Suggestions for Shopping for Teenagers this Christmas

Teenagers can be hard to shop for, as they are mainly interested in high end electronics, at least the teens I know. If you are in search of an ideal gift for the teenager in your life, be it a niece of nephew, or maybe the child of a friend or neighbor I would like to share my best gift giving idea yet for young adults.

I refuse to purchase mp3 players, portable dvd players or cell phones for my nieces and nephews because they do not take care of anything and my funds are stretched far enough. I want my gifts to not only please the recipients but also to please the budget shopper inside of me. Last year after several hours of wandering around the mall, remembering my sisters strict instructions of "Please no more clothes, they could already supply the army with enough clothes for a week!" I came home empty handed, aside from clothes , gift cards and electronics what do teenagers like, want or need?

Then the best and most simple of ideas hit me, why not make the teens gift baskets? What should I put in these gift baskets?

I started off at my local Dollar Tree, where I purchased wire baskets, which were generously sized. While I was there, I purchased shower puffs, tooth paste, tooth brushes, bubble gum, ink pens, cross word puzzle books and comb and hair brush sets. I also added from another store: deodorant, body spray, body wash and hair gel.

I made small balls of scrap Christmas wrapping paper to set in the bottom of the wire baskets ans I arranged the goodies in a pleasing manner. I added Christmas candy to the top and wrapped the baskets in green cellophane wrap.

I was not convinced that the teenagers I made these baskets for would like the gift baskets. On Christmas Eve, as the guests began to arrive, my niece said "Who are the pretty baskets for?" I said "Geez, I don't know..."

When I presented the gift baskets to my nieces a nephews, they were surprisingly thrilled with the gifts. Hearing the kids excitedly name off the components made me sure that this is the way to go for future reference with my family.

You could add DVDs, cds, gift cards, or anything else that your teenagers would enjoy, and this is a gift that they will use. Teenagers can also appreciate that this is a grown up gift, and not a cheesy toy.