Any Christmas gift ideas for a 16 yr old boy who lost his mom yesterday?

[Snoopymom]

A distant relative past away yesterday from breast cancer and our family is getting her son some Christmas gifts. They did not have much before she got sick, so I can't imagine what his life is going to be like now, and I doubt that any presents have been bought for him. We were not close to them and they live several states away, so we do not know what his interests are. He was a quiet kid into drawing when he was younger, so I don't think he's into sports now, maybe music and movies though. Would gift cards be appropriate? We would rather send actual presents. I'd appreciate any ideas. Thanks!

 

[momof2inPA]

A nice, big warm sweatshirt. If you feel really generous, an ipod or a cheaper version. These are what my 18 year old nephew wants. I hope your young friend finds some comfort in your presents. It's hard to lose your mom at that age and hard to express your sorrow. Poor kid.

 

[DMickey28]

I would go for comfort items... things that Mom may have made sure he had. I would shy away from big purchases though. I don'tknow if I am just wierd or if other people do it, but I tend to do a lot of association. When I was sick, if my mother bought me a toy or something to make me feel better... when i was better it would remind me of being sick and not want to be around it.

I am sorry for the loss in your family, Snoopymom...

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

I would check local stores in there area and see if she had any layaways. Wouldn't that be special if you did find out she had bought some special gifts.

If not, then I would suggest naming a star in his moms honor. I would also send along gift certificates to a music store and maybe a clothing store also.

 

[jx3smom]

Most kids like hooded sweatshirts. Gift cards for cds and dvds would be great. Maybe a stocking filled with personal items like deodorant, tooth paste, tooth brush, etc.

 

[minniecarousel]

There are those "plug-n-play" video games out now. They're just the hand controller & you hook it up to the regular TV to play - they have several different versions - retro Sega is one of them. They cost around $20-25 (a lot cheaper than buying a game for a particular system, which helps if you don't know which game system his has.)

It's good of you to do this for him. I think being remembered at all will be appreciated.

 

[Microcell]

If he is anything like I was, he will be in a fog for at least a month. Nothing will seem real. Maybe get together with other family members to get something big, like an Ipod or a 300 dollar GC somewhere. With each and every gift I got when I lost my mom, it made the pain all the more searing. Keep in mind I am a girl, so he may not be as sentimental and could handle more stuff.

I lost my mom at 16 during Christmas time and I just couldn't function. It just hit me that as of December 16 of this year, I will have lived longer without her than with her. A very sad thought.

 

[rcyannacci]

What about a really nice journal he could write in or some art supplies in a nice knapsack or bag? Something that he could use to work through some of his emotions, if he chose. Or maybe his own set of tools so he could make something? I always feel better, especially when tragedy strikes, when I have a project I can work on and release some of my energy or just get away for a bit.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

It is probably incredibly short notice, but I might go the route of collecting family member memories of his mom and creating a memory box to give him. I did something similar for my DH when his dad died. We learned several stories from when he was little that would have been lost forever.

sorry for your loss....

 

[liznboys]

Oh wow, that poor kid. I have no idea what a teenage boy would want these days. I know that when I was a teen, money was all I really wanted so I could buy what I wanted. I understand why you'd want it to be more personal that money or a gift card though. Good luck, and I'm sorry.

 

[missypie]

How terribly sad! My teenaged niece and nephew live with my sister's ex (their dad) and there's no holiday baking going on at that house. Target has some niced tinned baked goods...fudge, etc. I made a gift basket of fudge, peppermint bark, Lindor truffles, etc., so they'd have some Christmas goodies. If you think he's truly in need, you might want to send a check or an Old Navy gift card.

 

[Snoopymom]

Thank you all so much! Even though I hardly knew her or her son, I cried really hard for them last night. She was the same age as I am and they did not have an easy life. From her childhood all the way through, it was like she never had a chance. I wish I would have tried to reach out to her...more than a Christmas card every year if you know what I mean.

I like the idea of a sweatshirt. Even if he's not into sports, it might be cool to have a UGA one, an out of town team. I'll check out the games you all mentioned too and my husband is in printing and made him a bunch of nice note pads to draw on when he was younger, so maybe now he'd like a more sophisticated art set, even if he's not into it now, maybe it will inspire him and give him an outlet.

Thanks!

 

[sharbear]

I have teenagers and if you get a sweatshirt, make sure that it's a hooded one. I don't see kids wearing anything but. A GC to i-tunes or music match is something kids want. If you really want to make his day, go together with others and get him an x-box, Halo 2 is the game everyone is playing.

Baked goods are great, kids eat food and more food and love sweets.

 

[puffkin]

I would suggest gift certificates to the local movie complex. Movies are a great way to escape and might give him a sense of normalcy. That and hoodies are popular with teens around here.

 

[17inJanuary]

My parents bought me a laptop about 3 months ago becuase i really wanted one,i found a GREAT DEAL , and i convinced them it was for school(since i use it to type and since i am in a advance computer class).The laptop at the time was about 700 bucks so my parents took a big hit for a good cause. This means that this christmas, i probably wont get as much as i originally wanted so i will just say what i would like to have now (Dec 6, 2005) to help all the other parents that are wondering about things to get for people my age or around it. I am doing this now becuase i did a search for christmas gift ideas for myself and came across this site. Luckily, i have free time now which i do not have often. I am also doing this just to express myself, increase my typing speed, cause i have no homework and to relaxxxxxxxxx....
The first gift i wanted was an "Xbox 360" with the 1 year subscription to play games on the internet. The xbox is the newest system on the market but costs about 450 dollars and the internet is free but inorder to play online AGAINST OTHER PEOPLE you have to pay 50 dollars a year. This i dont mind paying myself (the 50 dollars) but like i said the laptop was a big hit for my parents so chances are that i will not get it. The games i would have liked to get would have been the newest "call of duty" , "brothers in arms(the new 1) AND the newest "halo" game. I would also like to have the head piece in order TO COMMUNICATE WITH others while PLAYING ONLINE. This is why xbox is so cool plus the amazing graphics. My friend told me that RECENTLY there was a problem with some of the xbox systems but I AM NOT SURE. Microsoft built the xbox and hosts the internet so it is reliable in my mind because mirosoft is a billion dollar company *cough* monopoly*cough* but whatever.
Since this was probably asking alot of my parents, i decided to ask for another "PLAystation 2", becuase the first one i had broke (my brother played it all day and it was really old, so he probably broke it, when that broke i got my laptop, by the way) i asked for this system if xbox 360 was too much because i still have plenty of games for my ps2. my brother who is younger then me wanted a psp also known as " Playstation Portable", which is hand held and only one player, so this was just another reason to convince my parents to get an xbox 360 or PS2 at least since we had all the games already.
I also wanted an iPod which is an music device that can hold and play at least 1000 songs depending on which one you buy but yet again, this would be too much to ask because and ipod costs about 200 bucks..To cope with this i asked for an MP3 player which hold less songs but is about 190 dollars cheaper depending on which one you buy.
A cell phone is definatly what every teenager wants, the more expensive it is , the better it would probably be. i just needed a new one because i have this old one. if u get one , make sure it has a camera and good ringtones , but there is so much a cell phone can have so i will not get into that.
Something cheap to get for EVERYONE IN UR family is chapstick especially during the winter!
i also wanted a resting or massaging chair or pad becuase they are so comfortable and since i am such a busy guy i need to relax once in a while.
i wanted a shaving kit also.some thing with changable razor sizes or whatever, i wont explain the true reason behind that.
i wanted some special skin creams for myslef becuase i have skin problems in my own opinion. So if you someone you know has a problem and u can buy them somethihng to fix it ... there is a good chance that that would be a good thing to do ALTHOUOGH IT MIGHT NOT be a goog thing to do as a christmas present, be carefull. any ways i dont think u would want that on film either .
i wanted a bike becuase i cant afford a car yet ,which is also on my list. i can still use it in college though if i go to a big campus or something like that.
i actually like to paintball even though i did it once. so i am gonna ask for that also. all my friends have paintball guns and they take me sometimes so i figure it would be a good thing to have one for myself.
roller blades was another under dog gift similiar to the bike one and scooters too.
there is also some cloths i wanted including socks and all that stuff, hoods are a good thing in the winter, but it would be nice to have collared shirts (they dont have to be expensive)
all in all, video games are usually good gifts, sometimes board games .
focuse mainly around at least 2 player games.
if ur child cant have a cellphone then get walkie talkies or something similiar.
sometimes books are good gifts but you have to really know what your son or daughter wants or else its garbage to them.
for older people, i was interested in stocks and in the stock market but i cant do research becuase of school ITS tough .
if ur son or daughter is free over the vacation with no sports or anything then treat ur selfs to a small vacation to spend some quality time with one another, get him a hand held electronic game for the long car rides and air plane if necessaray.
expanding their hobbies is also anther good thing but tell them to read a little more often or research what they like to keep them busy and to no rot their mind then have them blow when school starrts agian.
also, giving him/her more privelegse might be good but u can save that till the new year or new years day.
-christmas presents are usually comprised of 1 big (expensive) gift and some smaller ones but it is not always like that... for example if ur son or daughter is getting good grades or doing something above ande beyond then maybeu might want to do that for them also. and display ur appreciation all though YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO THIS BY MONEY.

my list is still expanding and contracting but this is what i have come up with so far

if i wanted to, i could type all day, but i am tired, and my fingers feel wierd .... so i am going to bed ....bye..
oo7nerd