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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

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Original poster

If you had £20-25 to spend on a teenage boy....

49 replies

cathyandclaire · 15/12/2014 08:01

Inspire me please, I have many older teenage boys to buy pressies for and literally NO clue! (Teen DDs here so girls are easy)
Previously over the years have got them all ...T-shirts from Top shop and when they were 13 or so tops from Jack Wills and Hollister ( there seems to be theme going on) and super dry beanies.

Please, please give me some ideas!

OP posts:

NoelleHawthorne · 15/12/2014 16:11

Are you absolutely mad? LENTIL SOUP?!

NoelleHawthorne · 15/12/2014 16:12

Please link to your power packs

OddBoots · 15/12/2014 16:15

My 15yo ds would love a lentil soup kit but he is a self confessed odd-ball.

chocoluvva · 15/12/2014 16:21

my DS must be an unaware odd ball then.

chickydoo · 15/12/2014 16:28

Popcorn machine (£25 Argos, £23 next) bag of corn to pop £1.50

SecretSquirrels · 15/12/2014 16:49

NoelleHawthorne I did link to powerpack
This one lasted a 24 hour coach / sea journey and kept DS and several friends fully charged. It's shiney black and has a nice feel to it as well.

Original poster

cathyandclaire · 15/12/2014 16:50

I don't think they're lentil soup kind of boys but lots of lovely ideas which I may well have gone for ( loving the lava lamp, popcorn machines and poker stuff) however as soon as I saw the power pack suggestion (reduced by gazillions on Amazon) I ordered lots of them for all boys and by DDs who forever have flat phones. Thinking of a plectrum thingy for my musical godson too.
Excellent work ladies!!!

OP posts:

SecretSquirrels · 15/12/2014 16:52

I have bought lava lamps in previous years but they overheat very easily and I wouldn't recommend.
DS asked for a mini fridge but they are not allowed them in uni halls. Maybe next year when he is off campus.

chocoluvva · 15/12/2014 17:11

I've just ordered a powerpack too for a stocking filler. Thank you for the link from me too.

NoelleHawthorne · 15/12/2014 17:26

Oops sorry. On phone

Claybury · 15/12/2014 18:37

Trying to imagine the reaction to any of my DC opening a shoe box containing an onion and a carrot......

Claybury · 15/12/2014 18:39

I've seen a smartphone projector online for £15 looks quite fun

chocoluvva · 15/12/2014 21:16

My DC always get a toothbrush in their stocking. Stems from when they were little and got fancy character toothbrushes. And a two pound coin and a Satsuma. Sometimes exotic fruit they like such as dates and pomegranates. And a 'fancy' pen. And 'designer' pants. This year DS is also getting a lava lamp (I saw your warning secret), a powerpack, pack of rock star top trumps, chocolate, pack of false moustaches, music stand if it'll fit, jar of chilli sauce, CD of something I hope he'll like, a beanie (he wears a scarf so I'm hoping he'll wear a beanie on the long walk to school) and a special interest magazine. Last year DS said that his stocking was one of the best things about Christmas. Sigh.

MassaAttack · 15/12/2014 21:47

The projector and the power pack sound perfect.

Heyho111 · 16/12/2014 06:35

Not a onesie , they don't wear them now.
Money. Tbh. That always hits the spot and will be more appreciated.

Boomtownsurprise · 16/12/2014 06:43

Lentil soup kit?
Lentils
Water
Stock cube
????

Curry kit from here; thespicery.com
Get one a month. Main and sides so might even get Dahl if desperate for lentils....

NoelleHawthorne · 16/12/2014 06:58

Lol at exotic fruit. As if mine would eat that.
We give my 11 yo a barney dvd he never wanted. Every year

SecretSquirrels · 16/12/2014 09:48

NoelleHawthorne That's the sort of family tradition I like. Is it always the same Barney DVD rewrapped?

Actually the food idea may be a good one for new uni students. DS1 has really taken to cooking since he started in October. I taught him a few good basic dishes in the summer and he is taking pride in frugal cooking from scratch. Probably not lentil soup though.

NCIS · 16/12/2014 10:01

The charger sounds brilliant . I have had to rush and buy three for my DC's before the global power of MN strikes and they run out!

chocoluvva · 16/12/2014 10:16

Aww. I had no idea lentil soup was so unpopular. [feelin' stoopid] My teenagers love homemade lentil soup. The 'kit' was actually a present from DS to 18YO DD though. She was delighted. It's really easy - boil the lentils and veg for 30 minutes with stock powder or cube then stick the blender straight into the pot to give it a nice consistency. You don't need to chop the veg much. Same with potato and leek or any veg for that matter. You don't even really need to peel the potatoes. You can kind of make smoothies with the blender too. DD, who can slob with the best of them uses it quite a lot. (She's a student though)

It's interesting hearing people's crimbo traditions. See, I thought I was being quite mean putting dates and pomegranates (sometimes a mango. but it needs to be wrapped such a lot it takes up too much space) oh yes and sometimes a pink lady apple! into a stocking when I could just add them to the fruit bowl for general consumption, but they do pretend to be seem genuinely appreciative. And DD always gets a mini panettone as I can't eat them and nobody else in the house likes them.

But I read a thread where someone was giving her DD an iphone 6, expensive make-up and was going to give expensive beats in her stocking, which made me .

I guess we're all different! (and if left to DH he'd probably put pot noodles into their stockings)

SecretSquirrels · 16/12/2014 10:44

chocoluvva See lentil soup is your family tradition . I did get DS a stick blender to take to uni and it has been much used.
No iPhone 6's here either. Neither DS asked for anything big in fact I struggled to get any ideas out of them. So it's lots of smaller stuff here for main presents plus bits for stockings, nevertheless it's all added up when I look at it. One of the stocking fillers I'm quite pleased with is a key ring with a little cylinder to roll up an emergency £10 note.

chocoluvva · 16/12/2014 11:12

Aww you're so kind to reply. Turns out your DS has a stick blender too! That's made me laugh.

Emergency tenner carrier - good idea! (I could see my DD just spending it if she couldn't be bothered going to a cash machine though....)

I put my foot in it in a Boots store the other day. A friend and I were tripping over a toddler wandering about,engrossed in his tablet . My friend looked like she was about to say something disapproving, so I pointed out that his mum had her hands full - two boxes of Soap and Glory stuff in one hand, one in the other, so she was stuck trying to coax her toddler into following her to the queue for the till. When we got to the queue I noticed a huge stack of the same Soap and Glory sets and exclaimed more loudly than I intended, "Ohhh! Those boxes of Soap and Glory stuff are £60 !" Then noticed that the woman in front of us had two, so I turned away in embarrassment and realised that the woman standing behind us was carrying one, the woman two along also had three, someone was picking a couple up from the stack, someone else was paying for a couple at a till. We stood silently laughing and cringing till our turn to pay. Then when we were out of the shop my friend told me that they were on sale, reduced from £120! And as I was exclaiming about the unreasonable cost, someone picking one up looked around with an, 'Excuse me!' type of expression.

So now we have a new shorthand for anything we think is ridiculously extravagant/frivolous/overrated (in our opinions obviously) which is, 'Oh, that's a bit 'Soap and Glory'. (and we had a lovely rant about how we don't have time to waste on using body lotion, nail varnish, toner (? - toner might be for printers or something) etc - says the woman currently wasting time on MN )

NCIS · 16/12/2014 13:49

Mine have a pot noodle in their stocking, it's a family joke.

BackforGood · 16/12/2014 17:02

hmmmm
ds's girlfriend is vegetarian, and he's always cooking for her and her flatmates ..... ponders idea of lentil soup

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