Older teens: Just send a (gift) card
The best-loved gifts for older teens are worth their weight in gold. At least, we hope they are, since they cost about as much.
By SHARON GINN
Published December 12, 2005
Does it seem like every year the items on your Christmas list get more expensive?
Older teens may not have the longest lists, but they are coveting - and sometimes getting - some of the hottest and priciest personal tech items available. From laptops to iPods to super-thin cell phones, kids this year are more wired than ever.
Xpress took three members of the Times X-Team to International Plaza in Tampa, the local shrine to consumerism that carries pretty much anything a teen (or adult!) could want, at least when it comes to fashion and gadgets.
Allie Eiland, 16, Amanda Machado, 17, and Evie Gross, 15, scoured the mall for this year's best gift ideas. They looked at the pie-in-the-sky gift items and more realistic ones. Here's what they liked.
THE ULTIMATE: First stop was the Apple Store, and not for computers. The only thing holding these kids' attention was the iPods.
Ranging from the relatively low-tech Shuffle (starts at $99) to the eye-popping 60 GB ($399), these MP3 players seem to be on every teen's list. The most popular might be the Nano (starts at $199), which is tiny but has a screen that's easy to read. The 60 GB, which holds not just songs and pictures but 150 hours of video, is amazing but probably unattainable, the girls agreed.
"It's expensive," Amanda said, "so I don't think you want to ask for it."
Added Evie: "I prefer the Nano since it's so small."
To protect the little investment - and make it easier to find if you drop it somewhere - Apple offers colorful protective covers that are both hard ("Tubes," $29 for five) and soft ("Socks," $29 for five). Across the mall at Coach, the luxury leather store has colorful and embellished iPod covers that retail from $48 to $88.
MORE GADGETS: At Radio Shack, our panel discussed their ideal cell phone: One that takes decent pictures and is easy to use for text messaging. And digital cameras? They should always be small so that they can go anywhere.
Our panel was quick to point out the variety of portable folding speakers for iPods and other MP3 players. Depending on whether the speakers are for personal use or for a party, you can spend as little as $20 for a set or more than $100.
MAKEUP: The girls headed to favorite spot Sephora, which offers a huge range of different cosmetics lines, from Stila ("girly," said Allie) to the more natural look of Bare Escentuals. Our shoppers gravitated to the sparkly and hot pink bottle for Britney Spears' new fragrance Fantasy, ($45) and gave the scent their approval. More thumbs up went to Sephora's professional brushes and the lip-plumping glosses from Jessica Simpson's Dessert line ($12-$32).
FASHION: Our panel doesn't make it into department stores much. On the higher end, they prefer to shop at Hollister Co., Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle and Fossil.
Fossil, once known for men's watches, in particular won raves for its cool shirts, trendy purses and glittery flats, all in fairly subdued colors.
For some of the same looks for less money, they often head to Forever 21, which our panel said offers great accessories and a variety of styles and colors at fairly inexpensive prices.
The girls enjoyed plowing through the jam-packed racks of clothes, but noted that some of it was over the top. Allie frowned at two drinking-related T-shirts ("One more for the road," and "Drink first, ask questions later.") "You wonder why there's such a teen drinking problem, and then look at this," she said.
THE BEST BOX is the smallest, they say. Mostly they want gift cards. "Definitely," Evie said.
So should parents even try to buy them clothes from their favorite stores?
"Absolutely not," Evie said.