10 Gift Ideas For Tween And Early Teenage Boys

On some of the parenting forums check, I'm seeing the same question asked over and over again: what do I get my 12 (or 13 to 15) year old son? Often, the question is asked with exasperation and as the mother of a 13-year old, I fully understand. Those idyllic days of getting Junior a Lego set or the latest Hot Wheels tracks, sadly, are long over. And since personal hygiene is still primarily on the back burner, at least until girls formally enter the picture, gifts of clothes and toiletries are still in the future. So what can you get for a boy in that age range that won't cause you to take out a second mortgage? Here are some suggestions:

1.  Video games or money toward the purchase of a new system. The hottest gaming systems this season are Xbox Ones and PS4s. Yeah, we're a one-income family and Junior already knows those won't be under the tree. A Game Stop gift card will help him save up to purchase a new system on his own, plus if he brings them his old games, gaming systems, and accessories, he can get in-store credit or cash. 
 
2.  Accessories for current devices. Junior received an iPad Mini for his birthday but doesn't have a case for it. With a bouncy little sister and rambunctious feline in the house, a case will help protect his precious Mini from careless oopsies. In the past, he's gotten a mouse for his laptop and, from Five Below, a nifty little vacuum which attaches to his USB port to suck up the many cookie crumbs that seem to inhabit his keyboard. I'm also a fan of earphones which have been proven to be safer to one's hearing than ear buds. 

3.  Itunes Gift Cards. Both my son and my nephew (age 16) are mega music fans. An iTune gift card can be mailed to my nephew and should sooth my son's musical soul. My local Sears has a limited-time offer where if I buy a $25 iTunes card, I'll get a $5 gift card back. Sweet!  

4.  Bop It. Want to get the kid off video? Bop It is a great game of repetition in which the device calls out commands that come faster and faster as the game goes on. The better you get, the more skill levels you unlock. Play alone or pass it to your friends. We'd brought this to a distant friend's house a few years back and accidentally left it there. Time to get one back in the house for some family fun! 

5.  Solar Phone Charger. I mentioned this before when I wrote about surviving Hurricane Sandy. This handy-dandy little unit that I purchased at Target for about $20 charges any time it's exposed to light. For a kid, it could hang on their key chain or from their backpack to absorb light. When they need it, there's a little wire they could keep in their backpack which connects the unit to the phone. My Smartphone gets about 25 minutes of power from this little sucker a and for the kid who always forgets to charge his phone, it could be a lifesaver. It can also be charged via USB port or from a wall charger (those accessories are sold separately).

6. Dunkin' Donuts Gift Card. Now that DD has hot chocolate and Coolattas as well as coffee, it's a destination spot for some teens and their friends. Instead of him coming to you for money, give him his own refillable gift card.

7. Solar Backpack. Yep, back to the solar thing for the kid who can't seem to keep his phone charged. Solar backpacks charge electronic devices while the backpack is in direct sunlight (like at the bus stop or while walking to school). That way, the teen can use his electronics while he is out without worrying about having to be near an outlet to charge them. Be forewarned, however, that solar backpacks are not cheap. You can find out more about them at http://www.solarpowerchargers.org/solar-charger-reviews/solar-backpack-reviews.

8. Food. If your kid is like mine, he's inhaling food these days. A supply of protein bars (Zone Perfect is our family's brand) which I can tuck in his stocking is something he can keep in his locker for between-class snacks. They're healthy and filling. You can also bake him his favorite treat or give him a coupon for a home-cooked meal he can plan.

9. Movie Passes. Give him something he can share with a friend. Purchase movie passes at your local theater or online at www.moviefone.com or at your local movie theater.

10. Sports or Fitness Gear. Kids are very aware of the benefits of being fit. Give your special kid something related to a sport or exercise he enjoys. Free weights and other pieces of fitness equipment don't necessarily cost a lot and can help a boy enjoy the many benefits of physical exercise.


Keep in mind that when choosing a gift, it's about what the person wants, not what you want them to have. Set your expectations and desires aside. Think about what will be appreciated by the recipient. 

What are you getting your favorite tween or teen boy?  Please comment below!  And Happy Shopping!

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10 Tips For Dealing With Long Lines This Holiday Season

Sometimes I like to see-feel-touch merchandise before I buy it.  Still, going shopping this time of year is no fun, so here are:

10 Tips For Dealing With Long Lines This Holiday Season

• Make sure you've eaten and gone to the bathroom before you go. This sounds obvious and it's probably advice you've automatically given your kids, but make sure your physical needs have been met before you Go Forth And Shop. Being hungry will make you cranky and impatient and there's nothing worse than having to give up your place in a line to desperately find a rest room.  You can also pack a protein bar in your pocket or purse just in case you do get hungry while on line. 

• Wear comfortable shoes.  You're not doing yourself any favor by going home with aching feet.  Forgo the pumps for cushy sneakers and give your tired tootsies a break.  

• Have any and all receipts/gift cards/coupons accessible before you leave the house. Fumbling for those things when you finally reach the sales counter will frustrate you and tick off other shoppers.  Plus, how many times have you been unable to find a coupon or rewards card and told the cashier to just go on with the purchase anyway?  Be prepared ahead of time to save the money you planned on saving.  

Long lines and high heels do NOT go together!

• Dress in layers, especially if you're in any stage of menopause.  Again, you want to be comfortable on line, not frantically fanning yourself.  And remember that if many people are gathered in a small space like a line all at one time, the temperature is bound to go up.  Be prepared to shed a layer or two if need be.

• Understand that if lines are long, it is not the fault of the customer service rep at the checkout line.  Long lines indicate poor decisions by management who may under staff their stores or just not train sales personnel properly.

• If possible, shop with a friend.  This way, if you do need to get off the line or run to the bathroom, your friend can take your place.

• Know the store's hours and go earlier in the day if you can, or late at night.  Our nearby Target opens bright and early which is perfect for those of us dropping kids off at at school.  There's no traffic and I can get out quickly.  If I waited until the afternoon, I'd run into lunch-hour and after-work traffic.

• Chat up the person next to you if they're receptive.  No one wants to wait in long lines. Empathy and conversation can work wonders to lower stress.

• Make sure you know where your valuables are.  Some websites suggest bringing something to distract yourself while on line.  I think that's a mistake.  There are too many thieves out and about this season.  You need to keep your wits about you, especially if you have no choice but to lug the kids with you. Know where your wallet and cellphone are at all times. If you're carrying a purse, make sure it's closed.

• Place your receipts in one designated place to make returning items easier.  If something is broken or doesn't fit, you don't want to be searching all over the place trying to find the receipt.  

The stress of the Holiday Season will be over in a few weeks. Plan well to minimize it for yourself and those around you. I'm off to Toys-R-Us! Ta-ta!

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How We Prepare For A Storm & What Helped Us Through Sandy

As I mentioned in my previous post about aging, my area has weathered two large storms the last two Autumns.  The first was a freak megastorm that dumped 19" of snow on us in late October of 2011 (Yo, Mother Nature!  Too friggin' early!).  Then last year, Hurricane Sandy visited.  My kids can tell you about the exact moment "Mommy lost it" and hurried everyone (in truth, screamed at everyone to run) down to the basement.  I huddled with my children in that cold, dark room as the beast that was Sandy roared overhead; it's a sound I will NEVER forget...

Now that Fall is here, it's time to prepare once again and here's how I do it and what has worked for my family.   Obviously your needs will be different.

  The Red Cross Preparedness Checklist  (http://chapters.redcross.org/ca/mtyco/ds/emgcheck.html) lists what you should have in your Emergency Kit .  I check ours every season to make sure the food hasn't expired.  I also tweak it; diapers and baby food aren't needed by us anymore, so that leaves room for other things that we didn't need but do now like cat supplies for the feline we now have. 

Some of the foods I stock are:

Make sure you pack a can opener!

-  protein bars (We LOVE Zone Perfect bars which are chock FULL of vitamins.  My growing teen eats them by the dozens!)
-  boxed milk
-  chocolate (For energy?  Maybe, but it was comfort food for us all.)
-  instant oatmeal
-  canned soups (I make sure a can opener is packed as well)
-  enriched pastas (I like the Barilla pasta made with chick pea flour.  It's loaded with vitamins.)
-  sauce
-  tuna
-  turkey jerky
-  snacks
-  tea (Camomille tea calmed my kids during the stress of the storm.  The gas was working, so I'd make them a cup before bed every night.)

I also make sure my freezer contains at least one frozen chicken or turkey; here's why.  Last year, upon learning that the storm was coming and realizing that we would almost certainly lose power, I cooked anything in my freezer that could feed the family for a few days without being cooked.  We just happened to have one of those free turkeys the supermarkets give out during Easter or Thanksgiving.  I defrosted it a few days ahead of time and cooked that sucker up; it gave us protein for most of the power outage! 

More of the kitchen preparations I did included: 

- Cooking brownies.  Sounds stupid, but those sweet treats were comforting!
- Freezing GoGurt yogurt sticks, containers of egg whites, and milk. We put those in the cooler and not only were they nutritous, but they served as cooling agents as well, in addition to the ice we had.

Since Halloween had been cancelled, my stress-reliever proved to be the Milk Duds I had planned on giving out to the trick-or-treaters.  I now have a secret Fall-stash of those candies just for me.   :)

As for equipment...

I mentioned in my other post that we do have a portable generator; we've named it Justin as in "just-in case."  My husband has already tested it to make sure it's working and we have a bit of starter gas to power it.  Last year while everyone around us used their generators to power almost everything in their houses, we used it sparingly in the evening to charge our electronics and power one lamp for maybe two hours at a time.  That was an important strategy because while our neighbors were searching for gas on a daily basis, we only needed to make one gas run the whole week!   Each evening, we'd watch a movie on my son's computer.  It kept a semblance of normalcy going.  This year I think we'll be plugging the refrigerator in so we don't lose all the food we lost last year (and which was NOT covered by our insurance).

Let's talk about the cooler.  Before the storm we'd only had the mini ones you take to the beach, but a few days before Sandy hit, I'd snagged the last large one at Home Depot; I'm SO glad I did!  We were able to keep quite a few perishables in there without constantly open the fridge.  Ours has a little spigot at the bottom so I could periodically drain the water and wheels so I could easily take it to the back steps.  

Besides the cooler, another essential for us is battery-operated candles.  The kids can easily and safely carry them around a dark house.  We also used ours as a nightlight when my little one went to bed.  The larger one we have (see below) is on a timer, so it goes off after I think 9 hours.  I'd set it when it got dark, and by the time we woke up, it was off.

I bought the larger one in a 3-pack at Costco.

Let me mention the importance of a good-quality battery-operated lantern which was excellent for reading in the evening.  You can find them in the camping section of Walmart or Target.  I also recommend having battery-operated miner lights - the kind that strap onto your forehead leaving your hands free.   Those were useful when my husband had to go out in the dark to tend to the generator. 

One thing I have this year that I didn't before is this little gadget.  It's a solar phone charger that goes on my

Leave it on your dashboard to charge all day

keychain;  I bought it at Target for about $20 and it gives me 25 extra minutes of phone power.  That doesn't sound like a lot, but it's saved me a few times when my battery gave out and could be helpful in another extended power outage.  I'll be buying a higher capacity one from Amazon soon. 

Something I didn't have enough of but will this year is firewood.  We have a fireplace that doesn't do much of anything except provide light and a little heat.  Gathering around the fireplace in the evening, all snuggled up under blankets was comforting.  Last year we ran out and I wound up foraging in the little patch of woods behind my house for kindling.  That proved important last year and I'll be stocking up on some - just in case. 

This morning my husband informed me that we're expecting a Nor'easter today.  Now that I've outlined what I need to do, it's time to go do it!

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I mentioned above Zone Perfect Protein Bars.  They're always on my Costco shopping list because my son eats them by the dozens.  They're full of vitamins and keep you feeling full for hours.  And the best part is they taste like a candy bar!  I keep them in the car for snacking and in case of unexpected delays.  They take the edge off your hunger and, combined with a glass of non-fat milk, even make a great little meal.  They are the "official protein bars" of our family!

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