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Issue Date: December 2, 2007
Dream gifts for teens
Today's parents have their work cut out for them when it comes to gift-giving. Here's what you need to know from top trend forecaster Jane Buckingham.
Actress Amanda Bynes shares the traditions of her interfaith holidays. Plus, enter to win her clothing line!
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Sure, you expected parenting to be harder for you than it was for your parents. You assumed you'd have more to deal with when it came to sex, drugs -- even paying for a college education. But you probably didn't think you'd be getting early gray hairs when it came to holiday shopping. The worst our parents had to deal with was where to store the bike so that we wouldn't see it. These days, shopping for a teenager for the holidays is enough to drive the elves to the spiked egg nog.
The biggest challenge is that today's teens know everything! They scan not only the mall, but also every Internet site, podcast and blog to see what's hot. They're just not as easy to impress.
I'm the president of the Intelligence Group, one of the leading trend forecasting and research companies. We conduct hundreds of focus groups all year on behalf of Fortune 500 companies to uncover what kids really think and feel. And when it comes to the holidays, they are certainly not shy about telling us what they're eyeing.
Teen holiday wish lists, we've learned, have gotten a lot longer and more specific. It used to be that you could wow your teen with a new Discman under the tree, but today's youths are hoping for far-pricier items and luxury brands. Who can blame them when TV shows like "My Super Sweet 16" and "The Hills" present the fabulous life as if it were easily attainable? So whether it's a Prada purse or a Cadillac Escalade, teens are dreaming big.
Today's teen is sophisticated and genuinely believes that his parents couldn't possibly know where to buy something cool
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Perhaps the most challenging part may be that what your teens really want probably isn't what you want to give them. You may want to give your son something sporty or your daughter something sentimental, but what many of them secretly hope for is cold hard cash. According to a recent Intelligence Group poll conducted in conjunction with OTX and eCrush among 13- to 17-year-olds, 39% say they'd like to receive money this holiday season. And it's not because they want to pay off their cellphone bill or save it for a big-ticket item. Today's teen is sophisticated and genuinely believes that his parents couldn't possibly know where to buy something cool or wouldn't shell out the bucks for it. Of course, most parents we speak to feel just a little uncomfortable doling out the Benjamins in envelopes instead of giving gifts.
Our inclination is to blame the kids for all of the holiday hysteria, but it's also Mom and Dad who may be causing some of the problems. Just as gift-giving has changed, so has parenting. Today's parents are notorious for wanting (with best intentions) to do right by their children, but they often overdo it in the process. Parents give children medals at soccer just for showing up; they write college applications lest their teen fail to get into the best possible college. Many approach gift-giving with the same zeal, trying to buy Junior just the right present that not only will sum up their love but also express how hip they are for knowing what to buy.
So, how do you solve the holiday madness? Here are a few tips:
Don't give teens gifts you think they "need."
What do teens secretly dream about receiving? Cold hard cash!
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Save those purchases for your quality time together at Target. Teens don't want to get socks under the tree. When they think about the holidays, it's a "Must-Have Moment." If you're looking to impress, think about one big gift vs. a lot of little ones. Computers, cellphones, video games and digital cameras top the list.
Don't use the holidays as a time to correct your child's behavior. Your teen probably isn't going to stop her incessant IM'ing just because you bought her a set of Jane Austen books. If you don't want to cave and get her the latest gadget (which is what she really wants), then at least get her one of the recent best sellers on the new language of technology and Web acronyms so she knows you're thinking about what matters to her. She may even read it!
Don't overlook their wardrobe. Teens actually want to get clothes -- they just don't want the ones you knitted for them by the fire or something from the same stores that you shop in. Their favorite retailers are Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and American Eagle. Trust me, your teen can probably recite the store's return policy better than his geometry lesson, so if he doesn't like your selection, he'll exchange it for something else.
Their favorite retailers are Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and American Eagle.
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But the best advice I can offer is to talk to your teens before the holidays so you don't feel unprepared and they don't wind up disappointed. Although they may wish it, they know money doesn't grow on trees and therefore will be reasonable in their expectations. At the end of the day, the holidays are about being together with family, and if you really listen to their needs, even your teen probably will understand you're doing your best.
Amanda's Perfect Holiday
Who needs elves? Actress Amanda Bynes can make her own gifts.
By Frappa Stout
Amanda Bynes has a hidden talent that helps get her through the holidays.
"In my family, we make a lot of our gifts," says the Nickelodeon-bred actress and star of this year's "Sydney White" and the hit "Hairspray." "I like to draw, so I'll decorate a plate, or I'll do an oil painting. It just means more when you make a gift from scratch."
Bynes is the ideal cover girl for our annual issue, not only because she has gift-giving down to an art, but the 21-year-old also knows what youth culture craves: cool stuff at discount prices. That's the idea behind her latest venture, Dear by Amanda Bynes, a popular fashion line for teen girls at Steve & Barry's. The apparel chain, also home to Sarah Jessica Parker's Bitten, promises no price tag above $20. "It's nice because it makes 'affordable chic,' " says Bynes, who meets with designers several times a month.
Since its August launch, Dear has become the chain's fastest-selling line. The new winter collection reflects the young starlet's personal sense of style, including cozy pajama sets, plaid dresses and faux-fur-lined hoodies. "We were looking for somebody who appealed to [a younger demographic], who was an All-American girl," Steve & Barry's president, Andy Todd, says. "No. 1 on our list was Amanda. She's so successful and such a good role model."
Growing up the youngest of three in Ventura County, Calif., Bynes used to design her own clothes with patterns and materials that she handpicked. At 8, she took sewing classes at a local fabric store. "I come from an artistic family," she says, "and I was always the person drawing on the paper tablecloth at restaurants." Her dad, a one-time shop teacher, carved a display cabinet for her Beanie Babies. Her mom sewed outfits (even underwear!) for Bynes' Barbies; today, she makes stained glass.
The family celebrates both Christmas and Hanukkah, which Bynes admits can make things kind of confusing. "We go to temple and church," she says. Since moving in with Bynes' Jewish grandmother, they haven't had a Christmas tree. "[In the past] when we got one," she says, "we called it a 'Hanukkah bush,' and I would decorate it."
It's usually Bynes' job to set the mood. Each year, she decorates the house with scented candles (she likes cinnamon and gingerbread) and her Marvin the Martian ornaments. She also jazzes up her own wrapping paper by drawing holly or little bows with bright markers, and she and her sister, Jillian, create their own Christmas cards.
Her all-time fave gift, she says, is a stained-glass clock, made by her mom, that still hangs in her bedroom.
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Her all-time fave gift, she says, is a stained-glass clock, made by her mom, that still hangs in her bedroom: "Everyone comments on it." She also loved it when, at 17, her best friend, Leslie, gave her a Louis Vuitton makeup bag ("My first!") and filled it with cosmetics, including Bliss body scrub and Lancome's Juicy Tubes lip gloss. Bynes often follows suit and buys the women in her life "things I would love myself."
This year, the Byneses are planning to gather together for a big holiday meal in Texas, where her brother, Tommy, lives with his family. As usual, Bynes will bake her famous pumpkin chocolate-chip cookies.
"Instead of flour, you use pumpkin from a can," she says. "They are so good!"
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OFFICIAL RULES
1. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR TO WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR ODDS OF WINNING. ALL FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS APPLY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.
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Sponsor will not be responsible for incomplete, lost, late, misdirected or illegible entries or for failure to receive entries due to transmission failures or technical failures of any kind, including, without limitation, malfunctioning of any network, hardware or software, whether originating with sender or Sponsor. In the event of a dispute, all online entries will be deemed to have been submitted by the owner of the ISP account from which they were sent. For these purposes, an ISP account holder shall mean the natural person assigned to such ISP account by the Internet access provider, online service provider or other organization responsible for assigning ISP addresses for the domain associated with such ISP account. All entries become property of Sponsor and none will be returned. Any questions regarding the number of entries submitted or the owner of an ISP account shall be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, and Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entries by persons determined to be tampering with or abusing any aspect of the Sweepstakes.
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9. Sponsor. The dear by Amanda Bynes Giveaway is sponsored by USA WEEKEND Magazine. The decisions of Sponsor regarding the selection of winners and all other aspects of the Sweepstakes shall be final and binding in all respects. Sponsor will not be responsible for typographical, printing or other inadvertent errors in these Official Rules or in other materials relating to the Sweepstakes. For a list of winners (available after January 3, 2008) or a copy of these Official Rules, visit www.usaweekend.com or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Winners List/Official Rules (as applicable), dear by Amanda Bynes Giveaway, c/o USA WEEKEND, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, VA 22107. If you have any questions regarding this Sweepstakes, please contact Troy Artis at 703-854-4515.
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