What is a Good Christmas Gift for a Teenage Girl?

I have gotten into the habit of buying my teenage daughter a really nice, leather bound notebook every year for Christmas. She is a budding writer and a compulsive journaler and she always finishes the diary she has before the next Christmas comes around.

I am hoping that by using nice notebooks she will feel more inclined to keep her diaries for later on. I used to have a whole stack of them but I threw them out during a move in my 20s. I still regret that.

I usually get my niece $10 in scratch off lottery tickets. She has never won much money, just a few buck here and there, but there is a little bit of thrill in scratching them off and who knows, she could be a big winner.

Teenage girls can sometimes be hard to buy for, but I think some of the best Christmas gifts for them are makeup and beauty products.

They have a lot of great collections out there with a wide variety of scents for them to choose from. I bought one of these for my daughter and it included things like shampoo, body wash, body spray and lotion all with the same scent.

I added some bottles of fingernail polish, lip gloss and perfume. I think any teenage girl would be pleased with a fun gift like this.

My parents always ask me what our kids want for Christmas and I don't often have any great ideas for them. This past year they gave our boys gift cards for downloading songs and movies from iTunes.

These were gift cards that they were really excited about and began using right away. I know some people are hesitant to give gift cards because you aren't really opening a present. As long as the gift is something you think the user will really enjoy, I don't think it matters whether there is an actual present to open or not.

My teenage niece loves to read and I bought her an e-reader for Christmas. Along with this I included a gift certificate where she could download some of her favorite books or magazines.

I knew this was a gift that she would really love and get a lot of use out of. Not all teenagers like to read, so I wanted to do everything I could to encourage her to keep reading.

I finally gave in and ended up buying an e-reader for myself too. Now I really understand what a great gift this was.

I often buy gift cards for teenagers even though I wonder if they will just get lost in the shuffle, forgotten about or never used.

I am not very creative when it comes to thinking of a unique Christmas gift for a teenager. Like all of us, they are pretty specific about what they like. When a buy a gift card I will get one for the entire mall. That way they can split it up between more than one store and have lots of options to choose from.

@wecallherana - It would be very easy to personalize one for a teenage girl as well. It could be one of those personalized Christmas gifts that they really appreciate. It can be difficult because "teen" encompasses from becoming a young woman to becoming a young adult and at each age, girls are into different things. It's really important to talk to the girls parents (if you're not one of them) in order to get a proper idea of what she does and does not like.

@plaid - Agreed. I also like making Christmas gift baskets as well. I have a friend who is heavy into couponing and gets things for literally pennies on the dollar and so making gift baskets is a great way to share the same things with everyone for a super low cost. They can also be personalized with favorite treats like cookies or hot cocoa mixes.

@snappy - I agree. Gift cards have grown in popularity as perfect gifts for Christmas. A lot of the older generation see them as impersonal, but the truth is that it can save a lot of time for both parties involved.

You don't have to stand in long lines to get a gift card from the service desk of a department store. In addition to that, many gift cards or certificates are available at other stores now as well. Also, not only can the recipient choose what they truly want without hurting some one's feelings, but they don't have to stand in the long return lines after the holidays. Phew, thank goodness!

Even though I tend to think of gift cards as "unthoughtful", twice I've settled on a gift card to Bath and body works, for 2 teen girls. The squeal of happiness pretty much confirmed it was a good choice. They ended up getting all kinds of fruit scented shampoos, lotions. And I didn't upset any parents!