Brilliant Christmas Presents for Teenagers in 2023

Every year it gets more and more difficult for parents to figure out what to give their teenagers for Christmas. Unless they want something very specific like the latest smartphone or gaming console it can be really hard to come up with ideas for teenage Christmas gifts. So this year I’ve asked my followers what they’re giving their own teens for Christmas and together we’ve come up with this brilliant list. Read on for Christmas 2021 inspiration!

Christmas present ideas for teenagers in 2023

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Gifts for older teens

A laptop

Teenagers who have just started college, 6th form or University are usually asked to bring their own laptop into school. If yours is due to start next September, now might be the time to get ahead of the game and surprise them with their own laptop. This ultra-thin Chromebook is light enough to carry around in a bag, and is one of the most affordable laptops when your teen is starting GCSEs and needs more functionality than a tablet (although if your teen is starting A-levels it might be worth investing in a MacBook to see them right through University as well. It also has a 10 hour battery, so it’s perfect for taking to school every day. Retails at £393.81.

A decent watch

If you’re anything like me you bought your first child a fun watch somewhere around the age of 6, in the delusion that they would a) wear it; b) learn how to tell the time with it; and c) not lose it. You know where I’m going with this, I think. Anyway, when your teen gets to around age 16 they do start to care about what the time is, and that’s when you can start trusting them to take care of a good watch. If your teen is environmentally friendly they will love a Nordgreen watch. Nordgreen are carbon neutral, offsetting their office costs and all shipments by planting trees. They use sustainable and recycled packaging, and have a Give Back programme that has seen them provide education to children in India and drinkable water in Africa.

They also look pretty cool. Take a look at these women’s gold watches from Nordgreen, or browse the site for men’s watches, straps and their ‘make your own watch’ bundles. Women’s watches start at £144.

Audio sunglasses

Yes you did read that right! Fauna are designer glasses with open ear sound technology inside. These high-end, water-resistant audio glasses are made of high-quality materials with a 2-way sound system for crystal clear sound. The first audio glasses without chunky temples, that actually look like glasses, they protect a wearer’s eyes from sun or blue light whilst providing a vivid sound for listening to music, audiobooks or watching a movie. They even have integrated microphones for voice commands and making phone calls. Fauna audio sunglasses £199

The tiny lightweight micro speakers and microphones are integrated into the frames of the Fauna glasses, giving hours of great audio without compromising on comfort. The audio module in each temple and each module includes a patented MEMS microspeaker, an electrodynamic speaker, a touch-pad, associated electronics and a battery. They range have high-quality Italian acetate frames with adjustable temple lengths for optimal fit and comfort. They also come with a charging case that allows re-charging of the glasses on the go up to 5 times and connects via Bluetooth with a smartphone or PC; a specific app is not required. The glasses are controlled by touching and swiping on the temples.

Like I said, SO COOL!! Your teen is going to put you at least 2 rungs up on the credibility ladder if you gift them these. Just don’t join TikTok or they’ll never forgive you!

Good quality hair products

Christmas is definitely the time when my teenagers hope for slightly better quality hair and make-up products than those they can usually afford. My daughter will scrimp and save all year at Superdrug but she absolutely loves getting something a bit more special for Christmas and birthdays. We love this Christmas gift set from hair care specialists Philip Kingsley. Their products get 5-star reviews on things like volume and shine, and just look how pretty their packaging is!

Posh hair products is a great Christmas gift for teens

Skincare gifts

Skincare is another thing teens usually love but usually can’t afford, so if you’re looking to treat them now is the time. Boots have loads of great deals on good brands during Black Friday and their pre-Christmas 3-for-2 offers always find their way in our teens’ stockings. Right now this Clinique Festive Fall Favourites gift set is reduced from £80 to £39.50 so it’s a great time to get ahead on the shopping. You’ll be glad you did when you’re relaxing with a mince pie and a sherry by December 1st! (Is it just me who needs a litre of Harvey’s Bristol Cream in the house by the time the tree is up?)

Theatre Tickets

Some of the gifts which have gone down best with our teenagers are theatre tickets. We’ve seen Six, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and Come From Away in recent years. If you know what show your teenager would like to see, it can be nice to actually book the tickets for one of those ‘twilight zone’ days in between Christmas and New Year, especially if you buy for the whole family. Alternatively, you can buy vouchers from London Theatre Direct so that your teen can choose which show they’d like to see – and who to take!

Clothes

Teenagers always appreciate new clothes. Whether it’s the latest branded hoodies and leggings (do check with them because this seems to change every year! We’ve gone from Adidas, to Nike, to UnderArmour over the years.) or new base layers to wear under their sports kit, clothing will always go down well. This year I have one in need of a new winter jacket (which I will probably get from Mountain Warehouse as they always have good price deals as well as cool designs); and my daughter who is in sixth form needs ‘business dress, so I’m going to introduce her to Boden for the first time! I’m thinking something like these smart satin trousers will be really versatile with a few nice tops and see her through the next couple of years before she goes to uni.

I mean, they spend enough time in them, so we might as well gift them something to make them even happier up there, right? Independent home and giftware shop Yvonne Ellen have a gorgeous new Christmas collection that I’m actually wishing I had for myself, never mind my teenagers! Or how about a new Christmas bedding set covered in penguins or polar bears? And just what every teen wants for when their mums “barge into their rooms,” a Go Away Eye Mask!

Gifts for eco-conscious teens

One to buy early is an advent calendar and I love the range available, including for those young people who are conscious of their impact on the environment. This post on vegan advent calendars is perfect for your vegetarian or vegan teenager.

Gifts for pet-owners

There always has to be a present that raises a giggle at Christmas, and I’ve just found these socks that I know everyone in my family will love. At $24, plus shipping from the US, they’re not really a cheap stocking filler, but I’ve decided they’re worth it for the enthusiastic response I’m going to get. Choose your colour, upload a photo of your pet (I’ve chosen one of our dog Rocket that makes him look like a Gremlin), and Pupsocks will create a pair of socks covered in your pet. They do cat socks too, and actually, will print any photo you like on the socks of your choice – you could even put your own face on their socks!

Plus, Pupsocks donate to fund food for dogs and cats in need with every pair of socks sold, so you’ll know you’re doing some good for another pup out there.

Gifts for anxious teens

One of the nicest gifts you can give to a teenager with anxiety is the feeling of comfort. Weighted blankets have had a lot of good press recently, with users saying crawling under one feels like having a hug. Research shows that they reduce anxiety and aid restful sleep, so if this is something your teenager struggles with this could be a lovely gift that feels indulgent whilst providing a therapeutic benefit. Kudd.ly has over 50% off in their Black Friday sale on fleece weighted blankets that are even machine washable.

Or how about a hoodie blanket? My own teenager likes nothing better to climb into pyjamas or a onesie when she gets in from school, and these hoodie blankets are perfect for just snuggling down when it’s extra chilly.

Cool craft kits

When my daughter was 12 she became obsessed with making slime. All over the house were kits for slime, she spent all her time making slime, and had deadlines to ‘fulfil orders’ on slime for her friends. Since then I’ve realised that it’s not just her. All young teens and tweens seem to get creative at this age, and love experimenting with things they can make. So some kind of craft kit is a must for Christmas.

Toys and Bears have brilliant kits for tweens based on everything from dinosaurs to space, and yes – you’ve guessed it – slime. They also sell this great I’m A Genius Tattoos Factory set which allows kids to experiment with safe, temporary henna tattoo designs – something else which my daughter got for Christmas one year and loved!

A retro Christmas jumper

Everyone needs a Christmas jumper, and what better article of clothing is there to go all out and be a bit silly with? I’m seriously considering this Gremlins Gizmo Christmas jumper for my son, and there’s a Harry Potter Dobby shirt I know my daughter would like. Pyjamas are a regular Christmas Eve present for our entire family, and there are lots of character options to choose from, including Friends, Beetlejuice and Toy Story.

You might also like these Christmas jumper recommendations for teenagers.

Cheap Christmas presents for teenagers

Socks! Everyone needs new socks and Christmas is the ideal time to inject a bit of fun into their sock drawer. Christmas socks make the perfect stocking filler. I adore these penguin slipper socks from Sock Shop, and they even have a sock advent calendar! Patterned tights are popular too and I know my 17 year old daughter would love these funky backseam tights. She’ll also be getting a stash of regular school tights, since her new-found love of acrylic nails has ripped her last supply to shreds!

Take a look at Sock Shop’s range of Christmas socks for the whole family, or see last year’s Christmas ideas post for some brilliant sock twists from Chatty Feet.

If you’re looking for more inspiration this post has 148 stocking fillers for teens

Christmas gifts you can send in the post

If there’s one thing worse than battling the crowds of Christmas shoppers it’s standing in the queue at the post office any time in December, am I right? That’s why I’m loving anything I can order online and have sent directly to the recipient. I know my own teenagers love to get things in the post, so here are a few Christmas presents for teenagers who don’t live with you:

Chocolate!

Chocolate. Always. Chocolate is an essential Christmas gift for most teenagers and I’m in love with this festive brownie box from Letterbox Gifts. My daughter would be very happy to receive these from an aunt or grandma – much better than a gift voucher or a woolly hat! They also do this lovely paint by numbers gift set, which I think would be perfect for younger teens, or if you’re worried about a food intolerance or allergy. And this personalised Cadbury treats letterbox Christmas present from Prezzybox is perfect for teens who love the chocolate classic.

A flower subscription

Teens like flowers too, but no one ever thinks to send them any! I remember like it was yesterday getting hand tied flowers as a surprise delivery from a would-be boyfriend. It didn’t do the trick because the chemistry wasn’t right, but I very nearly caved when I opened the door to my first ever gift of flowers.

LOV Flowers is a Scandinavian inspired UK florist that specialises in letterbox flowers and subscriptions. With same day delivery in London and free next day delivery elsewhere in the UK this is a great option if you’ve missed the post office dates too! A subscription with LÖV Flowers would be a lovely treat for a teenager who loves flowers, or just send them a one-off treat.

And if the flower lover is you, you might like to treat yourself – imagine if you could get that “someone likes me enough to send me flowers” feeling EVERY month! Prices start at £24.50 a month for a subscription, and £29.50 for a single delivery.

Gifts for creative teenagers

If your teen likes to spend creative time alone they might appreciate these letterbox gifts from Not On The High Street. My own daughter is a big reader, especially of the classics now that she’s doing English A-level. What could be nicer than to receive a new book and a hot chocolate in the post? Choose from 15 books and a choice of hot drink.

When it comes to gifts for artistic teenagers I think this CAST jewellery kit is rather special. For those who used to make beaded bracelets when they were small, but have now graduated to more grown up things, the opportunity to create your own silver (or gold or platinum) jewellery. Simply use the kit to create your design in wax, then return to CAST for your design to be made real. A beautiful idea for a special jewellery piece, especially for a teen who’s interested in art and design.

And if your teen loves a good snuggle under a duvet (and they’re old enough to have candles in their bedrooms, they will love you for gifting them this ‘Hug in a Box’ letterbox gift set of scented wax melts, tea lights and aromatherapy room sprays. In fact I’d quite love anyone who bought this for me too!

I really hope this has given you some good inspiration for Christmas presents for your teenager this year, and that you can use it to get some of your Christmas shopping out of the way and prepare early. You might also like this post on ideas for teenagers’ Christmas stocking fillers. Don’t forget that if you shop over the Black Friday period you can make some great savings too!

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137 thoughts on “Brilliant Christmas Presents for Teenagers in 2023”

  1. I used to love origami when I was a child, we had some Japanese students stay with us once and they taught us how to do it.

    Reply
  2. What was your favourite crafting activity as a child? . . . well apart from colouring in l used to love recycling (before the term had been created) old Christmas cards into decorations and into gift tags

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  3. Scrap booking was really popular when I was a kid and we spent hours doing it, loved waiting for Mum to finish her magazines so I could cut out something interesting from it.

    Reply
  4. I use to love it when my mum would scribble on a piece of paper and I would have to colour it all in, keep me busy for hours.

    Reply
  5. My mum would give my brother and I old magazines and we would cut things out and stuck them onto paper & make pictures. We loved it.

    Reply
  6. My grandad used to record episodes of art attack and we’d get stuck into a new arts & craft project every weekend! My favourite was always paper mache.

    Reply
  7. I graduated from finger-painting to painting-by-numbers at a reasonable age – but that’s where the creativity ground to a halt……

    Reply
  8. I loved art crafts, drawing, using my Fashion Wheel & using my mum’s old catalogues and cut out furniture etc. to create my own interior pictures lol!

    Reply
  9. I had a sticker maker that I loved, you could make a sticker out of pretty much any bit of picture so I would draw them or cut them out.

    Reply
  10. I used to love paint by numbers and making spirograph type pictures. It might seem really silly but they seemed so therapeutic and simple.

    Reply
  11. My Mum taught me to knit but I was never very good at it, I did love rug making though and used readicut kits, sadly my arthritic numb fingers won’t allow me to either any more.

    Reply
  12. we were a large, hard up family, my mum was always knitting, she taught me at a young age, I still knit, 60 years later and love it

    Reply
  13. My dad had this software on his PC – windows 98 🤣 I could look at all these pics and choose what I wanted to make and it would print out this sheet showing where to cut and where to fold. I coloured in and made so many of the boxes, I loved them! I actually still have one lol

    Reply
  14. I was always making friendship bands or cross stitch kits! I only managed to finish one of the kits I started when I was 14 in lockdown last year…25 years after I started 🤣

    Reply
  15. I was never very interested in crafts as a child but now I have a grand daughter who loves making things and I find I am enjoying painting and card making

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  16. I loved papier mache (I’m confident I’m soemming that wrong!) We often did it with old newspapers around balloons and I loved it. I remember making snowmen at Christmas 🎄

    Reply
  17. When my son was younger I thought how easy is to choose a Christmas gift for him. Now choosing the gift for my teenager is the most difficult thing to do before the Holidays. Thank you for inspiring me with the audio sunglasses.

    Reply

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