My 12 yr old grandaughter asked for a donation to the orpanage supported by her favourite group, CD's of that group and books from a series she reads. I'm also giving her pearl christmas tree earings that I got at a consignment shop.

I've got a son who's getting the grinder and pads for polishing granite edges, but I don't think that'll help anyone here! :-)

However, I also have a 19 y.o. daughter who is most likely going to be getting a blackberry.

For the mom that has everything (or doesn't really need anything) a day out with her bestest friend would be a wonderful treat, especially if arrangements were made to take care of the rest of her family (if needed). I can't tell you how often I've ended up giving away a gift certificate to a restaurant that was close to expiring b/c I couldn't afford or couldn't find someone to watch my kids so I could use it.

IMHO, young males are always tough to buy for, so usually resort to gift certs. Young females generally will appreciate hip costume jewelry, cool belts...think accessories.

Are the young adults boys or girls and what are their interests, sports, music, videos? The mom who has everything, what does she do in her spare time? I need more to go on to help out.
Donna

My oldest sons (24 and 20) have insisted on cash the last few years. I do wrap up their favorite treats so they have something to open though. You wouldn't think a box of Tasty Cakes would be fought over but there you are. :)

Pauline, your "young adults" are girls, right? How about costume jewelry? Young women starting out can't always afford to accessorize as nicely as they might like to. Decent quality beaded jewelry is fun and trendy and not necessarily overly expensive. You might even find something nice in an antique store.

You might consider wrapping the gift cards creatively. One year for some of my teen nieces I bought gift cards from a dept. store that sold makeup. Then I found some inexpensive but pretty makeup bags and put the cards in them, and wrapped as usual. They loved having something to open and the extra surprise of some $ to spend. : )

Diana

The teens in our family all want cash. Not gift certificates. Cash.

A cool way to give it is to buy sheets of uncut bills from the US Treasury. Over-priced - but way cool.

For the kids, I've been giving iPod accessories - the iHome alarm clock that you plug your iPod into, the thing that makes it so you can play the iPod over the car radio. Gift cards for downloading music from iTunes. You kinda have to know what they have in that department though (obviously). I also gave my son a a 3 month membership to NetFlix that he semed to appreciate. I'm giving my daughter airfare to go work on a medical mission in Mexico over winter break, and my step-son is getting some cool cooking gadgets and unusual spices like smoked paprika since he fancies himself a gourmet chef. I find Moms are even more difficult. Good luck.

Your granddaughter sounds like a kind & sensitive soul, Sharon - thank you for the ideas!

Ummm, Bill - grinder & pads? You're priceless! Actually, I think you are giving your children the best gift of all, that being, the gift of time spent with you. I'm so envious of the strength you have had in managing to overcome your smoking addiction. I've had to stay away from your thread as I'm embarrassed of being weak - but please know I've been silently rooting for you.

Proudmama, maybe I'll make arrangements to take mom out for the day - a day of beauty kind of thing? I'm going to look into that, thanks for the idea!

Paige, you're right on, we are an estrogen riddled household. I never thought to check out the antique shops, great idea-thank you!

Donna, the girls are 18 & 22 (I feel very, very old, lol). Our older daughter is Board Certified in Dental Assisting, is looking for part time work in that field (any dentists out there?) and is going back to school for Special Ed. Younger DD is into music, music, & music. She hopes to get into music production/engineering or bartending (G-d give me strength). The mom who has everything enjoys dining out, traveling & the casino, lol.

lol Doc, I hear ya about the treats.

Diana, I like your suggestion, I'm just not that creative when it comes to gifting, lol The makeup bags are a fabulous idea, though!

Sweeby, the more I think about it, the more I'm inclined to give cash over certificates. There was an article in the newspaper not too long ago, how some of the mall certificates start to lose value after 6 months or so and some stores won't give odd cash back on a gc -I know my girls won't go into a store to use up a few dollars, so the credit is usually lost.

HoneyB, how did your step-son like your kitchen? I would love to buy for someone that loves to cook, now that would be awesome!

Should add, I'm sorry if my replys are a bit disjointed. I'm watching Oprah about the poor woman who's husband tried to kill her by setting her on fire. So much for sympathetic judges & protective orders.

paulines,
You said the one daughter is going back to school. How about a nice backpack to carry books? Maybe a nice leather "At A Glance" calender along with a note pad.
The other daughter is into music, maybe something relating to that. It's hard with girls that age, remember when we were 22? We thought our moms were so out of it, and we are!!
Donna

I'm watching Oprah about the poor woman who's husband tried to kill her by setting her on fire. So much for sympathetic judges & protective orders.

She's actually been on Oprah several times before, and every time I see her, my heart goes out to her. She's got alot of guts-- more than I could ever muster, that's for sure.

If you do a search on childrens hospice and paliative care bracelets you will find bracelets that are beautiful and sweet. I am giving them to preteen, teens, anyone I can this year. They are "cool" because Johnny Depp is wearing them but are also a fabulous cause. Sorry I cant post a link (i am at work).

My parents give our kids shares of stock. Five shares or fewer, depending on the share price.

When they were little, they got Disney because the certificates had the characters on them. Kids thought that was great- and they liked endorsing the dividend checks (maybe $2.50/year, but hey!) DS followed Disney in the paper.

One year they got Sara Lee because their coffeecake is a weekend tradition for us. We got our first computer and the kids got computer stock. Etc. The year each turned 16 and began to drive, their birthday present was an oil stock. All gifts were relevant to an interest they had. This was the kicker and the reason that even at very young ages, they loved getting these 'paper presents'.

DS handles his own trading now, DivaD1 sits on hers and DD2 is vaguely interested, but to summarize, with very little outlay, it has been a learning experience for the kids while building a small portfolio.

I couldn't figure out what to get my 14 year old nephew. The kid has everything. Every game system in existence and his dad buys him every game he asks for, and that's all he wants/does. (I know, we won't go there)

So I got him a sweater. Then, I realized...I'm the boring aunt that buys the teenager a sweater.

Back to the drawing board.

(Sorry, I'm zero help)

lol, Donna. Hey, I'm a fairly hip mom (unless you ask my kids, lol).

Thanks guys ~ I really like the bracelet & stock ideas!

Thats ok Snookums, thanks anyway!

I always get my kids magazine subscriptions as small, extra gifts. They are inexpensive- $10 to $20 a year. It's the gift that keeps on giving!

I've given gift certificates for manicures, pedicures, movies, restaurants, and tickets to sporting events or Broadway shows.
CDs are ALWAYS popular with teens.

Right now my girls love Lacoste shirts, Juicy sweatsuits, any clothes made by Theory, Alexis Bittar jewelry, and Lauren Merkin evening bags.

Good luck!

artteacher - you know, that's a great idea. He's really into gaming. I bet there are some gaming magazines that he might like a subscription to. I'll check at Borders tomorrow. That and the sweater-from-the-boring-aunt and I think he'll be happy.

A creative way to give money is to make a money garland. I just take a long piece of ribbon, string, yarn, etc and tie $1bills to it. I also intersperse candy canes, x-mas ornaments and little bags of candy to add interenst. Once complete, I attach a tag to one end ("Pull here"), stuff it in a tube (think wrapping paper tube), and wrap it up. This makes unwrapping the money more of an event for the recipient. It has been a hit each time I've done it!