TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - This week's "Teen Talk" is focused on advice for parents when trying to get teenagers excited about the holidays.
WTXL contributor and family therapist Jane Marks:
Holidays and teens can be very challenging. Typically what we want to find are experiences that can excite, engage imagination and participation in the holiday experience. It is tremendously fulfilling and rewarding for teens to give to organizations or causes that make a difference in this world. You know we have talked historically about giving so again that is always one of my holiday favorites, giving to those who are certainly less fortunate.
1. Teens who are able to get two week holiday jobs where no experience is necessary, sometimes operating as a Girl Friday or Guy Friday for older residents of the neighborhood, helping with organization, etc., with or without pay.
2. PAYM and Paypal. You can impress your technology savvy teens and adults by giving them a cash gift via PAYM. This is a mobile payment service launched last April. Customers of most banks can register their mobile phone numbers and money goes directly to their accounts. Paypal, you can now use that to send money person to person. Now for the real tech savvy kids, digital gifting apps and mobile phone apps such as GiftCloud allow users to buy digital gift cards from some of the United States retail giants as well as some of the UK retail giants. It is an interesting way of giving.
3. Another fabulous idea is a lifetime hunting license which is around $500 for kids under sixteen. You get hunting and fishing license, saltwater and fresh water, unlimited. It's a wonderful gift alternative. I wish I could say it was my suggestion but it was actually one of my patients, and what this parent did was to split the cost with his son and this is a gift that continues to give on and on.
4. Books that talk about life lessons. 45 Life Lessons written by a 90 year old. Or alternatively, a journal where the two of you can create an experience of life lessons that you are taught during the course of the year.
5. Other gift options would be a Netflix subscription, goofy Star Wars shirts, temporary hair dye, the coolest socks you can find. Instead of getting gold fish how about an inflatable remote control aircraft from Shark Nato.
6. An unusual gift for a young teen would be an electric foot massager. So many of our teens are now athletes and are seriously on their feet and working at the same time. Many of these foot massagers massage feet and provides a time for them to remain focused and sitting still anmd typically they cannot do this on their own so enjoy the relaxation of a foot massage with a CD of their favorite tunes is a wonderful and remarkable alternative gift.
7. Unusual gifts would be a Selfie Stick. There are no more wayward arms ruining those important selfies with this nifty device that costs approximately $7.99. An array of natural products for both your guys and girls. More and more teenagers are sensitive to becoming more green or chemical free. A few options would be like olive oil, or Argon oil.
8. Give the gift of music lessons to spark creativity. Other ways to nurture creativity include cooking classes, art classes, jewelry making, swing dance. Garden tools or household tools also make a creative gift.
9. Personalized gifts would include taking an old drawing or story and having it re-painted or re-customized as a toy or framed and bound as a book. Other personalized gifts include personalized Nutella through SelfBridges.com, family tree necklaces through Etsy or other creative ideas on Pinterest.
10. In this tech obsessed teenage era, there are gifts out there that do not require wifi or outlets and can be exclusively for teens. In our own community we have Sparkle by Madison and Chameleon or Kevin's Sporting Goods. All locally owned businesses that nurture community support of locally owned businesses.
Hopefully these ideas will add sizzle to your current teenage Christmas list.
Watch Teen Talk every other Monday at 6:30am on WTXL's Sunrise.
