Great birthday gifts for teenagers can be hard to find. Teens are in that transitional phase where they can be unreasonable and unruly. This is the perfect time for them to discover something new and exciting! Read on to find the best birthday gift ideas for teen birthdays.
If you’re looking for ideas for a best friend’s gift, check out this page.
Movie Passes, Concert Tickets, Theme Park Passes
Take them somewhere exciting! Whether riding the roller coasters or jamming to their favorite rock band, teens love tickets to shows and entertainment. Indulge them. 🙂
DVD Boxed Set
Think trilogy or favorite TV show. Teens love to veg in front of the TV. Get them the saga they’ve been wanting to watch, and re-watch, and watch again! Now invite their friends over for a movie marathon. You just turned your birthday gift into a party. You rock.
Personalized Lucky Penny
Charms, key chains, or pendants made of real pennies with their name or a phrase punched right across the front make fun gifts. My nieces and nephews love these! They are always asking if I can get them another for their backpack, purse, or whatever.
To top it off, every penny you order can be hand-picked from the year they were born or from any milestone year!
Sports Stuff
Whether they run track and field, play ball, swim or ski, teens love their own sports equipment. Go for spunky shoelaces to give their feet some pizazz, or a personalized snowboard, or whatever!
Posters and Window Decals
They love decorating their lockers, bedrooms, cell phones, skateboards and anything else they can personalize. Posters and window decals are perfect birthday gifts for teenagers who want to express themselves.
Art Supplies
New paints, pastels, colored pencils, easels and paper are fantastic gifts for the aspiring artist. It’s a great creative outlet.
Musical Instruments
Another great way to let their creative juices flow is the gift of music – music they can create! They want a REAL drum set, a harmonica, or a new guitar (I love my Fender Guitar). Find the best fit for your hometown rock star.
Do they already have a guitar? Get them a pick punch. They’ll never run out of picks again!
Garden Starters
Get a little terrarium kit or indoor greenhouse for the teen who wants to cultivate a green thumb. Small pots with peat soil and seeds are sold in kits virtually everywhere. They love having a garden all to themselves.
iPhone or Android Cell Phone
If they don’t already have a phone, this is a must-have! Teens without texts are like fish out of water these days. It’s a great gift that not only gives them a sense of responsibility, but also a sense of connection.
If they already have one, it’s time to accessorize that phone!
iPods and Speakers
Ah yes, teens and their music… inseparable! iPods with large storage capacity make excellent birthday gifts for teenagers. Their friends can dance to the playlist too when you pair it with iPod speakers.
Gigantic Beach Ball
Seriously, this is just cool! A huge beach ball this size turns people into human bowling pins.
Need I say more?
Cereal and a Bowl
No seriously. They love it.
Buy a cool kind of boxed cereal and a bowl that’s all their own. Classy ceramic bowls are ok, but bowls with funny phrases or pictures rock. Bowls with built-in straws are hilarious because they can slurp the milk out of the bottom like a kid.
Laughable? Oh yeah. And believe me, it’s a winner at every party.
Magazine Subscription
Whether their thing is fashion, cars, life, or nature, there are a truckload of magazines teenagers love to read! Get a 12-month subscription and they’ll remember your gift all year long!
Boxed Set of Books
Remember Harry Potter or the Twilight series? What about Anne of Green Gables or Star Wars? Whatever the genre, if reading is their passion, get them the whole series and let the book worm feast! Find the best selling boxed sets for teens here.
Book of Random Facts
Admit it, it’s cool to know why flamingos are pink. Useful? No, but who cares?! It’s ridiculous. It’s funny. It’s random. And teens love ridiculously funny and random stuff.
Roller Blades, Skateboards, Bikes
Their own set of wheels make great birthday gifts for teenagers on the move. Don’t forget the accessories and stickers! Teens love to personalize their stuff.
Gift Cards
Ugh, did we really just say that?? Yes, we usually preach against them (too impersonal, too generic), but every teen loves to spend money! A birthday gift card to one of their favorite stores lets them exercise their independence at places they love.
The iTunes gift card is a favorite with teenagers. What kid doesn’t love to pick out their own music? iTunes makes it easy – you buy, they download. Done deal.
Up Next: Birthday Gifts For Teenage Girls
Other BFF Ideas
Birthday Gifts for a Best Friend
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