Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve shared some gift guides to inspire your Christmas shopping this year. These included educational present ideas for toddlers and kids, and a guide to buying handmade gifts from independent businesses for the adults in your life.
Today, it’s the turn of the teens – but what on earth can you buy for a teenager that won’t break the bank or see them glued to their tech all Christmas long? Here are some of my favourite ideas:
Let’s start with a game that’ll get them interacting with all the family throughout the Christmas holidays. Topix is one of my personal favourites and we often play it together as a family throughout the year. It’s great for keeping your mind active as it’s a face-moving game of rapid recall. Plus, it can help teens improve their knowledge of over 50 wide-ranging topics.
If your teen prefers more solitary pursuits to fast family games, a build-your-own kit will inspire them to put down their phones and use their hands for more creative activities. I particularly like the idea of this Make Your Own Ukulele pack by Kikkerland. It contains all the pieces that your teen will need to construct their own instrument, which they can customise and decorate in any way they wish.
Who knows? After they’ve handmade their own ukulele, maybe they’ll be excited to learn how to play their new musical instrument and take it up as a (screen-free!) hobby during the rest of the year.
Likewise, if art and craft is more their thing, this handmade banner kit might be the ideal gift to get them away from their PC. The kit allows teens to personalise their own banner, adding a message or quote of their own to the canvas fabric. This is a great way to allow youngsters to get involved in personalising their room decor and might even encourage them to take pride in their personal space!
To encourage a touch of STEM learning away from their devices, this Geomag construction kit helps teens to learn about forces such as gravity and magnetism, while also providing an interactive game that gets their friends involved too. The pack is suitable for ages 8+ but I know many teens and adults who are very keen on Geomag and would love to get practical with this kit.
And finally, here’s another family-friendly game that’ll tear your youngsters away from the TV and provide an entertaining activity that also challenges their mind too. Top It is a fast-thinking naming game, where players get to ‘top’ the cones of other players in a bid to win the round – but only if they can shout out a unique suggestion for the topic given.
Anything that’s fast moving will generate excitement and get your teen feeling really involved in the game – they may even forget about their favourite YouTube channel altogether while they’re playing!
Let me know what other Christmas gift ideas you can suggest for teenagers this year – what would yu own kids like to receive? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments below – thanks! 
Some items in this blog post have been gifted to me and the pink links indicate a gifted product, affiliate link or information source. All thoughts and opinions in this post are based on my own experience and I am not responsible for your experience