By Cynthia Zhang
Amp writer
With dozens of factors to consider, shopping for Christmas presents can be a daunting task, and even more so for teenagers with limited time and money.
Money, especially, can be a source of stress for a demographic in which job opportunities are limited by both law and schoolwork – yet it doesn’t need to be.
“Usually, people should appreciate a present, no matter what it is,” said Ella Peterson, 15. Peterson, a sophomore at Francis Howell High who defines “cheap” as below $20.
Ella said she has both received and given a variety of nice, inexpensive presents, from nail polish to scarves. According to her, finding such presents is “easy” for most people.
“I don’t consider any presents from my friends to be bad because I know that they spent time on them,” said Francis Howell High junior Ivy Rottager, 16.
Rottager said she also believes that thoughtful Christmas presents of any price range still need that – thought.
“I take the same amount of time on each present,” Rottager said. “They have to mean something; they have to be special. I gave my friend a snorkel because she likes to swim; I gave my friend a little box of her favorite cereal. It wasn’t expensive, but it was her favorite cereal.”
Rottager said that “something someone would never need” would be a bad present, as would something bought primarily because “you would want it.”
“Presents have to be something that someone would want, not what they would throw away,” she said.
Francis Howell High sophomore Alyssa Ringhausen, 16, agrees, though she feels that cheap presents can be easier to pick out than expensive ones.
As an example of a bad present received, Ringhausen, cites board games an aunt gave her, despite the fact that Ringhausen does not like board games. Because of this, she advises people to “think about what someone likes and what they don’t like.”
While this is generally a good strategy for buying presents, it can be a hard to use when the buyer does not know a lot about someone. Some people, like Peterson, feel that cheap presents can be fitting for both close friends and causal acquaintances. Others, like Rottager, generally give inexpensive presents to people they do not know well, but still want to give presents to.
Ringhausen admits that her definition of cheap varies depending on whom she is giving a present to. For basic cheap presents, Ringhausen recommends candy as well as gift cards since the latter allows recipients to “pick out what they want.” Peterson said cookies or cards are crowd pleasers.
While she did not have any particular gift ideas, Rottager gave general advice.
“Take someone out to a store,” she said. “If they say ‘oh, yeah, that’s cute’ about something, that’s a good present.”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Loading ...