Holiday Gift Ideas for Teens
The winter holidays are approaching, and that means gift shopping. And if you have teenagers to shop for, it probably also means a fair bit of worrying about what to get. Teenagers are some of the hardest people out there to buy for. In comparison, younger kids and and adults are a breeze! Cash or gift cards are always welcome, of course, but what if you want to do something a little more personal? Here are a few gift ideas for teens that are sure to be a hit this holiday season.
- Electronics and Games. This is always a popular category among teenagers… you can’t go too far wrong with video games and electronic gizmos. If your teen is a gamer, Black Ops II and Assassin’s Creed III will be out in time for the holidays. The Playstation Vita, Sony’s new portable game system, is also a popular pick. The Kindle Fire will probably be a hot item this year, and the fourth generation iPad and the iPad mini should be out in early November. And of course, the iPhone 5 is already out, and will no doubt be in high demand over the holidays.
- Books and Movies. Twilight is still popular, and the newest and last movie will be in the theaters in mid-November. Christmas is a perfect time to gift the teen in your life with the Twilight book sets, or the DVDs of the first several movies in the series. And given the timing of the last movie’s release, you should have no trouble at all finding Twilight merchandise in the store. Another popular movie among teens right now is The Hunger Games. It’s already out on DVD, so you can easily pick that up, and if your teen hasn’t read the trilogy that the movie is based on yet, the books are a good gift item too. And as with Twilight, The Hunger Games T-shirts, posters, and other assorted merchandise should be readily available.
- Experiential gifts. If nothing else really seems right, consider that what a teenager usually wants is to get out and do something, usually with their friends. That’s why cash is always welcome, but cash isn’t the only way to give them something to go and do. Consider buying tickets to a concert, movie, or sporting event that your teen has been talking about. Buy more than one ticket though, so she can bring a friend. She’ll probably remember the fun experience longer than she would have kept any material item you could have given her.
If you’re having trouble figuring out what your teen wants and don’t want to spoil any surprises, consider enlisting the help of your child’s friends. If you have more than one child, siblings can be a great source of gift ideas. Good luck on your holiday shopping!
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They are indeed tough to shop for. I think I will end up buying my teen niece a gift card this year.
Some great ideas, thanks!
I have teenager and a 12 year old and they are tougher to buy for and much more expensive than little kids. That usually translates to fewer gifts under the tree. Thanks for the tips.
My nephew is a new teenager, and this year I have no idea what to get him! He has ADHD and I was looking for something that will keep his attention or he would use. He is into video games, so maybe a gift card. I also learned if they are able to drive, a fuel gift card is good!
Electronics, cash and gift cards are always a hit with my teens!
I’m 19 and I would say that makeup sets are a great gift idea for teen girls!
Being that it wasnt long ago I was a teenager this is pretty good especially since electronics is number 1 theres nothing better than seeing a laptop or tv or some type of electronic on christmas morning and these type of gifts can also stay with teenagers once they move or goto college good post.
Good ideas, thanks.
We have some teens to buy for this holiday season, boy is it stressful!! We usually just wind up giving them money because then they can just go out and get what they want…but the trouble with that is it’s not very imaginative, and sometimes it just doesn’t go towards the most useful things. This year we’re trying to do homemade presents, as well a storebought gift for each person. Definitely going to be some Twilight swag in there somewhere I’m sure lol.
thanks for the ideas, i have a 15 year old step daughter i’m stumped for!
thank you for this post I am having a hard time this year with my two I am so lost with what to get them. They want clothing so I think gift card but then what do they open? lol
Great ideas!
thank you for the cool idea
My teenage boy would love to have Adidas Predator power swerve soccer shoes for Christmas … 🙂 I wish. can buy him that.
My son love Halo, but h has everything HAlo now except some of the mega block sets that just came out. If your teen is a gamer and male try Halo.
I have a 15 yr old son to buy for & I am having a hard time figuring out what to get him! I dont have much money so that doesnt help. My ideas are Cds , DVDs, clothes, shoes, MP3 player and the cowboy hat he wants. Hes very into singing country music so some type of karaoke machine even came to mind. But Im not sure if he would be interested in it or not. Ughhhhhhh this is driving me crazy!
Well this is some interesting ideas, though i already know what to buy for my teen friends. But still something to consider before i decide. Tnanks.
Good Ideas , Thanks for sharing 🙂
thank you for the gift ideas! my go to with my oldest daughter is usually clothes. 😀
I am 50 yo my nephews are teens, thanks for the help.