Need ideas for gifts

[BusynMember]

Hi there. I certainly hope your little man gets out of there soon and is feeling better! This is what I do with teenagers.
GIFT CERTIFICATES!!! I have NO IDEA what to get kids that age. My son is 15 and daughter is 12 and they change what they want and like so much that I mostly give them the cards. If you want to give him something tangible, how about CD's (music or movies)? Also, I never buy new bikes for my kids because they get stolen around here (yes, even in small town America bikes disappear like crazy). Maybe he'd appreciate a used bike. Go to Goodwill. Money is always VERY tight for us too, so I try to be very clever about Christmas shopping. I wish you a Merry Christmas and hope your family is in better shape this year!

 

[BusynMember]

Oh, about the birthday party, that just makes me feel like crying. I don't have any advice, but, if it's any consolation, my Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) son never had parties. He didn't have close friends until seventh grade. We used to do family stuff that was lots of fun like bring him to his favorite place (Chuck E. Cheese) or a waterpark. If you lived close to me, my kids would come to your son's party (sniff). I wish I had better advice.

 

[meowbunny]

My daughter was a total outsider for most of her school life. Her friends were few and far between. She would call someone a friend if they said hi to her. I quit the birthday parties after second grade. What I did do was invite one or two kids that she truly liked and wanted to be friends with to do go to a local amusement park. The kids would usually say yes just to go the park. Sometimes they'd even include her in their activities for awhile. It broke my heart.

Today, she does have some friends. She's still somewhat on the outside but not like in school. Her co-workers do include her in activities and she actually gets to have some fun with people her own age. This thrills me. Hopefully, she will one day have a true best friend. At least she's working towards that and that's more hope than I ever had when she was younger.

 

[ML]

I do the same thing as meowbunny. Manster picks 2-3 kids and we do something with a small group. This year I insisted he invite at least one boy Otherwise it's too much pressure.

 

[klmno]

Wow- I just realized I neglected this thread today- I spent my time on General, LOL!

I did get him a couple of cd's (music). I'm not sure yet if they'll be wrapped or stuffed in the stocking. I wish I knew of a couple of guys that would go somewhere with him- lasertag, movies, or just come over and play games or eat pizza and hang out. That would be a good b-day thing to do. But, the friendship issue is a big problem right now. The only boy I know of that acts like he wants anything to do with difficult child is the one I'm trying desparately to get difficult child to stay away from. There is a history to it- I did try having them socialize at home for a while but they both threw the house rules in my face in a very brazen way, so that's the end of that. (This is tthe one with his own cutting issue and previous attempt to buy drugs.) difficult child says that there is a oy that hangs out with them sometimes, but I have never seen him or received a phone call from him so I don;t think he exists. I think he was a "cover" for difficult child to try to get out of admitting who he was really sneaking off to hang out with.

He had a few good friends last year, but they are gone now. One, his best friend from last year, would come around him, but the boys' parents won't let him. This has broken difficult child's heart and that pretty much triggered this big friendship problem this school year. I am considering, however, a couple of movie tickets or something for his b-day next month- if he starts going to school on a regular basis. This way, maybe he would feel a little more motivated to make 1 or 2 new friends at school so he could ask them to go. Actually, I'll see how he does over the next couple of weeks- when he's stable, he does pretty well making friends, although he'll never be the social butterlfy.

And, I did decide to let him have the gift certificate to the mall for Christmas. I like the idea of taking him out after Christmas when the sales are on. I'll wrap it up in a big box and wrap it.

 

[klmno]

Oh- MWM- there have been several times that I wished we all lived closer to each other. It would be a riot to plan a weekend where the kids could get together and hang out and do fun things together and not have to worry about fitting in with the "in crowd"!!