Buying a Christmas present for a teenager is a rather tricky pursuit.

Even if money is not a point of consideration for your gift giving, teens change in their likes and dislikes on a fairly regular basis. If you are not in constant contact with the teen you might not know what the next stage happens to be.

For example, at a September birthday party my high school age niece had decided to be a vegetarian. So for Thanksgiving we made some adjustments for her with the meal, but by Christmas the stage was over. She has changed her mind and had a different focus and ate ham with the rest of the family. Good thing I did not have a vegatarian focused Christmas present for her.

Gift Cards

The easiest way to buy for a teenager for Christmas is to buy a gift card. I do find it a bit disappointing to watch a teen open a few gift cards in a row. Not exactly the Christmas morning where memorie are made. So I only suggest buying a gift card for a teen if you are in a real jam. Or the other option you have is to personalize the gift with a few other items.

For example, my nephew loves beef jerky. So I could tape the gift card to the bag of beef jerky. In this way, I am letting him know I notice him and care about him.

So if you must buy a gift card, personalize it in someway.

Electronics

Have you noticed the amount of teens glued to their electronics. Texting has become a favorite pasttime of this generation.

A few weeks ago, I was at the local library. There were two teenage girls with their mother. The girls were both walking through the library reading their cell phone and texting their friends. It is amazing to me to that reading or sending texts could not wait until they walked through the library.

You simply can not go wrong with electronics for a teen. Electronic are part of their daily lives. A text easy cell phone is a must to a teen. An ipod comes in close second. Depending on their phone package as many have already combined these two features and listen to music on their phones.

A flip video camcorder (which you may want to get now because last Christmas stores ran out) would be a great gift for a teen. I can only imagine the videos my sons would have created during their high school years if the flip video camcorder was available.

Books and Magazines

Gasp! I know in the electronic age a book or magazine might seem a bit silly. But everyone likes to look and read about topics that interest them. Also, books and magazines add variety to Christmas morning.

So find a book or magazine the teen would have interest in. Buy them something they would like, not one you would like to have.

Have a great time helping your teen feel special this Christmas season with a Christmas present.

copyright © 2008 Rodney Grubbs