Christmas Gifts for TEENS

[NinaBella]

Any good recommendations for DD18 college games? They love to play catan at school, humanity card game and I just got her the Voting CArd GAme. Any other suggestions for large groups for card games?

Not cards, but if you have an xbox or other game system, look at Fibbage. We have Fibbage2 and everyone loves it. You use your smartphone or tablet as your player controller. I looked at their website and it works with Xbox One, PS3, PS4 and Steam.

https://jackboxgames.com/tag/fibbage-2/

Fun for all ages!

 

[MrsPete]

Hope you don't mind I started a seperate thread! My DD18 freshman in college. Looking for ideas on what to get her. I love hearing what other parents have purchased for their teens. Thanks!

My kids are a little older, but for a college student:

- Gift cards for food available near campus
- Good snacks to take back to school
- Movie tickets
- Large metal cup with monogram ... everyone loves those things
- Does she need rain boots or a rain coat? Very useful for college students.
- Small board games to share in the dorm
- Nice smelling body wash and lotions from B&BW
- New notebook and colored pens (glittery, of course!) for note taking in spring semester -- write a few notes throughout the pages for her to find in class ... my youngest is into Post-it flags for her notes too

Send an early Christmas present: Ask which exam she's dreading most. The night before that exam, set up an online order for a pizza to be delivered to her dorm. Call her and ask casually if she's in her dorm. Assuming she says yes, hit "order my pizza". Tell her to go down to the lobby because a treat will be waiting for her. My kids both went to school in a snowy area, and a couple times I did this for them on snowy Sunday afternoons. They never failed to be THRILLED with a surprise pizza /not having to walk to the dining hall.

Something I did for my oldest /am still doing for my youngest: I buy two professional outfits per year. This means they've had something to wear to an interview or special campus event, and it means that when the reach senior year and are involved in internships, etc., they have a small professional wardrobe ready. Why? Because I teach in a high school 20 minutes from a major university, and I've seen SO MANY student teachers come in for observations /first day of student teaching, and they realize THE NIGHT BEFORE COMING TO THE HIGH SCHOOL that they own sweatpants and jeans and clubbing clothing -- but nothing professional. So they come in wearing what they own, and they make a bad first impression. More than one student has said something like, "I know I'm not dressed appropriately. I'm sorry, but I just didn't have anything at school. When I come back to observe next time, I promise I'll be better dressed."

 

[MrsPete]

Any good recommendations for DD18 college games? They love to play catan at school, humanity card game and I just got her the Voting CArd GAme. Any other suggestions for large groups for card games?

We love Citadels; beautiful, and it's a tiny box (good for keeping in a dorm).

 

[TwoMisfits]

My kids are a little older, but for a college student:


Something I did for my oldest /am still doing for my youngest: I buy two professional outfits per year. This means they've had something to wear to an interview or special campus event, and it means that when the reach senior year and are involved in internships, etc., they have a small professional wardrobe ready. Why? Because I teach in a high school 20 minutes from a major university, and I've seen SO MANY student teachers come in for observations /first day of student teaching, and they realize THE NIGHT BEFORE COMING TO THE HIGH SCHOOL that they own sweatpants and jeans and clubbing clothing -- but nothing professional. So they come in wearing what they own, and they make a bad first impression. More than one student has said something like, "I know I'm not dressed appropriately. I'm sorry, but I just didn't have anything at school. When I come back to observe next time, I promise I'll be better dressed."

This is a great idea - my mom did this for me, too, and it made being on the mock trial team in high school and interning at an accounting firm in college (and doing the interviews for that job) so easy...I had at least 10 outfits, so I never had to worry how long dry cleaners would take...it's more casual now than it used to be, but for interviewing and 1st days, having some nice clothes is still key (since my girls lead song for Church choirs, I've also started buying them nice clothes 1-2x/year, although I admit I looked for washability for them, since dry cleaning sucks)...

 

[mommy2mrb]

My kids are a little older, but for a college student:

- Gift cards for food available near campus
- Good snacks to take back to school
- Movie tickets
- Large metal cup with monogram ... everyone loves those things
- Does she need rain boots or a rain coat? Very useful for college students.
- Small board games to share in the dorm
- Nice smelling body wash and lotions from B&BW
- New notebook and colored pens (glittery, of course!) for note taking in spring semester -- write a few notes throughout the pages for her to find in class ... my youngest is into Post-it flags for her notes too

Send an early Christmas present: Ask which exam she's dreading most. The night before that exam, set up an online order for a pizza to be delivered to her dorm. Call her and ask casually if she's in her dorm. Assuming she says yes, hit "order my pizza". Tell her to go down to the lobby because a treat will be waiting for her. My kids both went to school in a snowy area, and a couple times I did this for them on snowy Sunday afternoons. They never failed to be THRILLED with a surprise pizza /not having to walk to the dining hall.

Something I did for my oldest /am still doing for my youngest: I buy two professional outfits per year. This means they've had something to wear to an interview or special campus event, and it means that when the reach senior year and are involved in internships, etc., they have a small professional wardrobe ready. Why? Because I teach in a high school 20 minutes from a major university, and I've seen SO MANY student teachers come in for observations /first day of student teaching, and they realize THE NIGHT BEFORE COMING TO THE HIGH SCHOOL that they own sweatpants and jeans and clubbing clothing -- but nothing professional. So they come in wearing what they own, and they make a bad first impression. More than one student has said something like, "I know I'm not dressed appropriately. I'm sorry, but I just didn't have anything at school. When I come back to observe next time, I promise I'll be better dressed."

Great idea about buying professional outfit. My DD is doing DECA this year so will be buying her one already. She does have a couple nice dresses for mass at school. Love the pizza delivery idea too.

 

[melanielll]

Not a card game, but Pandemic is good. It's the only game that I can remember playing where you work together.

 

[kalliyan1]

Any good recommendations for DD18 college games? They love to play catan at school, humanity card game and I just got her the Voting CArd GAme. Any other suggestions for large groups for card games?

Not card games but games my colleges kids play and love.....Splendor and Ticket to ride

 

[scottmel]

Not card games but games my colleges kids play and love.....Splendor and Ticket to ride

Thanks! Ironically enough I bought both of these at a church sale brand new for 1.00 each. I was volunteering for the day and they happened to go past me and I grabbed them. Yet to play them but glad to know they are good ones!

 

[gfolchick]

A few ideas...Spikeball is very popular around here. Son even took it to college with him.

To the lady with the ungrateful nieces/nephews, how about lottery tickets? I can't remember how old they are but scratch offs could be fun.

And I need an idea for my daughter...she is a Junior in college pursuing a 6 year degree so we're half way thru. Next semester (Spring) she's headed to New Zealand for study abroad. One of her friends just did it this spring and suggested a Go-Pro camera and I was thinking a travel journal. Any other suggestions? I guess I could get her a cute Passport cover (like Vera Bradley or Lily Pulitzer). Getting harder as they are getting older!

 

[scottmel]

A few ideas...Spikeball is very popular around here. Son even took it to college with him.

To the lady with the ungrateful nieces/nephews, how about lottery tickets? I can't remember how old they are but scratch offs could be fun.

And I need an idea for my daughter...she is a Junior in college pursuing a 6 year degree so we're half way thru. Next semester (Spring) she's headed to New Zealand for study abroad. One of her friends just did it this spring and suggested a Go-Pro camera and I was thinking a travel journal. Any other suggestions? I guess I could get her a cute Passport cover (like Vera Bradley or Lily Pulitzer). Getting harder as they are getting older!

I purchased genius pack luggage last month on good morning America 1/2 special. Love it. Awesome luggage check it out on Amazon then wait for next special

 

[NinaBella]

I got the first MunchPak... it was disappointing. We are cancelling immediately.

 

[Lisa Warner]

I got the first MunchPak... it was disappointing. We are cancelling immediately.

Good to know about the MunchPak. How did it differ from the Snackcrate you received?

 

[sk!mom]

What is the deal with "Simply Southern" shirts. I shop Bealls of Florida online (I don't live in the south) because they have cute flamingo stuff. I have seen those shirts listed under juniors, but when at WDW the only people I saw wearing them were ladies my age *cough* 40 *cough*. Are southern teens into them? I guess I am just thinking that the coolest things I had as a teen were clothes from stores that you couldn't fine in our area. Granted that was in the olden days that if the mall didn't have it, you didn't wear it.

Right now I only have one teen gift purchased but I have signed up for emails from some of these new sites. I am waiting to see what sales look like late Oct early Nov. That seemed to be the weeks I got the best deals last year. Way before Cyber Monday.

It's a pretty good bet that once you see the "moms" starting to wear it, the teens will no longer want it.

My neice14 loves her Ivory Ella. I think most of the "Southern" brands were big in the last few years when my DD21 was a teen but they seem to be losing a bit of favor in my area. Probably too common now. Once I saw Lauren James in Dillards rather than web only or boutique, I knew it was on the downhill slide with teens.

 

[NinaBella]

Good to know about the MunchPak. How did it differ from the Snackcrate you received?

So we have lived in Korea and know a lot about Korea. Although we know a lot about Korea, I really liked how SnackCrate packaged the items with a pamphlet that highlighted some facts about the country and some pictures of local historical landmarks. The pamphlet then listed the products in the mini box, original box, and premium box and drink upgrade. So there was a picture of the item and a description of each item. My kids looked at the description and decided what they wanted to eat from the box. The items were all items my kids like and were different from what we see at our local grocery store.

Muchpak had a postcard size thing with astronaut that just said "This munchpak was made with love" "just for you" Nick. On the back was some cheezy pictorial on who they did all the hard work for us and we saved 37 hours of research, 5 trips to the market, 22% off retail value and 1 headache. There was no notations on what countries the products represent although the Cow Tail would just represent a U.S. gas station I suppose.

I just googled all the products. I was just disappointed. I thought I would like a sample from around the world better than SnackCrate one country a month, but I was wrong. I would rather the package tell me the product details vs having to guess or google.

Products:

Cow Tail. U.S. Product
http://www.cowtales.com/

Fettuccine gummy suika soda aji bourbon
https://www.napajapan.com/products/fettuccine-gummy-candy-watermelon-soda?variant=35381856321

Bagel Chips
https://www.amazon.com/7Days-Bagel-...1508856050&sr=8-1&keywords=7+days+bagel+chips

Nestle coconut cream cookies. 4 cookies in pack. I just looked this up so I guess a latin product?
http://www.amigofoods.com/cocosette...sv0JcNhal07b59oL4o8ALZwmoyO9CzYgaAiNoEALw_wcB

Kathy Kaye glazed birthday cake popcorn. This company is based out of UT.
https://kathykayefoods.com/

Covered Bridge, Lobster Chips (packaged crushed). After looking up this company, it is a small company out of New Brunswick.
http://coveredbridgechips.com/en

Fini roller candy (sour fruit rollup)
https://www.amazon.com/Fini-Rollers-Flavors-Extra-Sour/dp/B01BZIABXG
Found this to be a U.S. company: https://www.candyindustry.com/direc...ide/listing/3940-fini-sweets-sanchez-cano-s-a

Japanese Mango candy
http://www.puchao.us/products/sticks/


Soft cream biscuit (bing translate says Czech), just a single pack.
https://www.amazon.com/Balconi-Snack-al-Latte-10/dp/B00MULS6CG
I used bing translate to put in some of the words on the package and it said Czech and it did look to be correct to me. The Amazon picture shows the package to say "product of Italy" so odd, it wasn't Italian words on our package (the back where ingredients are listed).


Korean Waffle biscuts. Kids were like we got a Korean Lotte product!
https://www.amazon.com/Lotte-Waffle-Mate-Multi/dp/B0724Z3F95

 

[NinaBella]

It's a pretty good bet that once you see the "moms" starting to wear it, the teens will no longer want it.

My neice14 loves her Ivory Ella. I think most of the "Southern" brands were big in the last few years when my DD21 was a teen but they seem to be losing a bit of favor in my area. Probably too common now. Once I saw Lauren James in Dillards rather than web only or boutique, I knew it was on the downhill slide with teens.

LOL. I have 4 Ivory Ella shirts I wear and i am 43. In high school, my World History teacher once said that once "JcPenny's starts carrying the latest trend in plus sizes, it's time to find a new trend". Funny, I remember a lot of things he said.

 

[dalmatian7]

So we have lived in Korea and know a lot about Korea. Although we know a lot about Korea, I really liked how SnackCrate packaged the items with a pamphlet that highlighted some facts about the country and some pictures of local historical landmarks. The pamphlet then listed the products in the mini box, original box, and premium box and drink upgrade. So there was a picture of the item and a description of each item. My kids looked at the description and decided what they wanted to eat from the box. The items were all items my kids like and were different from what we see at our local grocery store.

Muchpak had a postcard size thing with astronaut that just said "This munchpak was made with love" "just for you" Nick. On the back was some cheezy pictorial on who they did all the hard work for us and we saved 37 hours of research, 5 trips to the market, 22% off retail value and 1 headache. There was no notations on what countries the products represent although the Cow Tail would just represent a U.S. gas station I suppose.

I just googled all the products. I was just disappointed. I thought I would like a sample from around the world better than SnackCrate one country a month, but I was wrong. I would rather the package tell me the product details vs having to guess or google.

Products:

Cow Tail. U.S. Product
http://www.cowtales.com/

Fettuccine gummy suika soda aji bourbon
https://www.napajapan.com/products/fettuccine-gummy-candy-watermelon-soda?variant=35381856321

Bagel Chips
https://www.amazon.com/7Days-Bagel-...1508856050&sr=8-1&keywords=7+days+bagel+chips

Nestle coconut cream cookies. 4 cookies in pack. I just looked this up so I guess a latin product?
http://www.amigofoods.com/cocosette...sv0JcNhal07b59oL4o8ALZwmoyO9CzYgaAiNoEALw_wcB

Kathy Kaye glazed birthday cake popcorn. This company is based out of UT.
https://kathykayefoods.com/

Covered Bridge, Lobster Chips (packaged crushed). After looking up this company, it is a small company out of New Brunswick.
http://coveredbridgechips.com/en

Fini roller candy (sour fruit rollup)
https://www.amazon.com/Fini-Rollers-Flavors-Extra-Sour/dp/B01BZIABXG
Found this to be a U.S. company: https://www.candyindustry.com/direc...ide/listing/3940-fini-sweets-sanchez-cano-s-a

Japanese Mango candy
http://www.puchao.us/products/sticks/


Soft cream biscuit (bing translate says Czech), just a single pack.
https://www.amazon.com/Balconi-Snack-al-Latte-10/dp/B00MULS6CG


Korean Waffle biscuts. Kids were like we got a Korean Lotte product!
https://www.amazon.com/Lotte-Waffle-Mate-Multi/dp/B0724Z3F95

I really appreciate you research on these boxes. Right now I am planning on getting these for my two nephews age 12 and 11, and maybe their respective fathers depending on who I pull in the name exchange. I just like the idea of them getting something for a few months. I know my nephew 11 will like the included information. Please keep us updated.

 

[sk!mom]

LOL. I have 4 Ivory Ella shirts I wear and i am 43. In high school, my World History teacher once said that once "JcPenny's starts carrying the latest trend in plus sizes, it's time to find a new trend". Funny, I remember a lot of things he said.

Ha! Thanks for killing the overpriced Ivory Ella! I was responsible for spawning SnapChat when my generation ruined Facebook for our kids.

 

[emma'smom]

Thanks for this! Cute ideas for my niece 14. Also thanks for the fortune cookie website. I have also been introduced to Uniqlo from the Dis also.

What is the deal with "Simply Southern" shirts. I shop Bealls of Florida online (I don't live in the south) because they have cute flamingo stuff. I have seen those shirts listed under juniors, but when at WDW the only people I saw wearing them were ladies my age *cough* 40 *cough*. Are southern teens into them? I guess I am just thinking that the coolest things I had as a teen were clothes from stores that you couldn't fine in our area. Granted that was in the olden days that if the mall didn't have it, you didn't wear it.

Right now I only have one teen gift purchased but I have signed up for emails from some of these new sites. I am waiting to see what sales look like late Oct early Nov. That seemed to be the weeks I got the best deals last year. Way before Cyber Monday.

My dd15 likes Simply Southern (we live in Ohio)...it's a Hilton Head thing as far as she's concerned (and it's like a law that everyone who lives in Ohio vacations in Hilton Head). She also likes Vinyard Vines (which is Martha's Vinyard..but there stuff is pricey).

 

[baloo's girl]

Any good recommendations for DD18 college games? They love to play catan at school, humanity card game and I just got her the Voting CArd GAme. Any other suggestions for large groups for card games?

My kids love the game Ultimate Werewolf. Its a fun card game, good for a large crowd.

 

[100AcreWood]

I think I'm going to take my dd15 out shopping this year and let her pick out her gifts. There will be a few surprises but she is so picky on clothes and make up that I'm not sure I will find things she likes unless she picks them out. I don't want to spend days returning stuff after Christmas.

On a sad note, she planned a Halloween party for tonight and only two girls were able to make it. She invited two old friends and about a dozen friends from her high school and none of her new friends are coming. She is taking it pretty hard. They all had plans so we moved the date and they still have plans. I don't think it's anything she is doing but kids in our area don't seem to meet up as much as they did when I was a teenager.