Older Teenagers and Young Adult's Gift Guide 2016

Buying gifts for teenagers and young people can be tricky. You may not know their taste or what they have already, and once they have wages from part-time jobs, they're buying their own treats. This list should give you a few ideas. These are things that I like and know will suit at least one of my young people aged 16, 17, 18 and 22.

ALDI Envivo Audio Bluetooth Soundbar (£49.99)

We all appreciate good sound, and I doubt you'd find better for your money than Aldi’s Bluetooth Soundbar. It has a wireless range of up to 10m and a subwoofer for enhanced bass, and we're delighted with it.

Sadly we mainly get to hear it for my 6 year old's Adele heavy karaoke, but it gives really nice sound with no noticable distortion or feedback. For movie night it's excellent, it really does feel like a room full of speakers. Plus it looks great....

MAGIX Music Maker (£34.99 until Jan 4th 2017) and MAGIX Music Maker Live (£69.99)

If your young person's dreams involve spending 5 years as a DJ mixing in Ibiza or becoming the next Mark Ronson, then they can explore their creative talents to the full with the MAGIX Music Maker. Software which allows you to produce music like a pro.

It's all done on your PC using the mouse and keyboard, and there are a range of instruments, effects and vocals to create your tracks. "Start with the rhythm, add new sounds, quickly mix, and you're done" is possible, and there are walkthrough videos, so complete beginners won't be disenchanted. There are a multitude of variables, so the more experienced have plenty to play with.

Zippo Windproof Hand-Warmer (from £20.75) 

 

Zippo also make handwarmers! A brilliant thing and classically beautiful. Fill, light, slip it into the soft warming bag and it will provide up to 6 hours of gentle, consistent heat. It comes with it's own dinky little filler and will stand upright so that you don't spill lighter fluid everywhere - hopefully.

Perfect for any young person who spends time outdoors - which is most of them! Footballers and football fans, students and apprentices using public transport, and uni students who are walking because they already ran out of 'luxury' money.

Sound Asleep Original Speaker Pillow (£19.99)

The Sound Asleep hollowfibre pillow has a built-in speaker which really is virtually undetectable. Plug in your music source such as an MP3 player, phone, radio or a television (as long as it has a 3.5mm stereo plug connector) and drift away...

This works pretty well. The sound is plenty good enough for dozing or drifting to sleep, and my partner can't hear it next to me. You can adjust the volume, but can't make it 'loud', so your ears are protected. As a pillow it's fairly standard, but nice quality.

This is perfect for anyone who enjoys going to sleep listening to radio, TV, music, tuition or any other media. It's literally a speaker, so if you can set your phone or other device to auto-off after a certain length of time, you won't even need to move. Spot clean only, 2 year guarantee.

Wraps Limited Edition Berry Wristband in-ear Headphones (£19.99)

Wraps Limited Edition Berry feature a built-in headset microphone and 3.5mm gold plated jack and a light, spherical ABS housing which helps control the sound. A large 10MM dynamic speaker, tuned by world-renowned British Audio sound engineers, delivers exceptional sound quality. When you aren't listening to music, in moments they can be safely around your wrist. This stops them being lost, being crushed at the bottom of your bag, or generally just dangling on the floor or out of the car door.

If my young people have replaced anything more than any other, it's earphones. Affordable earphones which give nice sound and will survive more than a week are always welcome. The fastening is a bit clunky, but comfortable to wear and you soon forget it's there.

The cable design is really attractive, and Wraps come in a multitude of colours to match any preference. A big hit here - I've already bought some more for my young people's stockings. Thank heavens they don't read my blog....

London Gig Venues by Carl Allen (£16.99)

Illustrated with full-colour photography, London Gig Venues is a complete history of the live music venues in London from the 1930s to the present day. Each entry includes basic details such as how to get there, as well as all the key background information, including live recordings, noteworthy gigs and infamous incidents and a history of the building before its life as a live venue.

This format does little for me, although the 'who played here' segments are fascinating. My 22 year old festival and gig expert loves his information in this kind of directory form and will pour over this book for hours. Perfect for any live music loving Londoner or London visitor, especially if they're the type of person who needs to know everything about everything.

Dear Barber Beard Grooming Gift Set (£15.95)

An essential for any bearded man, this stylish gift set comes carefully packaged with a selection of hand-picked items all ideal for maintaining a healthy and bushy beard. I love this. It's gorgeous. Mine is also lost in the post, so I haven't been able to enjoy the Apricot Wood Comb, beard oil or moustache wax as yet. I honestly can't decide which of my 3 beardy's would like this more...

Gillette Fusion ProShield Chill (£12)

If you are going to buy bathroom stuff, buy good quality, frivolous bits that someone wouldn't usually buy themselves. No-one really wants to simply restock the bathroom cabinet with gifts, they want a treat.

Gillette's most advanced cartridge, the Fusion ProShield, lubricates skin before and after the blades, helping to shield while you shave. 'Chill' features cooling technology during the shave and the FlexBall Technology makes maximum contact over contours.

Perfect especially for those scary first shaves, or for anyone with especially reactive skin, or who has become bored with his beard and wants a gentle return to daily shaving. Replacement blades are around £3-£4 each - but for young facial hair they'll last a good while...

Irals Jewellery Accessories (from £9.50)

Irals are accessories made in Brazil that attach to your bag, shoes or other straps - and can even be used in your hair. They simply twist on, and are not heavy at all, so can be used on fairly delicate dresses and other clothes with shoulder straps.

I've included these because they're very different and I think potentially will be very popular by next Summer. Everyone loves a bit of customisation, and with 24 different designs there will be something to suit most tastes.

Impulse Body Spray Sets (£4-£12)

These sets are really nicely packaged and the perfect stockingfiller, but they are also a brilliant price for young people and children to give friends and siblings as gifts. We do Secret Santa between the kids with a £5 limit, and The Free Spirit cracker gift set is perfect for this...

The variety of scents is the sets is always good, with very different styles of body spray included, which means everyone can find a favourite. The Black Micro Purse in the Impulse Irresistible Gift Set is really nice - a hard cased purse big enough for a few essentials on a night out - although not big enough to carry your Impulse!

Itty Bittys from Hallmark (£6)

I'm a big fan of Itty Bittys, and I've reviewed them before. Totally cute plush collectibles which are all super-cool and very affordable for less affluent young collectors. For Christmas this year there are special Yoda and Chewie Santa Itty Bittys and they're ace.
 

Who would ever think Yoda could be this cute? Not only available in Star Wars characters, there are also Charlie Brown and Peanuts, Wizard Of Oz, DC Superheroes, Scooby Doo, and there are rumours that next year we may also have Frozen...

Faith In Nature Toiletries (from £1.95 to £6.25 shown)

Back to good quality bathroom stuff, and young people are notorious for being 'particular'. Faith In Nature products are made in the UK, Organic and Vegan, natural and hypoallergenic, with herbal and other beneficial ingredients. They're also really nice quality, and smell lovely. That should tick a few boxes.

They have a massive range, with plenty to please even the most discerning. The Pineapple and Lime Shampoo and Conditioner and Coconut Soap will be perfect for my 18 year old uni student, and make me, as Mum, feel I have provided means of keeping adequately clean. The Rejuvenating Facial Wash will suit my 16 year old's combination skin, and the Restorative Hand Cream I've used myself, purely on the grounds it needed testing, honest...

I think for the type of UK handmade goods, with fairly traded and ethically sourced ingredients, the prices are good and the quality absolutely does not disappoint. Faith In Nature have a great reputation and have held that for 40 years. I love the Hand Cream, it's working wonders on my skin and soaks in a treat, leaving no residue.

BIC Stationery (£4.99 each)

BIC have been selling stationery in the UK for almost 60 years, and everyone has used their classic transparent Cristal ballpoint pens. They don't only provide the mundane and everyday though, they have some lovely gifts.

BIC's Conte Felt Tips and Colouring Pencils are very well-respected and we've bought them for our lot many times. Reliable with bright colours and great tins to keep them safe and neat (for a month or two at least).

The BIC Shine Ballpoint Pens will be the envy of your mates, and frankly you'll always be able to spot who wandered off with your pen. The 4-colour pens are an essential for every college student, and these shouldn't explode into springs and bits of plastic any time soon...

Patisserie de Bain Strawberry Cupcake Bath Bomb (£4.99)

What can be more decadent than a bath bomb? The favourite of round robins and secret Santas is also a brilliant stockingfiller for any young person. It gives them not only a luxurious bath, but an hour off - perfect when revision or exam stress is grinding them down.

Mine is lost in the post, this is a catalogue image. I am totally testing this one myself when it arrives...

Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate Treats (From 26p)

It's not Christmas without Chocolate. It's also a time when we really are all allowed to act like kids and a bag of chocolate buttons can be the best thing ever.

For more ideas check out my Christmas Gift Guide For Men Who Have Enough Socks

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And of course, if none of the above suits, there is always LEGO to fit any budget...

All of these items were sent to me for review. I only accepted items I would have bought for my family, and I have used a glue stick to reseal everything so that I can give it to them for Christmas. No-one tell.... shhh. Except the chocolate - I ate that with my 2 young assistant testers...