar bills, necklace made of beads that were rolled up dollar bills, etc. Be creative and have fun with it! The kids will really appreciate the money and the extra thought you put into presentation.
What about scarf and gloves?. Could you pick out a book or movie you think they'd enjoy? Instead of giftcards to a store - maybe giftcards to the movies so they can go out with their friends. Do they have cell phones and/or laptops? There are things called skinits that decorate your phone and laptop. Is there a favorite sports team? They may like a jersey or shirt (yes, even the girls) with the team on it.
I hit Sam Moon every year for my nieces. They love all the trendy jewelry, purses and hats. For the nephews, pick out something with their favorite college or sports team.
I was thinking entertainment places...like paintball, six-flags, bowling, laser-tag,theater-tickets, NRH2O, at that age they are wanting to start going out with their friends. Or for the girls...a gift-card for a Manicure, Pedicure or Salon to get highlights etc...Also, I-Tunes are a big hit if they have I-Pods! I get overwhelmed w/my daughter always wanting me to download her music..it gets a little expensive after a while esp. when my husband and I are also downloading music!
Girls like clothes and music. Boys like video games and tech stuff. Maybe an accessory for his XBOX or Wii. Also, those are good ages for magazine subscriptions. My daughter liked Teen Vogue, Allure, etc. But there are magazines for every hobby or interest you can think of.
You might be safe with lip glosses and nail polishes for the girls. I always get my nephew (now 12) a movie theater gift card. He loves them.
I do embroidery, so the first things that come to mind are things that are personalized. What about at key chain, blanket with school stuff on it like "GHS Class of 2012", checkbook cover, coffee mug (you could add a $5.00 starbucks gift card to it if you want), scarf, makeup bag (for the girls), tote bag or backpack for sports stuff, school sweatshirt, umbrella & poncho....
If any of that sounds good to you and you want prices or pictures of things I've done like that, just let me know. My email is ____@____.com and you can check out my webpage at www.institches.biz. I'm in Coleyville if that is close to you. If not, I can always mail it to you.
This is a question that i would also like an answer to as we have 11 and 9 year old granddaughters and 14 year old grandson. We really don't want to buy things that are not age approriate, but we also want them to have a nice holiday.
