Teens and tweens are notoriously hard to please, which can make gift-giving a little tricky. Luckily, we've rounded up all the season's hottest gifts for the 10+ set with some help from independent analyst and toy historian Christopher Byrne, aka The Toy Guy.
"One of the things that’s so important about teens (and has been for many years) is the social aspect of their lives," says Byrne. Making, sharing, connecting and building community are important aspects to consider when choosing a gift. Today's adolescents still enjoy the old-school activity of playing board games as a way to bond with friends, for instance. The new Dungeons, Dice & Danger game is a great one. Or consider the JBL Flip 6 portable speaker that just begs for a dance party.
"This is a time of life when they may be trying on different identities, discovering who they are separate from their parents and as individuals in a peer group," Byrne says of the post-elementary school age. "Technology has made this possible, so things that can be shared either in-person or virtually are great." The Kodak Step Slim Mobile Photo Printer, for instance, lets teens take photos from their cell phones and print them out to share with friends. And the Rukus FX music mixer allows for music and video creation and sharing.