Angel Tree gift advice needed.

[SMD]

If anyone is having a similar dilemma, feel free to piggyback on this thread.

Anyway, I was assigned a 13 year old boy from our office Angel Tree, and I have a $75 limit. He only asked for items that cost $300+ and "Dr. Beats" and his letter was really vague, he didn't describe the items, request colors or anything.

We were also told to buy the kids new jackets. I spent $25 on the jacket, and now I want to buy him some headphones. He didn't specify earbuds or over the ear. What do your kids prefer? And what brands do they like? I was thinking about Skullcandy, the $60 Hesh 2 are on sale at Target for $48. Also, I found the Smokin earbuds, which are cheaper, and then I could get something else, like a hoodie to go with the jacket. I'm also thinking that I should by black instead of randomly picking a color, right?

I appreciate anyone who can point me in the right direction, thanks.

 

[meajuly5]

If he asked for beats, I would go for over the ear.

 

[java]

If he asked for beats, I would go for over the ear.

+1

 

[Cindy B]

Beats are what they want. They want to hang them over their head and walk with them.

 

[sam_gordon]

Beats are so ridiculously over priced. That's what my teen DD wants to, but I have a hard time paying $140 (the cheapest I have found) for a pair of headphones.

Sorry, went OT. If you want to get him headphones, I agree with the over-the-ear type. However, if he's like my teen, it's not that he wants any headphones, he wants the ones by BEATS because that's what's "cool".

 

[mjkacmom]

Beats are so ridiculously over priced. That's what my teen DD wants to, but I have a hard time paying $140 (the cheapest I have found) for a pair of headphones.

Sorry, went OT. If you want to get him headphones, I agree with the over-the-ear type. However, if he's like my teen, it's not that he wants any headphones, he wants the ones by BEATS because that's what's "cool".

I agree - he doesn't want headphones if they're not BEATS.

 

[RadioNate]

Beats are so ridiculously over priced. That's what my teen DD wants to, but I have a hard time paying $140 (the cheapest I have found) for a pair of headphones.

Sorry, went OT. If you want to get him headphones, I agree with the over-the-ear type. However, if he's like my teen, it's not that he wants any headphones, he wants the ones by BEATS because that's what's "cool".

I agree too, if you are going to get headphones, get the Beats. I know they are expensive but the kid wants Beats. As adults we get the price/quality difference but kids want to fit in and fitting in means having the cool stuff other kids have.

Does everyone have a $75 limit? Or is that your budget? I think I'd forgo headphones all together if I couldn't get the 'right' ones.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If anyone is having a similar dilemma, feel free to piggyback on this thread.

Anyway, I was assigned a 13 year old boy from our office Angel Tree, and I have a $75 limit. He only asked for items that cost $300+ and "Dr. Beats" and his letter was really vague, he didn't describe the items, request colors or anything.

We were also told to buy the kids new jackets. I spent $25 on the jacket, and now I want to buy him some headphones. He didn't specify earbuds or over the ear. What do your kids prefer? And what brands do they like? I was thinking about Skullcandy, the $60 Hesh 2 are on sale at Target for $48. Also, I found the Smokin earbuds, which are cheaper, and then I could get something else, like a hoodie to go with the jacket. I'm also thinking that I should by black instead of randomly picking a color, right?

I appreciate anyone who can point me in the right direction, thanks.

He probably already has regular earbuds, so I would not do the "smoking earbuds".

Go for the "over the ear" Skullcandy on sale at Target.

If you can find a cheaper ear bud "Beats" I might go that direction. However they are expensive but you might find it on sale.

 

[robinb]

What does the rest of his letter say? Maybe we can help you on something else less expensive that the Beats. The best price I saw for those was $119 for Beats Solo over Black Friday.

 

[sam_gordon]

What does the rest of his letter say? Maybe we can help you on something else less expensive that the Beats. The best price I saw for those was $119 for Beats Solo over Black Friday.

That price has gone up to $139 BTW.

 

[okeydokey]

I would go over the ear too. And don't worry about not getting the Beats. Heck, my kids don't get those kind of brand names and we are not on the angel tree. I would get the best quality over the ear you can find within your price range. I find Amazon a great place to check out reviews on products like these.

 

[luvmy3]

If anyone is having a similar dilemma, feel free to piggyback on this thread.

Anyway, I was assigned a 13 year old boy from our office Angel Tree, and I have a $75 limit. He only asked for items that cost $300+ and "Dr. Beats" and his letter was really vague, he didn't describe the items, request colors or anything.

We were also told to buy the kids new jackets. I spent $25 on the jacket, and now I want to buy him some headphones. He didn't specify earbuds or over the ear. What do your kids prefer? And what brands do they like? I was thinking about Skullcandy, the $60 Hesh 2 are on sale at Target for $48. Also, I found the Smokin earbuds, which are cheaper, and then I could get something else, like a hoodie to go with the jacket. I'm also thinking that I should by black instead of randomly picking a color, right?

I appreciate anyone who can point me in the right direction, thanks.

My ds13 has requested headphones but does not like the look of the Hesh 2 ones, he likes the style of the Beats better. I am not buying Beats so I'm trying to find something that is more like them than the Hesh ones.

 

[robinb]

What about getting a set of Monster over the ear headphones? Monster makes Beats and they make less expensive headphones too.

 

[sksjasams]

My oldest DGD is 12 and she wants Beats too. We have 5 DGkids and a budget of $75 for each, so we can't get her the Beats. I asked her mom if she would want another kind, and nope, she only wants the Beats and if not, would rather have something else other than headphones.

I decided to go with some other "trendy" items, since that is what she is wanting. I got her an Under Armour Big Logo Hoodie, a pair of Nike Elite Basketball socks, a pair of black sequins mocassins, and a book. Total about $76.

So what I am suggesting if maybe find some other trendy items...maybe an Under Armour hoodie (I would go gray rather than black) and a 3 or 6 pack of Nike or Adidas socks (black). And if you really want to get headphones I would not use a large part of my budget on them since they are not the kind he asking for. Maybe something like these - good reviews and low price:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/sony-zx...blue/8896062.p?id=1218936716177&skuId=8896062

Good luck!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yes after thinking about it my dd also did not want the Skullcandy either.

 

[design_mom]

My 13 year old son asked for Beats last year. We did not buy them. He and my husband researched other less expensive options and he decided that Beats *or* Skullcandy Skullcrushers would be okay, so he got the Skullcrushers. (His are bright blue). I don't think they have the status-symbol value of Beats, but my son has commented several times how much he likes them.

For him, he decided he would rather have *some* headphones rather than *no* headphones, although Beats would have been his first choice. So I guess it depends on the child, and there's really no way of knowing what your Angel Tree child prefers.

If I were you, I'd probably get a nice pair of $50 headphones unless there was another item on his list that fits the budget.

 

[SLP958]

I would also suggest getting cheaper headphones. There is no way I would put out that kind of $$$ for a single Angel Tree gift.
I realize kids on need want the same things as other kids but I probably would not even buy those for my own kid.

 

[SMD]

Thanks for the advice.

The limit for everyone is $75, and I really don't want to go over it. The kid's letter had a name, an age, and a list of items that were all 1-2 words, so very little detail. Even his name was non-gender specific and we had to get clarification from the charity that he's a boy.

I want to get him headphones because otherwise he's not getting anything on the list. I was talking to my co-workers today, these kids apparently go to one of the worst schools in LAUSD. Some people were worried about making the kids targets with the gifts. Maybe I'm a cynic, but I think it's more likely an expensive item will end up for sale.

As far as Beats. 2 years ago my 12 year old cousin asked for the over the ear Beats, didn't care which color, so he got white. This year at 14 he wanted the ones that clip to your ear, so he can wear them while running, we decided to get those in black. His 17 year old sister asked for earbuds, also in black, to use with her iPhone. We bought them on Black Friday and they were $135 and $90 respectively. So I wasn't really sure about the over the ear kind, since Beats does make both.

 

[sksjasams]

Thanks for the advice.

The limit for everyone is $75, and I really don't want to go over it. The kid's letter had a name, an age, and a list of items that were all 1-2 words, so very little detail. Even his name was non-gender specific and we had to get clarification from the charity that he's a boy.

I want to get him headphones because otherwise he's not getting anything on the list. I was talking to my co-workers today, these kids apparently go to one of the worst schools in LAUSD. Some people were worried about making the kids targets with the gifts. Maybe I'm a cynic, but I think it's more likely an expensive item will end up for sale.

As far as Beats. 2 years ago my 12 year old cousin asked for the over the ear Beats, didn't care which color, so he got white. This year at 14 he wanted the ones that clip to your ear, so he can wear them while running, we decided to get those in black. His 17 year old sister asked for earbuds, also in black, to use with her iPhone. We bought them on Black Friday and they were $135 and $90 respectively. So I wasn't really sure about the over the ear kind, since Beats does make both.

I would say 95% chance he wants the over the ear kind. What other items are on the list?

 

[SMD]

I would say 95% chance he wants the over the ear kind. What other items are on the list?

BMX bike wheels, custom rims and another expensive part.