Recommended Gifts - Early Teens

Are your teens begging for screen time or picking sibling fights from being cooped up indoors all day? This family friendly Glow in the Dark Capture the Flag Game includes 25 light up game pieces, can be played indoor/outdoor and day/night. Includes running and laughing with siblings/friends as they capture the enemy's flag. Check off your daily exercise and connection with your teen by joining in the fun!

Join a team of fearless adventurers on a do-or-die mission to capture four sacred treasures from the ruins of this perilous paradise, in this fun Forbidden Island cooperative board game that encourages your child to develop strategic thinking and problem solving skills. Great activity when kids come over to play to get everyone off screens.

• 2010 Mensa Favorite Brainy Games Winner
• Best for 2 to 4 players.
• Ages 10 and up
• Playing time: 30 minutes

This is a wonderful book that will engage teens in thinking about historical and current actions of resistance and persistence.

This 3D model kit is a fun way to challenge your teen and allows them to practice focus and fine motor coordination. 

Make packing up school lunch easier and more fun! Simplify the process with this versatile lunch pail, designed with airtight containers and a smart stacking system for keeping food fresh and portable. Its two bins keep servings separate and cleverly pile into a tight, vertical column that saves space--and spills! You can pop either section into the microwave for a hot main dish and just as easily pop it into the dishwasher when you get home from work. Packed with a handy, reusable "spork" and a carrying strap, its thoughtful design is sure to please adults and teenagers alike.

At parties, on the phone, online - teens love to talk with their closest friends. These lively questions will provide thoughtful conversations and lots of laughter with friends.

And for parents, this is a treasure trove of questions to ask your teen to create more connection with fun, casual chats.

This book makes reading Shakespeare easy and fun! Serving as an introduction to the language of Shakespeare, this entertaining story appeals to young adults and is a wonderful way to make Shakespeare accessible and interesting. 

This conversation card game encourages kids to see themselves from a growth mindset. It's a wonderful way to support healthy self-esteem and strengthen the sibling bond with positive interactions.

This bluetooth waterproof shower speaker is a great way for your teen to stream their favorite music even while in the shower!

This swing and ring combo generates tons of indoor fun for kids and lets them be physically active anytime or all the time! 

This is a great imaginative family game that will have everyone talking and laughing together.  Even if you’ve played story games before, this will be a new experience. Simple enough for the little ones to play yet experienced storytellers will find an exciting challenge. INCLUDES: SPARK App with over 16 hours of story music. Plot Cards to help you steer your story. Objects to include in the story. Twists that take the story in an unexpected direction. Goal cards for competitive play. Players: 2-10 or more. Ages: 6+ 

Designed to get everyone laughing. Develops teamwork and connection through laughter.  (Pair up competitive siblings to get them working as a team.) Everyone needs to laugh daily, and those of us who tend to be more anxious or highly sensitive need to laugh even more! Fun for age 7 to Teens, and adults will love it as much as the kids do. Great for family game night.

For the little budding engineer in your home, this kit allows them to build a monophonic FM receiver!  Great gift for teaching children about how electronics work and how to repair them!  Easy to assemble! 

Get your preteen out of the house (and off the screen) with a family friendly, connection oriented game of pickle ball!  Gift this set of Pickleball Paddles to your child and take advantage of the exercise you'll both get as well as social connection with your child this year!  

Your child will love practicing their creativity by designing and making their own jewelry with this kit. This all-in-one kit Includes all the tools, charms, beads and instructions needed to make jewelry, and is a wonderful way to explore the craft of jewelry-making.

This is a family-fun cooperative board game teens and parents will both enjoy playing together. Welcome to Mysterium Park! Its cotton candies, its circus and its dark secrets... The former director disappeared, but the investigation came to nothing. Since that night, weird things have happened at the fair. Psychics are convinced that a ghost haunts this carnival. When you play, the truth will be revealed! In this cooperative game of teamwork and deduction, players work together to solve the mystery. Best with four players, ages 10 and up.

This fun game encourages your child to play as a team and strategize. Gear up for a thrilling adventure to recover a legendary flying machine buried deep in the ruins of an ancient desert city. You'll need to coordinate with your teammates and use every available resource if you hope to survive the scorching heat and relentless sandstorm. Find the flying machine and escape before you all become permanent artifacts of the Forbidden Desert. Great for building problem solving and critical thinking skills!

• 2 to 5 players
• Ages 10 and up
• Playing time: 45 minutes

This book is such a fun collection of constructible paper airplanes that your child will enjoy building then flying.

The Music Box hole punch is a lovely gift for tweens and teens that encourages their creativity while they create their own melody.

This journal is a fabulous way for your teen to engage in self-reflection, even if they are not interested in typical journalling. 

This laundry bag also functions as a punching bag which is a great way for your teen to use their dirty laundry while getting a work out! 

The ooze tube is a great calming tool for all ages of children (and adults too!). 
 

Whether your child is recently interested in art, or has been sketching for years, they will enjoy this drawing prompt book. The prompts will spark your child's imagination and ensure that they have a creative and enjoyable time drawing.

This is a fun cooperative game that encourages strategical thinking.

Your teen will love creating their own lip balm with this kit. It's a fun and creative project for them.

A fun and functional gift for gradeschoolers up through early teens, this silly sharpener makes a great stocking stuffer!

If you had stars on your ceiling as a child, you'll know how terrific these are. If you didn't, wait until you lie with your child in her dark room looking at her glowing ceiling! Relaxing as kids fall asleep. Even teenagers love them.

This massager is a great way for your tween and teens to unwind and relieve tension.

This journal is a lovely way for moms and daughters to connect. The prompts cover a large variety of topics and there's a lot of free space to encourage creativity and discussion about whatever topics you find important. 

Your teen will love creating their own guitar picks!  Designed by guitar players for guitar players; heavy duty, sturdy construction and a stainless steel blade allows the user to create uniform and smooth guitar picks every time. Arrives in its own gift box.

Preteens and Teens love to use their minds, which are exploding with new capacity for conceptual thinking.  The Rubik cube is a puzzle that teens love to experiment with, and it expands their problem solving abilities.  Terrific stocking stuffer!

This scratch off map is such a fun way for your teen to track their travels! 

This is a terrific gift for parents of teens, designed to help parents reconnect with their teenagers.

This handy journal is just the ticket for preserving and showing off tickets saved from sporting events, museum openings, rock concerts, and more. The roomy sleeves store tickets of all shapes and sizes, and lined margins provide space to (new art enclosed) jot down notes about the events. The acid-free pages will keep memorabilia in tip-top shape for years to come.

This letter book is a wonderful way for mothers and sons to bond. The prompts are interesting and fun and encourage communicate between moms and their sons. 

If you're a father looking for additional ways to connect with your daughter, this journal has many quick and easy prompts that will help strengthen your relationship. 

This journal is a beautiful way to inspire parents and children to communicate and share their gratitude. 

Whether your child is recently interested in art, or has been sketching for years, they will enjoy this drawing prompt book. The prompts will spark your child's imagination and ensure that they have a creative and enjoyable time drawing.