Christmas Feature: Affordable Gifts You Can Give To A Teenage Girl

Teenage girls' tastes aren't exactly the most flexible things in the world and they have very specific and very unique wishlists every year. But here's a few items that virtually any of them will like:

Nikon Coolpix Digital Camera

An 8 megapixel Nikon Coolpix is very sleek and can be handy for teenagers at any party or trip with friends. Let them capture memories and post these on each of their 24 Facebook accounts.

Perfume

This is just one of the hygenic products that are pretty much essential for any girl so why not a pack of perfume. I'm not really the expert in this area so I'll just let you decide which brand you want to buy.

Aeropostale Gift Card

I'll rave on about Aeropostale; it's popular, good-quality and not too expensive. And you can't go wrong with a gift card because you know how picky girls can be about clothing.

Lululemon Gift Card

Here's another pretty trendy clothing brand that's is really beginning to rise. Lululemon "produces yoga-inspired athletic apparel", which sounds quite lame but don't worry, they're bound to find a few garments they like in Lululemon.

Music CD

Music CDs are still in and every girl wants the new Britney Spears, Katy Perry or Rihanna album. As with the guys, you should know the music tastes of the person you're going to give this to.

iPod

I didn't put a specific type of iPod because they're all very popular and everybody needs one of these to store their 100 hours of music. The newest iPod Nano has some pretty cool features but the iPod Touch still is obviously the most advanced iPod.

Cellphone

I would never want one of these but then again I'm not a girl. A cellphoen can be a great gift for any teenage girl because of their amazing versatility: They can be employed as media players, phones, cameras and internet browsers.

A Book

If you've even glanced at the news recently, you'll probably be aware of how massively in books are, especially with teenage girls. The Twilight series, Chicken Soup series as well as many other publications directed at this demographic will be well-appreciated.

iTunes Music Card

To go along with an iPod, you could give her an iTunes Music Card so she can download all her favorite MP3s from the ever-popular iTunes Store, which by the way also features videos, movies and podcasts.

Christmas Feature: Affordable Gifts You Can Give To A Teenage Boy

I'm not going to be vague at all with this; I'm just going to take this topic right on. I'll give you the item and I'll give you the brand and I guarantee you that virtually any teenage boy will appreciate at least a few of these things. And by the way, this is coming from a teenage boy.

Xbox 360

Video games have been in since the 90s but they're still just heating up with great new games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Gears of War 2. And, in my opinion (but apparently not in many other people's), the Xbox 360 is the most advanced and satisfying system for gamers who play more than once a month. The Wii is extremely gimmicky and will get lame after a month and I don't even want to bother explaining how bad the PS3 is.

iPod Touch

Pretty much every teenager has some form of an MP3 player and almost all of them have iPods. Well here's the most advanced one yet featuring internet access, application downloading and a touch screen.

Aeropostale Hoody

Aeropostale specializes in teen clothing and is very trendy right now. Plus, throughout the entire holiday season, this store has been having massive sales of 50-75% off. And don't think clothing as a gift is a bad idea either because it's much easier to select the right hoody than the right electronic.

American Eagle Gift Card

Another highly popular clothing store is American Eagle, which is more expensive than Aeropostale but has a greater variety to choose from. And you can't really go wrong with a gift card, especially one from AE.

Best Buy Gift Card

As electronics get bigger, so do teens' love for them and Best Buy is the nations largest retailer of these. They have pretty much every electronic, from video games to MP3 players to mobile phones.

Sports Illustrated Magazine Subscription

Sports Illustrated is one of the most read magazines in the world and many of their subscribers are quite young. Sports Illustrated pretty much sums up everything happening in the world of sports with interesting articles and statistics as well as many cool photos every week.

Easton Baseball Glove

Baseball is America's favorite pastime and it's not like that changes in the winter (OK, maybe a bit but still). Pretty much every kid in the States has to play baseball whether competitively or recreationally and they all need a quality glove. And Easton's gloves are without doubt the best and just as a heads-up, the Easton Stealth is their top model.

Nike Baseketball Shoes

The Nike Swoosh has become a symbol all across the globe and nothing could be more in than basketball shoes right now. Those two combined really make the ultimate Christmas present.

A Book

Although there is all the other cool stuff, who can forget the humble old book. But don't make it a lame book on how Christopher Columbus found the Americas, make it about a topic that you know they like.

A Music CD

Despite the fact that CDs aren't as hot as they were before, it's nice having an actual item instead of just downloads. Head over to HMV and get something but make sure you know their music tastes inside and out. If they like metal, Chinese Democracy by Guns N' Roses is good while if they like pop rock, Famous Last Words by Hedley is good.

Christmas Feature: 5 Essential Tips to Christmas Shopping

Christmas is the busiest time in terms of shopping because everybody has to make some type of purchase whether gifts, decorations or food in addition to the everyday essentials that we all need to buy. Thus, you can't just randomly roam around; you have to know what you're doing.
Let me just start you off with a few general shopping tips that can be applied at any time of the year, whether Black Friday, Christmas or Boxing Day:

Top 10 Tips
Top 10 Clothing Shops
Top 10 What Not To Do

Now, for the uniquely Christmas tips:

5. Brand names are important.

Some may not admit it but everyone likes brand names simply because of the popularity (although quality is often better as well). Whether it's shampoo, clothing or coffee, everyone wants the real stuff. And Christmas isn't a time to be pinch pennies; it's a time to show your love and care for people.

4. Hurry in the stores, not on the roads.

I know you're in a rush and I know you have better things to do but for your own safety, don't try cutting through hundreds of cars on your way to the mall to save a few minutes. In the winter especially, it's a hazard because of the slippery, wet conditions as well as the low visibility.

3. Remember to wrap.

Not putting wrapping paper on your gifts makes the recipient feel uncared for so just take a few moments to properly wrap what you give.

2. Shop on weekdays if you can.

The weekends see malls crowded with people each scurrying their own little way, and not caring who they irritate while they do this. On the other hand, weekdays are a lot more peaceful without the stink, heat and crowds of Saturday and Sunday. Parking spots are available and you don't have to worry as much about thieves either.

1. Know what you need.

It's easy to blow a holiday budget and even the most frugal of people can do it. I understand that you want to be a generous as possible but you have to stop at a certain point. So gather all the wishlists, make your own shopping list of things you need to buy for the big party and go armed with these. Inevitably, you're going to spend a bit more but it's always better to have a few guidelines.

One More: Don't be distracted by Christmas displays or events.

There's always going to be Santa Claus visits, special decorations and what not but you have more important things to do. Refrain from strolling around a shopping center examining each little Christmassy item.