Gifts for Teens

An eighteen year old packing for a dorm room and a thirteen year old who just started middle school have almost nothing in common, which is why teen is such a slippery word at a checkout. Five years of age gap reads like a whole generation.

Each age has its own tells. Thirteen and fourteen year olds are still working out what they are into, so something that lets them try a hobby beats something that assumes they already have one. By sixteen the interests are real and specific, whether that is the car, the gym or a game they have stuck with for two years. Seventeen and eighteen tilt practical, because graduation and a first dorm room are close enough to shop for.

Boys and girls the same age rarely want the same thing, and every one of them can spot an out of touch present in a second. Trend driven picks age fast, so the steadier bet is something that supports what they already do rather than something meant to give them a new interest. Easter baskets for teenagers follow the same rule: less candy, more small things they will genuinely use.