What to get a teenager for Christmas

There are several moments related to the Christmas ritual that mark important moments in the life of a human being. First, when one begins to believe, with lysergic certainty, that a gentleman mounted on a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer travels the entire planet delivering gifts in exchange for a letter and good behavior.

Then comes a timid awakening to the suspicion that it doesn’t quite seem possible; from there, he pretends to be believed. On the one hand, we do not want to believe that we have lied to them in this way and even worse that we would believe in such madness. On the other hand, there is a sense of disappointment, as the magic of the world begins to fade. That’s when it goes straight to not believing.

Then a funny thing happens in adolescence, that is, when you are asked what you want as a present – a question with very complex answers – and also that awkward, unformed moment of having to have look grateful for a shirt you’ll never wear. .

The task of giving something to a teenager is complicated. It is a stage of profound changes in which, as the specialists have explained to us, the brain goes through a moment of renewal just like a mobile phone that updates its operating system, so it is necessary to know how to understand this introspective state that can manifest as apathy.

“It’s a very strong transition, like when snakes lose their skin”, illustrates Valeska Woldarsky, psychologist for children and adolescents and holder of a master’s degree in psychology at the PUC.

What to give to this reptile which mutates from carcass? we did a little discussion groups with teenagers to find out more or less what they want this Christmas (apart from being left alone).

Gone, in the dusty 90s, were the days when a simple, multi-purpose pair of Power sneakers was more than enough to climb a hill, play ball or stroll through a wicket until the sole was barely there. leaf. Today, the market and its tentacles deployed via social networks and influencers offers a fairly wide variety of sneakers —as immense as their prices—, among which stand out, for Vicente Reyes (16 years old), the classic Jordan, in its Aura.3 version.

Although the basic clothes of always are well appreciated by today’s teenagers. Which, let’s face it, is way better than taking a risk with a print that you think is cool but is 100% cringe for them.

Shein is a store that may be unknown to the over 35s but which, for the teenage target, is a must. Lucas Fernández (16 years old) assures us that a good idea for Christmas would be to review the site with his parents and to choose by mutual agreement an item of clothing from the site, like this pretty oversized shirt:

Always sparing the language as much as possible, Fernández adds that another option he would like to receive as a gift is “summer clothes”. From which it follows, being very literal, that a bathing suit might be well received.

Antonio Lopez (17) says good hearing aids would be welcomed by him with great joy.

“The AirPods Max They are the best,” he says. In a recent article, we highlighted how this model incorporates a wide, immersive soundstage and a carefully balanced profile, with crisp highs, smooth mids, and powerful lows, revealing elements in songs that didn’t have may not have been noticed before. That is to say, they are headphones with professional characteristics and their price reveals it.

Unless your budget allows for such an investment, there are other much cheaper options that are still of very good quality. For example, the Sennheiser HD250BT headphones, one of our favorite models in terms of price-performance ratio. It does everything you could ask for — and even more — for less than 50,000 pesos: comfort, good sound and reliable battery.

In this line, the group of young people assure that “a new computer or mobile phone” is something they will always receive with their long open arms and a big smile on their buttoned faces. The needs of this target group are clear: to play, maintain an online social life and study. In this order.

For them, the Asus X415 will do just fine: it has a frameless 14-inch screen with four sides. It has 4GB of RAM and a 256GB solid-state hard drive. It’s light and compact—weighing just 3 pounds—it has a new hinge that tilts the backlit keyboard slightly for typing more comfortable, and its price is very attractive. It would only be missing a video card, but that can be added if good notes are taken next year.

If this is the most valuable, indispensable and practically impossible to get rid of artifact for more than an hour in a standby state – what else but the smartphone – then there are very good news in case the teenage blessing has lost or damaged yours. Our expert Alejandro Alaluf, after reviewing many cell phones over the year, finally chose these three as the three best mid-range cell phones. These are new models but they offer the ideal balance between performance and price.

One of the recommended ones is the OnePlus Nord CE2 Lite 5G, whose name is as long as its attributes. Among other things, Alaluf highlighted “its large 6.6″ LCD screen, its 120Hz refresh rate – something more typical of the high end than the average – and its 2K resolution. Its good 5,000mAh+ battery and 33W fast charging (which reaches 50% charge in 30 minutes) also shine. The processor is an octa-core Snapdragon 695, it has 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and it’s 5G ready. What else?

Another option, much cheaper and also environmentally responsible, is to review the options offered by refurbished or used cell phones.

In adolescence, gifts no longer consist only of the products themselves but also of what are called experiences. An equation in which a permit is combined that requires a dose of trust on the part of the issuer and responsibility on the part of the receiver.

It’s a nice step where both parties start to get to know each other a little better and some interesting conversations take place. In a previous article, we spoke with experts who gave us great tips for conducting permit negotiations in a healthy and responsible way.

Naomi Gutiérrez (16) says that in March this year she went to Lollapalooza for the first time and she would certainly like to repeat the experience in March next year. His favorites: Billie Eilish and Lis Nas, who are also performing on the same day.

Daily tickets for Lollapalooza, which will take place on March 17, 18 and 19, cost between 90 and 140,000 pesos and you can find them here .

*Prices for products in this item are updated as of December 14, 2022. Values ​​and availability may change.