11 Age-Appropriate Gifts Teens and Tweens Actually Want

Go beyond the go-to sports gear by getting something that works indoors. This soccer ball has built-in protection and hovers across the floor for ideal kicking practice. It’s like air hockey for your feet.

$19.99 on Nordstrom

A hairbrush may seem uninteresting, but this one is all the rage because its gentle bristles painlessly plow through tangled, wet hair. Bonus: it comes in just about any color and pattern you could imagine.

$8.99 on Amazon

Yoga pants were so last year’s stocking stuffers. 2016 is all about the yoga headband. Any athlete with long hair could use about a dozen of these stylish hairpieces.

$10.89 on Amazon

If you’ve seen a tween any time in the past few months, chances are you’ve also seen one of these bracelets. They’re supposed to be all about “balance” — the black bead allegedly contains mud from the Dead Sea and the white bead is filled with water from Mt. Everest — but skip the symbolism, and they’re really just the latest must-have trend.

$15 from Amazon

S’well water bottles are gracing just about every classroom this year: They keep cold water cool and hot water hot for hours, and come in plenty of designs so you can select creatively for the teen in your life.

$25-45 from Urban Outfitters

The ultimate means of expressing oneself just got a little more comfortable. These emoji pillows let you cuddle with your favorite emotion, and Walmart’s version even has a speaker inside so you can listen to music because there’s nothing emojis can’t do.

$7.98 from Walmart

“Ugly” Christmas apparel isn’t just for “adult” theme parties. According to our experts, teens are holding onto the tacky trend just as much as older millennials, so we suggest a punny sweater big enough to last until next Christmas.

$24.99 from Target

It may just look like a glorified sleeping bag, but the mermaid tail blanket holds a lot of weight with the comfort-obsessed Gen Z. And they’re not just limited to little mermaids: Older teens can’t get their hands off of these, either.

$24.99 from Walmart

Snapchat is great for a lot of things, but battery life isn’t one of them. We suggest getting a colorful portable charger for the student who doesn’t have time between school and sports practice to plug in.

$24 from Urban Outfitters

This trendy design bag made with lasting material is the one gift you can guarantee they’ll use frequently.

$24.99 from Target

This one may qualify for the “one big gift” category, but it’s worth the investment. Not only will your teen score a couple coolness points, but they’ll also get a crash course in “throwback” photography.

$44.99 from Walmart