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Two greatest Christmas gifts my parents got me when I was a teenager:

1) a subscription to YNAB plus a monthly allowance (intended to cover all incidental school expenses like fundraisers and meals after sports games plus some spending money) that I earned by showing I had balancing my budget each month

2) "my day," meaning one day of the holidays was set aside for me to plan, and I could pick any activities (within reason), anywhere I wanted to go out to eat/any meal I wanted my mom to cook, any games I wanted us to play, etc

Other gifts that I loved (which weren't always Christmas gifts, but maybe birthday or special occasion) were books that were meaningful to my parents, like books that they loved or that had some significance to them. I'm only just now getting around to reading some of them, but they're so nice to have now and were still so special even before I read them

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Love this list! Just fyi the toni box starter set link isnt working

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Updated - thank you!

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Thank YOU!

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Those light up ice cubes! Added immediately. Which then sent me down a rabbit hole of ice cube trays, my 9yo loves ice and making fancy drinks so I got her some fun trays, a diamond one and one that makes 4 ice cube kitties lol, and dinosaur ice cube tray for my 7yo boy. Thank you for another winning list!

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omg CUTE i've never thought of fun ice cube trays for the kids!!!

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Our boys loves to dress up: so any costumes like ninja, doctor, fireman etc last all year round not just Halloween

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The best thing about tween/teens (especially girls) is that they love to make slide decks of their holiday wish lists including hotlinks to directly purchase the item (with link to correct size and color!). Often items are organized by price or category and most won't hold back on including a 'dream' gift or two. Kinda like your gift guide!

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STOP. this is hysterical!!!!!

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Can confirm teens want money. Or just ask them- they’ll typically have a very detailed list they can provide.

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The link to the hats and sweaters isn’t working

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So sorry the company removed them! I think we may have overwhelmed them with orders

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Thank you so much!!!!

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Haha! Understandable they are so adorable!

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update: my girlfriend bought these on etsy and loves! https://go.shopmy.us/p-10909042

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Do you happen to have a link for that personalized sweater? It doesn't work, but I'm dying for that!

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they took them down (i think we overwhelmed them!) but this etsy shop is also great! https://go.shopmy.us/p-10909042

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Where are the personalized hats from? The link is broken, but I would love to get!

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The personalized hat and sweater links are not working - i get a 404 error. :-(

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so sorry, that shop got overwhelmed by our sales and took them down! this etsy shop is great for the sweaters! https://go.shopmy.us/p-10909042

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My boys are 7 and almost 10. I can vouch for walkie talkies. We live in Asheville, NC so snow toys and clothes are good to get/have. At these ages, our boys are into anything sports related or art supplies. Over the door basketball hoops (there's one that lights up and keeps score) are great for a basement play area. Or outdoor basketball hoops, soccer goals, flag football set, all enjoyed a lot. A fort building kit was a hit a few years ago for indoor days. We are getting to the stage in which toys are not as desirable so that makes it harder to find ideas that don't break the bank!

We've always done: Something to want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read.... plus an experience gift as a family. That helps keep us in check. Less truly is more!

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Silicone plates? Weird question, we got rid of a lot of our silicone cups and plates when we realized that they kind of taste weird when you wash them in the dishwasher and then make the food taste weird too. Is this just our experience? Or do you hand wash all the plates? Or maybe it’s because we got no name Amazon brand stuff?

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I've def heard people say that but my kids don't notice that!!

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I was looking at Bauble Bar's super cute charm bracelets that you can personalize and their personalized name bracelets for my 8-11 yo nieces!

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ok that is CUTE!

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Gold and silver chains are in with my 9 & 11 year old boys!

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Oh yes! With my guys 7 and 10 as well!

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Bags

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Nice

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