Christmas for Teen/preteen

I have about the same as you. My daughter 13 loves her IPOD and my son (11) is on his WII all the time. I'm very interested in the response you get. My daughter likes to read too, she asked for a couple of books. She also likes SIMS, she's on the computer a lot with that. My son likes sports and outdoor stuff. He loves to go rock climbing. I just think things are so expensive, you want to give them a few gifts and you are at $500 and it seems like you haven't gotten them anything. I'm on a budget so they get one big item and the rest are little things.

Redecorating your daughters bedroom or bathroom to something she would really like. I am redecorating my daughters bathroom in leopard print for Christmas. Or if your daughter is one who likes lotions. Get the bath-n-body travel size so you can get different kinds. Put them in a little basket to decorate with tissue paper an a little candle. You can do them cheap get the basket, candle etc. from a dollar store. The lotions are the best part of the gift. Or you can buy new bras/lingerie what ever your kid needs. My daughter likes it alot of name brand clothes I don't like spending money on. Too expensive but I always find things on the clearance racks in the stores she likes. So she still gets things she likes or I find things on sale. Make up is also something teens can use. Costume jewelry is a nice thing alot of girls like. If your daughter is into jewelry that can be a good gift.

Now for your son headphones with cd player or new cd's or maybe a bike if he needs one. DVD's could also be things or if your kid still plays with cars. A remote control car would be fun, what sport does your son like football, basketball, baseball theres several. Does he have a ball for it? If not get him one. Or fishing rod if he likes to fish, skate board. Good luck with you kids on Christmas.

My nephew is 12. Last year, I gave him those Cube World things. I'm not sure what they are, but he was asking for them. He also likes those big Lego things where you build space ships and stuff. He also like the K'Nex sets where you build amusement park rides.

I'm not sure it's in your budget, but last year, we got the family Six Flags season passes and we've LOVED it! It was around $340-350 for all four of us (including the parking pass), and we've gotten a lot of use out of it. We went a lot this summer and have gone every once in a while on the weekend. We'll go when it opens and leave a couple hours later and don't spend a dime while we're there. Our first trip, we got the big souvenir cup for like $10 which you can get soda refills for $.99 for the whole season, but we just ask for a refill of water and it's free. Anyway, it was money well spent I think, and you have kids that are prime ages for that place!

i'm not sure about your son but for your daughter maybe she would like a nice(er) piece of jewelry. it doesnt have to be extravagant but something like a pair of real diamond earrings (small ones of course) or even a silver charm bracelet (my mom got me one, & it had a few charms on it & then every year i got a new charm) or a silver ring. or if she already has jewelry maybe a nice jewelry case. you know something that will make her feel "more grownup" i know i loved stuff like this.

My daughter will be 14 in December. We have Christmas and birthday within 2 days of each other.

We got a Wii right after they came out a year or so ago and it is a HUGE hit with her and her friends. We added Guitar Hero with 2 guitars and they have a blast.

We plan to get the Wii Fit for 1 of her gifts.

Wii's can still be hard to find but I saw 3 at Blockbuster yesterday with all the accessories (golf club, boxing remote, steering wheel, etc)

About 2 yrs ago, we bought her a very nice pendant and gemstone ring. We upgraded those this past summer to larger pieces and she goes no where without her necklace and ring. She did choose the pieces herself so she could get what she loved.

We gave her a Coach purse a couple yrs ago that she still uses. She has 3 of them now in assorted sizes. The girls her age love Coach, Ed Hardy, Juicy, etc

Another favorite os hers is gift cards and/or $$$ She loves to shop!

Melanie's daughter sounds a lot like mine. Mine loves the SIMS as well for her laptop as well as the Wii.

Also, the series of books by S. Meyer beginning with Twilight (movie comes out in Nov) are a huge hit with the readers in middle school. My daughter and most of her friends have read them all and LOVE them. I have never seen my daughter be so "into" a book. As she finishes the books, I read them and they are good.

I was talking to someone the other day who was planning to give her kids movie baskets. We were planning one for a silent auction and she said she thought her kids would really enjoy it. They have some large baskets in the craft area at wal-mart and we are putting in movies, gift cards for renting movies, candy, popcorn, popcorn containers from party city. This could be more geared toward your child by choosing your childs favorite movies and candy even sodas. I thought it was something kind of different!