For Your Teen
It can be hard to find just the right gift for teens, but there are some great stores that make the search a lot easier.
Valley Flower Co and POST
Valley Flower Co and POST in White River have great products a teen would enjoy. Check out more here.
Jewelia
Jewelia in the Powerhouse Mall has great accessories for the teen girl. I like all the cool headbands and hair clips.
Newbury Comics
Newbury Comics in West Leb. looks like a great place to shop for unique and quirky items a teen would love. Plus, I don’t know of a teen that doesn’t love music, and they carry autographed cds! I particularly find the action figures fun like the mini Starwars storm trooper or Harry Potter figurine. They have gamer gear, mugs and t-shirts with funny sayings, movie themed products, and even backpacks.
Gift Guide for Teens
As a middle school teacher, I’ve seen what teens really want. They like to connect with their peers, express themselves as an individual, and listen or read things that they can connect to the tornado of emotions their feelings. They want to be unique but still fit in.
So for gift ideas things like fun decor for their room, or school supplies that will make them stand out among their peers, tickets to their favorite band or youtuber show (which I just learned some youtubers have shows!) or ways to make connecting with their friends easier like this portable charger or their wireless earbuds.
I definitely like gifts that kids can make things with, which usually are for young kids but Makey Makey allows teens to make a drawing into an electronic device; it’s an invention kit!
Colorful wireless computer mouse? A lot of my students definitely don’t like the laptop touchpads. Anything innovative is great for a teen. This looks amazing! Bubble wrap calendar.
Merchandise from their favorite internet, gaming, movie, tv show, or book character. You know whatever they spend hours on their phone doing or talking about.
You can always get them that video game they’ve been talking about too at Gamestop in West Leb.
Lemon Tree Gifts in the Powerhouse Mall has some really cute charms (donuts!) and super fun earrings (pizzas!) Plus fuzzy slippers and soft headbands and scarves. I spent an hour perusing – so fun!
POST in White River for cute erasers that come apart, beautiful pen, fun drawing and journals, lovely smelling candles, and color pencil cases.
Little Istanbul for gorgeous one of kind shoes, bags, decorative pillows, and amazing lamps. Their room will be the place to hang out in.
Gift certificate to Black Moon Games or Dark Mountain Games for the role play / board gamer in your life.
Gifts of experience like a Lebanon Co-op class, Sugar Glider Class, King Arthur Flour class, Blake Hill, AVA or League of NH Craftsmen class, sip n paint experience with friends, Claremont Makerspace class, and more. Did you know you can learn welding at AVA?
Gifts of experience beyond the Upper Valley like Jay Peak’s indoor waterpark, one of the outdoor adventure parks at Okemo or Sunapee or mountain coaster at Gunstock, trip to Xtreme Craze for bounce house and laser tag.
For Children
I used to shop at big box stores for my nieces for Christmas but felt I had to be super creative to come up with gift ideas that weren’t just technology toys or plush toys. I also shopped around big box stores for specific clothing items and didn’t have any luck, until I shopped at the Powerhouse mall.
Nature Calls and Bonkers in the Powerhouse Mall are great places to go for toys and science/nature gifts. I found shower paint, cute finger puppets, and some other great gifts for my nieces here like make your own wind chime. This is my stop for games and toys for my sons now. Love their hands-on gifts and gifts to create and make memories. They have science experiments, make your own robot, unique puzzles, fun board games for toddlers, craft kits like paint by number or weaving, Duplo sets and more.
Lemon Tree Gifts in the Powerhouse mall has some great toys, stuffed animals, unicorn themed gifts, and more.
Country Kids Clothing has cute clothes for children. They’re in the Powerhouse Mall. I’ve bought some great items here like a cozy winter fleece jacket and mittens (which are apparently hard to find for infants).
Gift Guide for Children
Kids explore and discover their world through play and experience. Here are some gift ideas you can do or get in the Upper Valley.
If you’ve never been, or rarely go, you could do a gift of experience to Vins, Billings, or the Montshire and make it a special day. If you go often an annual pass is a great gift.
You can make a bunch of crafts for kids to have fun with. See this website here for ideas.
I hope you find just the right gift for the young ones in your life.
