DailyCandy’s gifts for teens and tweens

At DailyCandy Kids, we’re all about giving young moms insider scoop on everything kid-related — new fashions, hot products, smart toys and fun activities for the whole family. Of course, those little angels grow up fast — and before you know it they’re ditching curfew and asking to borrow the car. Here are some great gift ideas for those too-cool-for-school tweens and teens in your family.

Here’s what you saw on TODAY:

Fashion
From a fashion perspective, color is back. But use it wisely. We’ve paired this great dress from Ella Moss with a hot pink cardigan ($78), headband ($12.50), and adorable sparkly flats ($165), all from J.Crew. Add in tights ($52) from Hansel from Basel to help keep her warm and a green dino pin ($19) and gold bow earrings ($36) from Chocosho, and she’ll be confident and cutting-edge come January.

Color’s just as key for boys, so start at the bottom with supercool Reeboks from the Voltron Collection ($124.99). Pair them with a brown V-neck sweater from Lacoste ($135), great button-up shirt ($49.50), and vintage slim-fit jeans from J.Crew ($89.50) and he’s good to go. Old-school sunglasses from Ray-Ban ($129.99) finish off the look.

Fun and games
Kids today never knew a world without technology. Which means they’re all about the latest gadgets. If they’re lucky enough to have a Wii already, think accessories, like Prince’s just-released Wii tennis racket, which makes the game feel more real.

Tired of having the “I don’t want to wear a hat” fight? Try this headphone hat from Burton; it’s got built-in earbuds. And if they’re asking for the iPhone but you don’t think they’re ready to handle the responsibilities of a phone, a great compromise is the Apple iTouch, which has the same bells and whistles minus the ability to make a call. For kids anxiously awaiting their learner’s permits but still a couple of years away from pimping their ride, trick out the bike with tire covers from SweetskinZ.

Books
Books don’t have to be a humdrum gift. For the boys, pick up an edition of the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records. Besides being full of cool facts and figures, it glows in the dark so they can read it under the covers. For the girls, grab a copy of “The Daring Book for Girls.” It’s jam-packed with need-to-know info like how to put your hair up with a pencil, play darts and negotiate a salary.

Their rooms
It’s their castle, and they’ll plaster it will rock posters if they want to — unless you get cool wall decals. They spruce up any space and aren’t permanent — a real plus, given that your tween’s tastes change about as often as her hairdo.

For the out-of-town niece or nephew
What are aunts and uncles for other than to load up their nieces and nephews with things Mom and Dad don’t allow? Well, with these fantastic wheat-based, low-fat, cholesterol-free donuts, you can stay in Mom and Dad’s good graces and still give the kiddies a sweet treat they’ll love. Holey Donuts are one of DailyCandy’s Sweetest Things nominees.

For more great gift ideas, go to DailyCandy.com.

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