Holiday Gift Guide for Tweens and Teens 2009 » under $25.00

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.

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

Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Adventure

Elizabeth — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:12:51 +0000

Crocodile Tears: An Alex Rider Novel (#8) feels ripped from the headlines, with a charity broker con artist raising millions of dollars in donations, only to invest them in a form of genetically modified wheat that has the power to release an airborne strain of virus so powerful, it can knock out an entire country in one windy day – a catastrophe so far-reaching that it would raise millions of dollars more in charitable donations, all of which would be embezzled by one man. The antidote? Alex Rider, of course, who survives gunfire, explosions, and hand-to-combat with mercenaries – just another day in the life of an average teen super-spy kid.

The Alex Rider Adventures by Anthony Horowitz have already spent over a year on the New York Times best seller list and sold 12 million copies in English alone, with sales of over 5 million in the US. This past July, Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times included the Alex Rider Adventures on his “The Best Kids’ Books Ever” list. List price is $17.99, but get it through this Amazon link for only $9.71 plus shipping!

Herculittles-The Tiny Little Magnet with the Herculean Hold

Elizabeth — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:07:26 +0000

Why are Herculittles a great stocking stuffer gift for teens? Because they are the perfect way for teens to display photos or reminders on the inside of their locker door, or to hang up artwork or a paper with a terrific grade on the refrigerator at home. Herculittles are tiny yet mighty-each one is strong enough to hold 10-12 sheets of paper. They come in four different shapes and are affordably priced at $7.99 for a box of 8. Get some for yourself to use at home, at the office, or for a perfect teacher gift! Shop online at www.herculittles.com.

Myzos Collector Bracelets

Elizabeth — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:15:37 +0000

Two years ago Savanna Sterling (then went to her mother with an idea for a bracelet that she had created in her bedroom. Realizing her daughter was onto something, mother Caryn told her daughter to go back to being a kid but took on the work of proving to her daughter that with hard work and determination, you can make anything happen. Since then Caryn has successfully created a line of MYZOS (mymyzos.com), sold in the trendiest boutiques and worn/traded by Hollywood’s most famous kids, tweens and teens. On August 22nd, Caryn celebrated the launch of MYZOS featuring our favorite Disney characters from Disney Fairies, High School Musical 3, Hannah Montana and Muppets. The theme: Celebrating the creativity of children and determination of their moms.

The event, hosted by celebrity mom Alison Sweeney (The Biggest Losers) and BFFs Noah Cyrus (Hannah Montana) and Emily Grace Reaves (Hannah Montana: The Movie), brought out celebrities including Lionel Richie (with his daughter Sophia), Twilight star Boo Boo Stewart (with sister Fivel), Denise Richards (with her 2 girls), Brittany Curran, Kathryn Newton (Gary Unmarried), Ryan Newman, Daniel Samonas and many more. Their favorite MYZOS varied from Animal to Tinkerbell to Kermit. Myzos Bracelets are $12.00 on MyMyzos.com.

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.

LanoLip Illuminated Gloss

Elizabeth — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:04:01 +0000

This is a terrific stocking stuffer idea for teen girls! LanoLip combines healing lip balm and protective gloss with a tube that has an LED light in it, making it easy to apply anywhere! The tube is shaped like a rectangle and one long side is a mirror. Available in dreamy, Brown Frost, a delicious Wine Berry, and a flirty, Pouty Pink. Priced at $14.99. Get one for yourself, too! Lano also makes a healing, flavored colorless lip balm for $6.99 each or 3 for $19.99 in flavors like Strawberry and Dreamsicle (also great for stocking stuffers!).

25 Random Things About Me

Elizabeth — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:10:07 +0000

When people play the 25 Random Things About Me game, they discover new details about their family and friends….and some things may surprise them! During game play, players try to match fun facts (or “random things”) on the game cards with their opponents by guessing “yes” or “no” to the cards read aloud. Make a match and then add a new, totally random thing about yourself to your list on the provided notepad. The first person to complete a list of 25 random things about themselves wins, but everyone is richer for the experience. At the end of the game, players are encouraged to share their created lists, further getting to know interesting tidbits about one another. Suggested Retail Price: Ages: 13+; Players: 2-6; $16.95