As the Aunt of a teenager, I’ve struggled with this question the last few years trying to find an appropriate gift for my nephew. I have spoken to my sister to see what he wants, the most common answer that I hear is money. Then he can spend it on things that he truly wants, be it clothes, electronics, music, etc.
If you don’t want to give cash, gift cards are a viable option, for the music store, electronics store, department store cards even. I know that this year, my nephew just turned 17, so he is all about bigger gifts. I know that he wants to get parts for his bike that was stolen and partial retrieved. But upon asking my sister what he wants, he informed her that he felt left out on Christmas because he got a card with money and no real gifts to open.
So this year, he will be getting money from us to put towards those endeavors. But along with it, he will be getting a few kitchy, but useful gifts from us as well. Money is not as personal as giving an actual, tangible item, but it does give the child what he truly wants because he will be able to pick and choose for himself.
Honestly, do adults have any idea what teenagers are into? No matter how in tune with them we may seem, it’s too hard to figure out what they really want, because they can tell us one thing and in the end, they prefer just the opposite.
