Must-Have Toys for 11-15 Year Olds

Lilly is 11, Lynn is 14 going into high school and Tyler is the 13 year old boy that lives down the street. When asked what the must have toys are they all give the same answer "there aren't any right now" but deeper investigation tells a different story just as it always does.

Rule #1 in buying for kids of all ages is that asking them what they want hardly ever works. The best questions aren't about what they want or what their friends have but about what they already have and what they use everyday.

The truth is that if they want something specific and it is a reasonable purchase you aren't reading this article!

The Expansion Gift

"Must have" gift buying starts with knowing what the recipient already has. Everything owned by today's teen is expandable and has more pieces, another package or some sort of upgrade. If the kid has a game system like a WII, Nintendo DS, PlayStation or tricked out gaming computer chances are there is a specific controller, game, memory card or system expansion that they will kill for and that is their must have gift.

Nintendo DSi

Hand held gaming devices are pretty much standard fair for any kid over 3rd grade. If they don't have one they want one and if they don't really want one they will be happy to have one. The leading systems are the Nintendo DS which recently came out with a new version that has a camera on it and the PSP. If your kid has a DS they may want the new DSi. Another popular DSi gift is the car charger since the units only come with AC adapters and the DS Lite charger does not work with the DSi!

The Sony PSP is another hand held gaming unit that accesses wireless networks, plays movies and does a few other cool tricks besides playing PSP games. Generally it is more popular with older boys on the go. Just asking "what is a PSP" will give you a definite answer if your should go with the PSP over the DS.

Zune Players and iPods
The easy MP3 answer is iPod and any kid with an iPod will appreciate an iTunes gift card which can be purchased at just about any retail store in America. Just choose your dollar amount but the neighborhood survey is that under $20 is unremarkable and $50 gets awesome remarks.

For the teen of pre-teen who doesn't have an iPod yet I strongly encourage the Microsoft Zune. The main advantage of the Zune over the iPod is that the owner does not have to use a computer to download their music. They can and will set up their music library on their computer and it works just like the iPod but unlike the iPod they do not have to have access to a computer to download new tunes from the Marketplace. Anywhere that they have access to a wireless internet connection or hotspot they can download a new song and the Zune has a built in FM radio as well!

A bigger hit on the neighborhood survey that $100 in iTunes credit was having a Zune subscription that costs under $15 a month and lets you download unlimited songs to your Zune Player as long as your subscription is paid! The one thing to be aware of with the Zune is that it come with a USB charger only so most people will want to purchase a docking station or USB outlet adapter separately.

WebKinz and SeaPals
Okay this sounds like an elementary school item for girls but in the privacy of their own internet 14 year olds seem to love the WebKinz Wheel of Wonder and the Sea Pals virtual aquarium just as much. For everyone who doesn't know exactly what the WebKinz thing is all about just think Beanie Babies with on-line codes. Beanie Babies have on-line codes now too but the WebKinz site it just much cooler.

Another similar little stuffed creature is made by Applause by Russ. Sea Pals and stuffed fish and other sea creatures that cost about $12 each (the same as WebKinz) and when you enter their scratch off code you add them to your virtual aquarium that you maintain online at http://seapals.net/seapals/index.html. The last bit of advice of this must have item is that for someone who doesn't have a WebKinz or a SeaPal yet start them off with at least 2 so they can experience more of the virtual world!