Best Christmas Gifts for Women Based on Age

As the holidays fast approach, you, like many, are probably wondering what to give that special woman in your life. As a woman, let me help guide you to pick some great gifts to give women - whether sisters, significant others, mothers or friends - based on the appropriate age bracket.

Keep in mind that most retail stores are offering huge discounts, up to 50% off in some cases. Shop around to take advantage of these discounts.

12-19 Years

Clothing- Clothes can be great gifts for most young women. The problem though is that you have to know her size and style. The following list details various popular retail stores for this age group, as well as approximate price ranges and size details.

American Eagle Outfitters- Pants ($30-$50), Sweaters ($40-$50), T-shirts ($15-$25)

Web site: ae.com

Clothing is appropriately sized

Hollister- Pants ($50-$60), Sweaters ($30-50), T-shirts ($25-$35)

Web site: Hollisterco.com

Clothing runs small- buy a size larger than you feel might be appropriate

Abercrombie- Pants ($60-$70), Sweaters ($40-$100), T-shirts ($30-$40)

Website: Abercrombie.com

Clothing is appropriately sized

Aeropostale- Pants ($20-$30), Sweaters ($20-$30), T-shirts ($7-$10)

Web site: aeropostale.com

Clothing runs small- buy a size larger than you feel might be appropriate

Accessories- Jewelry is also a safe gift for young women- earrings, a necklace, even hair accessories are often a hit. Try the places below, or even the retail stores listed above, to find some age-appropriate accessories.

Claire's Accessories: Earrings ($5-$10), Necklaces ($8-$10), Rings ($6-8)

Web site: claires.com

Target

20-35 Years

Clothing:

Banana Republic: Pants ($80-$120), Sweaters ($50-$150), Shirts ($20-$60)

Best for professional wear. Sized appropriately. Good quality.

JCrew: Pants ($60-$150), Sweaters ($60-$230), Shirts ($20-$60)

Best for casual and professional wear. Sized appropriately. Good-Great quality.

H&M: Pants ($20-$40), Sweaters ($30-$40), Shirts ($10-30)

Best for casual, on the town, and professional wear. Runs small. Fair quality.

Forever 21: Pants ($20-$20), Sweaters ($20-$20), Shirts ($10-$20)

Best for casual and on the town wear. Runs small. Fair-poor quality.

Electronics/Music:

Music and electronics are great gifts for women of all ages. Music gift cards can be used to buy most different types of music- especially the popular songs of the age. Mp3 players are also very popular items these days, just be sure to check with your female friend to be sure she doesn't have one already (or if she does, it should be a few years old).

Itunes Gift card- Comes in a variety of prices. Can be purchased at many grocery stores, as well as on apple.com

Music Players:

Ipod Nano ($150-$200)- Comes in great colors and is incredibly popular. Can be purchased at apple stores or other online retailers such as amazon.com

Ipod Shuffle ($50-$60)- great colors, small, and relatively inexpensive. Can be purchased at apple stores or other online retailers such as amazon.com

Zune Mp3 Player- ($100-$250, depending on music capacity). Great alternative to the ipod, neat colors, can be bought online or in stores such as Best Buy, Circuit City.

Bath/Body:

If you really do not know what gift to get a woman, no matter her age, this is the arena of retail you should stick to. There are endless choices in the realm of bath and body gifts (and they can range from low to extremely high end), so here are some great ideas.

Bath and Body Works- low-end; super perfumed (and often fake smelling) lotions, body scrubs, bubble salt. Good for younger women who like strong smelling items. $6 shipping on bathandbodyworks.com

Origins ($20-$40)- middle-end but very expensive. They boast organic bubble baths, bath salts, hand and foot creams. Free shipping on their website of origins.com

L'Occitane ($20-$50)- high-end and very expensive. Great smelling creams, bath salts, bubble baths, etc. Best for women who are 40 years and older who can appreciate this high quality. Free shipping on orders $25 and over at http://usa.loccitane.com.

Never Fail Gift: If the above has not helped you at all, and you still are clueless as to what to get that female friend of yours, a gift card seems to be your best bet. Often times a local mall will offer a gift card that can be used at any store in the entire mall (or can be used at various stores in the mall). This is great because it gives women the most autonomy in picking their own gift-only limiting them by the mall location.

If this even does not seem to fit-you can buy a universal gift card at:

http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/prepaid/visa_gift_card.html or

http://www.americanexpress.com/gift/giftcardslanding.shtml

for any amount, and it can be used at any store. Its just like cash. But I hope that you can do better than that. Good luck.