Like, just for starters, this poster Henry (age 16) wanted:
(image from Amazon.com)
What……what am I looking at?
He also wanted Tales of the Dying Earth, by Jack Vance.
(image from Amazon.com)
I generally like to get them any book they ask for, but mid-century male-written science fiction makes me nervous. It’s so often simply PACKED with the written equivalent of busty warrior women wearing skimpy leather battle bikinis, among other problematic themes. I was interested to see that Jack Vance has also written as Ellery Queen; it’s been a long, long time, but I remember reading through our library’s collection of Ellery Queen. Maybe in high school?
Elizabeth has this bike bell (in currently-unavailable blue), and said she asked Rob if he has a bike bell, and he says he does not, and she thinks we should get him this one, so I got it for him in yellow.
(image from Amazon.com)
Elizabeth wanted a grow light for a plant she has in her dorm room. It was hard to choose one, so I hope this one is good.
(image from Amazon.com)
I looked for one that would come on and off automatically.
I have a child who loves (1) Taco Bell and (2) Untitled Goose Game, so this Take Bell t-shirt is going under the tree.
(image from Amazon.com)
For my nephew who likes Strange Planet, the 2024 day-to-day calendar.
(image from Amazon.com)
Hoodies hoodies hoodies for everyone. (WAIT FOR SALES. THERE ARE ALWAYS SALES.)
(image from gap.com)
Elizabeth got a set of these blank journals awhile back, and asked for another set for Christmas:
(image from Amazon.com)
She also asked for American Sign Language flash cards; she and her friends are trying to learn it.
(image from Amazon.com)
And she’s asked for Posca markers.
(image from Amazon.com)
William asked for Sculpey; we have a toolbox full of it, but he wanted his own.
(image from Amazon.com)
William also wants a Peter’s Projection Map, but we have enough things for him for Christmas so this will probably be birthday.
(image from Amazon.com)
I thought about getting William this rental-friendly home-repair book, now that he’s graduated college—but since he doesn’t have an apartment lined up yet, I didn’t want the gift to seem Pointed. Perhaps this can be for birthday, too. Or perhaps none of our children will ever be able to afford rent, at the rate things are going.
(image from Amazon.com)
I would be very interested to hear what you are getting for the assorted teenagers in your life. I am hoping to poach your ideas.
I like the rental repair book. I follow her on Instagram OR IG keeps showing me the videos. Could be either. I find instagram ridiculously frustrating to use but the animal videos are nice. As are people making things.
We just tie-dyed some hoodies over here, which was fun. Hanes had a good deal. I’ve found more and more those who make such things are skimping on the cotton and overloading on the polyester and we’re already drowning in microplastics so I’m always careful to check materials on EVERYTHING these days. The hanes were 90 cotton/10 poly.
I got suckered into ryde safe decals (instagram showed me an ad, and I’m always attempting to make us more visible when we bike) so I got a bunch of those. I dig the bell. My bell in New Orleans is ice cream cones and the one here is a beehive, I think? The boy child has chili peppers. I also bought everyone with phones a hangtime Koala thing (facebook or IG, again). I have no idea on the books for the 14 year old girl child. She’s a picky pants. She currently has uggs and loves them and her feet get cold but I went down a “How good are they really?” rabbithole and am trying Kiwi Sheepskins? Some New Zealand boots that are very similar and a similar price but made in NZ. I also got her unicorn snot glitter sunscreen. Normally we do blue lizard, physical sunblock BUT we also ride in a Mardi Gras parade and sometimes you want glitter. My friend in a NOLA dance krewe uses it and Holly Frey of Missed in History gave a plug for it in their sunscreen episode. She is picky pants on clothes and hates jeans but mentioned that she might like overalls so I got some from Old Navy, not too pricey. She’s also been into lobbying for alternative pets (we have two dogs and two fish and our house is WEE TINY SMALL, NO THANK YOU) but Lego makes a parrot and she changed her name in my phone to “girl who needs a bird” so lego parrot it is.
We have the posca markers and liked them the one time we used them. I have aspirations of doing more art and we do some but my intentions far exceed reality over here.
Mine are 10 and 12, so not quite teens yet, but I got my oldest a gaming chair with really neat lights that he’ll love. I got under armour sweatshirts from their online outlet at the beginning of the year for $10 each. We also got a Universal Yums box for the whole family that should be a lot of fun. And for any John Oliver fans who enjoyed the putekeke episode (NZ bird of the year), we got a metal putekeke with a little John Oliver that rides on its back, which should be a huge hit.
This is VERY niche, (maybe it just applies to our family) but if your teen was raised in a fundie house hold and loves taco bell then you have the perfect recipe for this gift my sister is giving our brother. https://www.etsy.com/listing/1302517924/when-they-forget-the-hot-sauce?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=man+praying+taco+bell&ref=sr_gallery-1-8&edd=1&pop=1&sts=1&organic_search_click=1
(My parents and friends parents had this painting and how we’ve CACKLED picturing him opening it.)
This is spectacular.
My son is getting hand-carved wooden musical spoons, a distortion pedal for his guitar, a Mountain Dew snuggie, and an $1100 trip his choir sprung on us about a month ago! His girlfriend is getting lip balms, 100 penguin stickers, and a cool bracelet I found on Amazon. It has a penguin on it, and it comes with a GPS tracker that tracks an actual penguin in the wild somewhere. I’m hopeful that it will be cool. (She loves penguins, and her gifts are small so will be in a stocking with lots of nice candy and maybe some gloves.)
The other child in our family is 6 1/2 and so very much easier to shop for.
I got an elephant and my husband got a lion from out daughter. The money went to support wildlife. We love them, and it is fun to see where my elephant has been. (I have an app on my phone that allows easy access to her information.
I am very intrigued and would like to know more about this. What company is it through?
We have these bracelets too! My teen daughter is getting the elephant one in her stocking. I believe the company they are talking about is Fahlo. You can order them on Amazon with Prime Shipping, but their website often has deals like “buy 2 get 1” etc..
Thank you so much!! I have made a note to get these for everyone next year! (I am going to get one for myself, too.)
The teen in my family got a record player in September so he’s getting a couple records from me. They are more expensive than CDs, I have learned.
I have a teen who doesn’t want/need/request much and is hard to buy for. He is getting a hoodie, apple air tags, and a speed bag (punching bag thing he requested for workouts).
Both kids have unusual school-related trips this coming year that require some specialized equipment so some of those things are going under the tree, too.
I have an 18-year-old who already has SO MANY CLOTHES (he is a thrifter). I am thinking of a watchband for his Apple Watch, the kind where it looks more like a traditional watch. He also asked for a John & Hank Green sock subscription: https://good.store/pages/awesome-socks.
My 15 y/o football playing boy is getting a weight rack + bench thing for lifting in the offseason. It comes with many, many accoutrements that will all be individually wrapped for maximum gift-opening effect. Today I bought him 2 hoodies and 2 pairs of swishy pants (You know – not jeans but not sweats … they make a nice swish-swish when he walks. Swishy pants.)
The 17 y/o girl is getting the new Billie Eilish perfume, a new pair of white Nike Air Forces, and various cosmetic potions and tools … lip oil, eyelash growth serum, undereye collagen patches, some cult-fave mascara, and several vanilla-scented candles. She’s also getting a set of journals – she is a woman of many many feelings, so she fills them up fast!
15 yo is getting flannel
Pajamas bc mom wants him to have some, a good bike to replace old rusty one, a giant pack of popsicle sticks for building projects, running socks for XC, a Ray Bradbury book I thought he might like since the setting is the area of the country of his heritage which he knows not much about, and some fishing gear.
Tween daughter is getting Nikes(can’t remember what kind I bought that were so very important that I get right) , a neon wall light for her room, bracelet kit, slime kit, a checkered duffel bag for trips, swishy skirts that are too mini , may return. Things are a blur right now can’t remember what else ..
My husband says there are no busty women in leather bikinis – the author is maybe a little conservative, but like, 1950s conservative.
(He also checked a couple times that Henry actually asked for this book, because I guess it is a bit of a surprising choice for someone his age.)
This comment is both reassuring and intriguing.
I guess it is on the more literary end of things, with lots of flowery language. My husband referred to it as a picaresque (and then got slightly annoyed when I laughed when he asked if I knew what that meant.)
So basically, I think you may be in danger of raising a son who uses the word picaresque in conversation. But there are definitely worse things.
I interpret 1950s conservative to mean something similar to the original Star Treks, where every episode ends with Kirk teaching the local inhabitants an important lesson about freedom and resisting communism, even if that means he just turned off the computer that was providing all their food.
My teens are impossible to shop for. My son (17) is getting a Leatherman, a wallet that has a built in space for an AirTag, and one of those metal key chains that hold your keys solid in a little folding metal case (do you know what I mean? The keys are individually folded out of the case like a Swiss Army knife. Compact, easy to cart around in your pocket. My daughter (15) is getting an AirTag as well, a new Kindle, and she has just decided that perhaps she will explore wearing mascara, so I got her a sampler set where she can take a coupon in and get a full-sized tube of her favourite kind. They’re both getting some clothes, some candy in their stockings, etc. I feel like another thing for each would be good but I cannot think of a single dang thing.
I love Mercury Stardust! What a happy surprise to see their book here!
Just a suggestion for people who may have a hard-to-buy-for teen… a kandama. My fidgety son loves them and his brothers all have them too. They are all in their 20s – so not teens anymore and they buy them for themselves because they are all now employed but they would have been a hit if I had heard of them before. This company makes good ones: https://www.amazon.com/Sweets-Kendamas-Radar-Prime-Kendama/dp/B07B254W3C/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=2U8WTPURLVE4N&keywords=kandama&qid=1702325987&sprefix=kandama%2Caps%2C112&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
Some of this will be for his January birthday. Gabriel requested snowboarding boots for his “big present” so I got him those. I also got him a wallet that has a little slot for an airtag (I also got an airtag) after he lost his wallet twice this year, and I learned that if your minor child loses their wallet, you, the parent, have to go to the DMV WITH THEM to replace their license.
I got him a bottle of cologne in a smell that I personally am not offended by + I think he will like (he asked for cologne).
I assembled some lego icons flowers for myself and Gabriel asked why I didn’t get any for him so I bought some for him.
His preferred fancy socks and underwear
A pair of fleece pajama pants
I’m not buying him a hoodie because I recently counted his hoodies and he has 23 which is objectively too many hoodies.
After visiting my 92 year old grandmother and going through her old records together…my 12 year old son has asked for a record player! This is a bit more $$ than we usually spend, but I am so charmed by this! :)
I’m feeling intensely Overwhelmed and Not Festive this year, so I am only gifting a few things for my 16 (almost 17!) year old daughter: an airtag or Tile for her key ring, some green velvet hangers she requested, and a comically large hoodie–think sleeves and hem to her knees. Oh, and some cash specifically for a few oil changes and gas fill-ups. She bought her first car this year.
I think it’s mostly a matter of poor timing. In the last few months she got all the stuff I would normally have saved for Christmas: shoes, clothes, airpods, etc. But thanks to the last few posts I’m also getting her a sweary page-a-day calendar, and the Billie Eilish perfume. Thanks, team!
I mentioned the Apple Airtags people in my family are getting (as well as a few other travel-related gifts since their main gifts from me are tickets to Spain in March) in a comment on another post, but now I’ve also procured 2 types of holders: a card with a slot in it to go in one’s wallet, and a keychain-add-on. All 3 members of my immediate family need backpacks at the same time, so I got an UnderArmour one one suitable for the gym for both my husband and son (who will also use his for school), a larger, retro-looking Eddie Bauer one for my daughter to take to university in the fall, and a second one for my husband that is better for an under-seat personal item for travel.
I have a gift for my 15 year old that I’m trying to figure out how to give to him: he’s not a huge fan of body hair, and while he has a shaver for his face, I got him a similar-type shaver for the rest of him since I’m pretty sure he tries his best to “manscape” with scissors right now. I’m pretty sure there’s huge potential for embarrassment, but also great amusement, if I wrap it and put it under the tree (“I already have a shaver Mom.” “No son, this one is a BALL shaver.”) So, yeah. I’m thinking I get his dad to give it to him privately Christmas morning?