What DO you give a teenager who has everything? Or should that be, “who knows everything”?

Teenagers can be notoriously fickle and hard to please, with many an attempt at giving the perfect gift resulting in much eye-rolling and shoulder-shrugging. Your beautiful offspring, who once clapped their hands in joyous anticipation when you gave them a present, now deems it unnecessary to give you any clue as to what they would like.

Technology has become such an expensive minefield, with a myriad of costly ways for you to miss the mark, that it is best avoided altogether in your quest for the perfect gift. And therein lies the problem: the idea of the perfect gift.

What do we mean by the perfect gift for a Teenager Who has Everything?

Photo by S O C I A L . C U T on Unsplash

What is perfect to you will almost certainly not be perfect for your teenager. Our constant striving for perfection will inevitably lead to disappointment. And nobody needs another opportunity to disappoint a teenager. Why not focus instead on giving a good gift, or a useful gift, or a fun gift?

This is where the experience gift comes into its own. You are able to choose from experiences such as driving a sports car, indoor skydiving, cookery lessons, zorbing…the list really is endless. The opportunity to try something new and create memories is a thoughtful and surprising gift which any teenager should enjoy. It’s always nice to receive something lovely on your birthday, and then have the pleasure of enjoying it at a later date when the activity takes place.

Teenagers certainly don’t need any more things. They live in a world where they are surrounded by things, most of them branded, all of them expensive, which they feel compelled to have. It’s a lot of pressure to get it right, most of which falls on their shoulders. So sometimes you need to take the decision about whether or not to be an adult out of their hands. You can decide that today or tomorrow or this weekend they will be a child again.

Take them somewhere they used to enjoy when they were younger, and do the things you all used to do together before they became uncool. Go to the park or the beach, play chase, build sandcastles, splash around in the sea – just make sure their friends aren’t around to watch. By removing the burden of impending adulthood, you give them permission to enjoy still being a child.

Having said all that, there will always be a place in any teenager’s heart for a really cool gift.

If they are reluctant to tell you what they want (and let’s face it, it can be like pulling teeth…), then you will need to do some research. Luckily for you, the internet has some excellent blogs and websites offering advice for clueless and bewildered parents everywhere. So get yourself a coffee, settle down with your laptop, and let starwalkkids guides help you to the perfect gift for the teenager who has everything.

Disclaimer: I worked on this post with star walk kids.