Things For Teens Attempt No 2

Teenagers can be a little difficult to buy gifts for as you can sometimes feel so confused as to which thing has 'street cred' and which thing is old hat. I think you can't go too far wrong with giving something which shows your affection and that you have put a little thought in. When my eldest hit 15 this year it came at a difficult time as I was taking a sad flight that day to attend a very dear relative's funeral. The week afterwards we were going on our family holiday so the birthday sort of fell between the stools...I promise, next year...Sweet 16, I'll do something special.

Well anyway, I promised my 15 year old birthday girl she could choose something. She searched and searched online and then came and asked could she show me what she'd like. It turned out to be something I'd never even have imagined or ever thought of but I got it for her and she just loves it. Here it is:

GIFT IDEA 5

Guitar Pick Necklace

These funky necklaces are easily available on lots of websites and cost very little. Remember teenagers are moving on from brand names (though hopefully with a little guidance they might skip that part, that's a blog post for another day) and moving on to cool and alternative.

The necklaces are available featuring every band you could possibly think of and I think are equally suitable for boys or girls.

For teenagers who play the guitar or like to fiddle about on one you can get lovely tinned sets of guitar picks featuring their favourite band.

My teen bought this exact one for her friend's birthday and she struggled bravely with the temptation to keep them herself and buy some bubble bath for the friend instead. Thankfully, with a little parental nudge, the friend got the intended present but it demonstrated to me that this small gift is probably something that would appeal to lots of teenagers or even older age groups.

GIFT IDEA 6:

Gorjuss

I have a little bag lady. Bring her into a bag shop and watch her eyes dilate. She has a small collection of very pretty bags that she regularly uses. I generally allow her to admire and leave it at that as for some reason, it seems to me that bags and shoes are typical entry points into the world of materialism, so it's an area where the virtue of temperance can be encouraged. However, I can see no harm when a birthday or Christmas comes around in allowing a little addition to her collection.

I have a rule that if a bag is there, it has to be used or somebody else allowed to use it. There is something about closets full of shoes and bags that are never used that reminds me of a miser and his stash of gold coins.

So restraint being factored in, Santa Claus managed to to discover this super-pretty range of bags and accessories. I think they are gorgeous and in fact that's what they are called..Gorjuss..

And some lovely stationery to match:

GIFT IDEA 7

Pro Markers

I know lots of older children and teenagers love to try their hand at drawing and graphic art. I've always thought a ream of A4 paper and a ready supply of crayons and coloured pencils is one of the best toys you can provide for any child. If your child (or niece or nephew or young friend..) is any way arty, Pro-Markers are a very thoughtful gift which will definitely be appreciated. These professional artist quality markers are sold individually and not many teenagers have the funds to build up much of a collection as they are quite expensive for them to buy for themselves.

However, for gift-giving these double-ended markers are perfect as you can spend as little or as much as your budget allows. I would think a few in skin-tones along with some other colours would be a very thoughtful gift. A pad of art paper designed for markers would nicely complete the gift and you could even add an animation, anime or graphic art book if you really want to go to town!

I know for a fact arty teens really appreciate these as gifts.

I have to emphasise...these markers ARE NOT suitable gifts for children, they are professional quality and far too expensive for small children.

Well I hope these ideas are helpful for you. If you have enjoyed any of posts, maybe you would like to subscribe to my blog by clicking on the SUBSCRIBE button at the side. Leave a comment and I actually would love if anyone has any suggestions for me as all of the things I'm featuring are already tried and tested by me so I'll be looking for some new ideas for myself.

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