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Teenagers can be hard to buy for at Christmas (Image: Getty)
Buying for teenagers at Christmas time can be tricky business. Some may come with a very specific list that you deviate from at your own peril.
Others, when asked what they want to see under the tree on December 25, may shrug and say ‘I don’t know’, which is so helpful. And even if they do know, you might want to leave a few surprises to bring back some of the magic from when they were younger and less grumpy. With a teenager and teenage nieces and nephews to buy for, I have managed to scrape together a list of some of the best suggestions for our little darlings this year.
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The new Bobbie Goods and Ohuhu markers co-branded set (Image: Bobbie Goods and Ohuhu)
Ohuhu Alcohol Markers – buy them here
If your teen is arty and has TikTok, chances are they will have seen the new colouring trend.
Colouring books like Bobbie Goods and Coco Wyo are a great starting place for anyone wanting to try out the wholesome activity, and a must is the alcohol markers and there is one brand that is most coveted by the community – Ohuhu.
The Ohuhu alcohol markers are available in many colours, tones, and quantities, and they say they “are perfect to use as a first foray into art to get creativity flowing, to better mental health or just for fun”.
They are different to water-based markers as they do not leave streaks and blend better for a smoother effect. And there is also a limited edition Honolulu B 48-Colour Set that is co-branded with Bobbie Goods for £44. They are pricey, but these are the ones all over social media right now.
Hotel Chocolat’s new Velvetiser that also does cold brewed chocolate (Image: Rebecca Koncienzcy)
Hotel Chocolat’s Velvetiser – buy it here
My teenager loves the Velvetiser. The latest version allows you to make both hot and cold drinks filled with chocolatey goodness.
All you do is add your milk of choice, then the chocolate flakes, put the lid on and turn the dial. And in less than five minutes, you have a delicious hot chocolate.
Hotel Chocolat have a wide variety of flavours, our favourites are the classic milk chocolate and the orange hot chocolate.
But, you can also use other brands in the Velvetiser, we recommend the Cadbury’s as a good substitute, but the specially crafted Hotel Chocolat sachets are the best.
My teen loves this so much, we had to take it on holiday with us (twice!). And the bonus is, it’s a gift you can all share.
Read my full review here and you can get the Velvetiser for £145.95. It comes in three colours, pebble, pewter and chalk, and all are shipped with a ‘podcup’ and ‘podglass’ and 10 drinking chocolate sachets.
YouTube is perhaps the other streaming service you don’t yet pay for (Image: Getty)
A YouTube subscription – Get it here
So you may have subscriptions to everything from Netflix and Disney Plus to Now TV and Prime, but your teen is probably on YouTube anyway.
If your child is watching videos of people playing video games, it might be time to consider getting them a subscription so they can watch ad-free.
YouTube Premium starts at £12.99 per month, and you can cancel at any time. It allows your teenager to watch videos uninterrupted, although ads still appear on music content, ‘Shorts’ and when they search or browse in the Premium Lite package at £7.99.
They can also watch offline by downloading videos to watch later, they can play YouTube in the background while switching tabs or using other apps, and give them access to YouTube Music app with no ads. These are not included in the Premium Lite package.
You can also get a family package for £19.99 a month and allows up to five members. Read all the details here.
Buying tickets for a show, trip or experience is a great way to spread joy over Christmas (Image: Getty)
A ‘Golden Ticket’
If your teen hasn’t asked for anything in particular and you have a slightly bigger budget, we have something we call a ‘Golden Ticket’. This is a gift of a day trip, holiday or experience that you can do at some point over the next year.
We love these gifts in our house, as they often mean the whole family can enjoy them too. Last year, we gifted our teenager a trip to the Alnwick Poison Gardens, and it was incredible. Now our five-year-old wants a ‘Golden Ticket’ under the tree this year.
It also means you can sprinkle the magic of Christmas throughout the year, and often, you don’t have to pay for the trip right away, so you can leave it till after December and spread the cost.
For the gift under the tree, I like to make my own fake ticket for the event and place it in a cute gift box so they still feel like they are opening something.
