Great Birthday Gift Ideas for Teenagers for Under $10, including Pac-man and Tetris heat changing mugs.

My neighbour told me last week that she has now finished her Christmas shopping. It seems a bit odd, because I have only just started mine. So, why are we starting our Christmas shopping so early? Does it really take us months to finish this task? Well, the sales have some wonderful bargains and for cosmetics or toys that won't go off, get them in the sales at 75% less than you will need to pay when November comes around again. Do be sure though, that you have a designated area to store these goodies, or you'll have to go shopping all over again in November until you find where you buried your bargain shopping treasure.

In our house, we have a Birthday Box, which is where I buy a bundle of cards for all ages and lots of wrapping paper and a range of gifts that will appeal to any of the friends or relatives we have. I shop in the sales or online for any good bargains, and my children dip in when they get invited to surprise parties or they forget their friends' birthdays. If they look very wistfully at what I have bought, then they can have it as a treat if they tidy their rooms, or do their homework.

Because I have 4 children, I often buy things in bulk to get a cheaper price, or these gifts are great to put in party bags. If they are in my birthday box, I don't need to do the mad scramble before the actual party date draws near. There always seems to be something going on, even if it isn't a birthday or Christmas, children love a reason to celebrate, Easter, Hallowe'en, Bonfire Night, Valentines Day. In the summer, they like to have their friends around and arrange treasure trails in the garden - this works well when there are a range of ages as the older children like to hide the treasure and set the clues for the younger ones to follow. It takes a while to prepare and then the actual hunt needs to be done, so it is a good full day's fun for little cost.

Shop online for some great gift ideas. They don't need to be expensive, the novelty value will often bring more delight than the cost. I just found some fantastic heat changing mugs with their favourite retro video games on such as Pacman and Tetris. You just pour in the water and the game appears. OK, so maybe it's not that exciting, but it is pretty cool and has good novelty value as well as being practical.

For teenagers, they all love Facebook and you can get some great Facebook novelty gifts, including T shirts, mugs, bags , stickers and much more. They also like to have their mobiles, iPods, iPhones, iPads, mp3s, mp4s, headphones, Nintendo DSs, etc and these can be expensive. Why not give them a stylish carrying case so that they won't damage or lose it or a related accessory?

Teenage girls like to give each other small items of jewellery or makeup or small bags or purses. These make excellent stocking filler ideas at Christmas too. You could even make your own Christmas crackers and put more special presents inside.

For children who are developing their independence, make sure that they make clear arrangements when they need to meet with friends or be collected. I am always checking that they have a watch as they constantly lose them or forget to wear them. I carry a spare in my handbag for them. It's also useful to get them to practise timing their essays and exam answers, to make sure they are constantly checking their watch to pace their answers.

Buying gifts for boys usually involves some sort of computer game, which can be expensive, but there are bargains to be found. Buying accessories for their gaming is also a good way of getting something that they will appreciate, without it costing too much. Even memory cards or USB sticks or headphones might seem a bit dull, but are essential things for them to get the most out of their gadgets.

Just as the watches are practical for boys, so too are things like keyrings and wallets as they start to become more independent.

Small fashion accessories can become the latest must-haves with teenagers. My girls are all loving the latest craze for odd-socks and the local gift shop even sells socks, not in pairs, but in threes, so you can get more combinations of odd socks. For the entrepreneurs out there, why not buy socks in bulk, mix and match them, get yourself a domain and a website and brand some cheap boxes and sell pick and mix socks!

Pick and mix retro sweets are also very popular with teenagers and adults. Great gift ideas, and again, for those of you with business flair, think how much mark up you can make by buying the sweets and candies in bulk, boxing them up in funky styles in tins, boxes, jars, takeaway cartons, do a great zappy design website and give your boxes trendy names, great for those people who you might want to send a gift or a quick pick-me-up, but a bunch of flowers just isn't right.

So you could just buy a few gifts, or set this up as a whole giftshop business!