Decide what to buy

It’s time for another installment in our What to buy series. We looked at What to buy Dads last week and this week it’s the turn of another tricky customer…the teenage boy.

If you need inspiration, just take a look at these:

For the music lover - Everyone loves music. Get them an MP3 player and they can take music with them wherever they go. The top rated MP3 player on Reevoo at the moment is the 8GB iPod Touch. It’s currently around £100. If you were looking to spend a little less than that, the second highest rated player is the £70 Sony NWZA816 4GB. And for a complete bargain buy, grab some CDs. Prices start from as little at £2.

For the gamer - Why not go for a games console like the PlayStation 3 (£289)? If they already have a console, they might like a gaming chair (£100). It’s comfortable for extended gaming sessions and you can feel the action through it. It can also be used to listen to music and watch films. There are also lots of console accessories, like this PS3 charging station for £15. For smaller gifts, you could go for a video game (prices start at £2).

For Mr Sociable - A mobile phone so that they can keep in contact with all their mates. For a phone packed full of features, how about the Nokia N95 or N96? Or for a more classy option, how about the Samsung Tocco or the new iPhone? (All phone prices vary according to contract)

For the sporty ones - Some tickets to a football or rugby match will make a great gift. For something more original, why not try this Garmin Forerunner 405 (£169) GPS-enabled sport watch, which tracks your training and sends the data to your computer or for trips to the coast this fishing starter kit (£32)?

For gadgety types - A Wind-Up Torch with Mobile Phone Charger (£7) or some travel speakers for your iPod (£9).

And for the boy that has everything? - Give them this Sonic Bomb Alarm Clock (£24) - guaranteed to wake the laziest of teenagers.

All done. Pretty painless, just as shopping should be.

If you’re purchasing online, follow our top tips for online shopping this Christmas.

It’s half term next week which means many of us will be carting the kids around for days out, going to visit relatives and possibly getting stuck trying to find things to do. Well, while you’re in the car, a little something called Sat-Nanny may be able to help when you need to stop-off somewhere with the kids or if you’re just trying to find fun things to do.

Sat-Nanny is a joint initiative from the folks over at www.childfriendly.co.uk and RoadTour. It’s a programme that works on most sat navs that will let parents know where the nearest child-friendly stops and activities for little tykes are.

Here are a couple of examples of some of the places it will pull up and the info it will give parents:

The Crown- Twickenham: This pub boasts a huge enclosed beer garden, with two fenced off play areas for children of different age groups, making it easy for adults to relax in the knowledge kids are happy and safe.  There is plenty of space for families to eat inside as well, and car parking available.  There is a children’s menu, but the food is limited to the stock options (pizza, fish fingers & macaroni cheese).  Food for adults is typical gastro pub fare - nothing extraordinary, but well priced.  There are baby-changing facilities.

The Mohair Centre- East Sussex: This is definitely a children’s farm with angora goats all ready to be stroked by the kids and other farm animals such as pigs, cows and chickens. In Spring, you’ll be able to watch the lambing and kidding. No kidding! There are also spinning and weaving demonstrations and a nature trail to help the kids, yours not theirs, explore life on the farm.

Hmmm, who was all up for getting it until they read that?!

Well, regardless of the strange lingo, it will help parents find some nice places to take their children. It only costs a one-off fee of £9.95 so it may be worth it. You can download it here: www.roadtour.co.uk.

You can also see a demo here: Sat-Nanny demo

If you’re still relying on traditional methods of navigation that force you to stop every so often to mess around with a big book of roads, treat yourself and get your hands on a nice, shiny satellite navigation system.