Holiday Gift Guide for Tweens and Teens 2009 » Featured

Lunchbox Love for Teens & Tweens

Elizabeth — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:34:00 +0000

Say Please believes words are important, especially positive words. The tween and teen years can be difficult, and Lunchbox Love cards from Say Please make it easy to tell your child you are sorry, tell them how much you care about them, share love and encouragement. I’m especially thrilled to find their Lunchbox Love for Teens & Tweens set, with 12 credit-card sized cards in a slim plastic case.

Each card has a thoughtful message on the front like “I’m sorry I was so cranky. I love you!”, and an inspirational quote on the back like “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity”-Albert Einstein. The cards are packaged in a slim plastic case that’s easy to keep in your purse or car glovebox for those times when you want them to know how you feel. Slip one in a backpack or lunch bag for a boost of positive feelings any time. See the complete collection at www.sayplease.com. Price: $3.99

What’s Tappening? Water Bottles

Elizabeth — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:39:47 +0000

Eric Yaverbaum and Mark DiMassimo had an idea-start a campaign and website to educate people about the environmental impact of bottled water. They called it Tappening, and to finance the campaign, they created a line of BPA-free, reusable water bottles. Their first production run of 39,000 reusable bottles sold out in 36 hours after they launched their website! If your tween and/or teen is concerned about the environment and likes to carry a water bottle like mine do, here’s why you should include a Tappening water bottle in their holiday gifts:

# The 100% BPA-free plastic bottles are available in green or in blue. The Green bottle says “Think Global, Drink Local”; the Blue bottle says “What’s Tappening?” ( $14.95 plus $3 s&h).
# The stainless steel bottles are available in Silver, Blue, Gold and Red ($18.95 plus $3 s&h).
# ABCs ‘Good Morning America’ cited the Tappening bottle as being “one of the hottest products of the year,” calling it a “hip new reusable water bottle.”
# Trend Central’s Jane Buckingham said “The water bottle gives customers a simple way to do good, as well as a conduit to broadcast their beliefs.”

Purchase Tappening bottles from the Shop page at Tappening.com.

Tooks Hats With HeadPhones

Elizabeth — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:33:29 +0000

Combine a warm winter cap with a built-in pair of headphones and you’ve got the perfect winter accessory for tweens and teens! Tooks Hats combine stylish designs in a variety of colors and patterns with a pair of headphones attached on the inside with Velcro. The cord runs out a small hole in the back and then plugs into a standard MP3 player. Perfect for winter sports as well as for kids like mine who listen to their MP3 players while walking to and riding on the school bus. Tooks Hats come in beanie, visor, and bomber styles as well as in a sport headband. There are colors to suit both men and women, including a camouflage hat whose purchase benefits military families. Price: $19.99-$29.99

Blurt! Board Game

Elizabeth — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:13:36 +0000

Blurt! would make a great gift for a tween or to give as a family gift! In this fast-paced game of word recall, players take turns rolling a die and reading the definition to a word from a card (for example, what word means “a partially dried grape?”) All players blurt out their word guesses, the first player to blurt out the correct answer moves ahead on the board. The first player to circle the game board wins! Blurt is a great vocabulary builder for kids, a hilarious addition to adult parties, and a must for family game night. Comes with 300 cards containing 1800 clues, jumbo Blurt game board, 6 game pieces, die, and guide. Price (on Amazon.com):$20.95

You’ve Been Sentenced!

Elizabeth — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:52:21 +0000

You’ve Been Sentenced! by McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds is the first game to take cards with words on them and turn it into a funny, challenging game for players of all ages! Using a deck of pentagon-shaped cards with conjugations of words, famous names, familiar places, and wild cards, players race to form real sentences from the words and them read them out loud. The other players vote on whether or not the sentence makes sense! 540 cards with over 2,500 words insure billions of possible sentences so the game is never repetitive and can be played over and over.

The McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds website has printable rules for the game as well as variations for more ways to play, and also downloads for teachers to use with grades 6-12. The game comes with the starter card deck, and additional decks are available in categories like Sports, Sci Fi and Fantasy, and Pop Culture. It’s an affordable gift choice for tweens, teens, and entire families!
Price: $24.95

Silent Gypsy Jewelry

Elizabeth — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:44:26 +0000

Silent Gypsy sells beautiful and unique necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings at affordable prices. Mainly sterling silver pieces with some gold-and copper toned brass as well as stainless steel. I like this Compass Charm to help remind a tween or teen to stay on course so they will “never get lost”. Prices range from $10.00 to $32.00. Compass Charm, gold-tone, measures 1″x1″. hangs on 18″ or 28″ silver-tone chain. $32.00.

LittleMissMatched PJs, Socks, Leg Warmers and More

Elizabeth — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 21:37:06 +0000

I am totally smitten with LittleMissMatched, a line of clothing and accessories designed specifically for tween and teen girls! LittleMissMatched is famous for selling socks that don’t match in odd numbers to inspire girls to express their creativity and individuality. Now they’ve expanded into everything from books to bedding, pj’s to pencil pouches and flip flops to furniture.

LittleMissMatched sent me a pajama set for Kaitlyn and a set of three socks. She looks adorable in the purple and green pjs! And I love the socks because a.) Kaitlyn doesn’t mind that they don’t match and b.) when one get lost in the wash as it invariably will, the other two still “go” together. The prices are great too- right now, Pajama tops are $9.00-$10.00, Pajama pants are half-off and only $12.50! A set of 3 single socks is $18.00. If your daughter loves to express her individuality, her creativity, she is sure to love LittleMissMatched! Check the “Women’s” sizes for sizes to fit tween and teen girls, “Girls” sizes to fit preschooler/kindergarteners.

Nail and Lip Gifts for Girls

Elizabeth — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:23:43 +0000

* CND’s Colour & Effects is a recently released luxe polish line consisting of 50 luscious crème Colours and 15 dazzling Effects. The collection features a brand new colour concept, and state of the art packaging. Girls will love being able to coordinate their nails with their outfits, and with such a broad collection of colors, it will be easy to do so! Colour & Effects range from soft neutrals and pinks for younger girls to edgier darks for older girls. All of her friends will be jealous of her fabulous nails! Find CND’s Colour & Effects polishes at better salons and spas, locate a salon here.

* PeaceKeeper’s Perfect As Is Lip Balm is a lip treatment that contains 75% organic ingredients such as palm oil, extra virgin olive oil, jojoba oil and coconut oil for maximum moisture. The balm provides a sheer pink tint, which is perfect for girls of all ages! Girls can keep their lips moisturized and looking great for playdates or hangouts with friends. All profits from PeaceKeeper Cause-Metics after profits go to women’s health advocacy groups – so mothers and daughters can feel good about giving and using the Perfect As Is Lip Balm. Buy it on the site for $7.00.

Artistic Sensations Room Decor

Elizabeth — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:43:29 +0000

For the tween or teen who would love new bedding, furniture, or room art for Christmas, Artistic Sensations offers unique, one-stop shopping for creating your tween’s dream room. Founded by Kim Gellman, stay-at-home Mom of two, Artistic Sensations was born to fulfill the needs of all those parents who desire unique, customized, high quality furniture, bedding, accessories, and more. Check out the Gifts Under $50.00 page for items like personalized laptop pillows, bookends, and pretty picture frames. If you have a little more to spend, I love these Mitt Chairs that are shaped and covered to look like knit gloves, priced on sale at $169.99. You’re sure to find something your tween (or teen!) will love.

Oceana’s Adopt A Creature Program

Elizabeth — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:50:07 +0000

For the Animal-Lover: Adopt a penguin, polar bear, dolphin, shark, octopus, or sea turtle through Oceana’s Adopt A Creature Program and receive a special cookie cutter in the shape of that animal, plus a personalized adoption certificate. Your donation will help Oceana’s teams of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates who are fighting to reduce overfishing, seafood contamination and habitat destruction. Or, choose a plush Hammerhead shark, killer whale, seal, or dolphin to adopt and get a plush stuffed animal as well as a personalized adoption certificate. Basic cookie cutter set, $35.00. Basic plush set, $50.00.