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HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE ’O7 Sure, you expected parenting to be harder for you than it was for your parents. You assumed you’d have more to deal with when it came to sex, drugs even paying for a college education. But you probably didn’t think you’d be getting early gray hairs when it came to holiday shopping. The worst our parents had to deal with was wiiere to store the bike so that we wouldn’t see it. These days, shopping for a teen ager for the holidays is enough to drive the elves to the spiked egg nog. The biggest challenge is that today’s teens know 7 everything! They scan not only the mall, but also every Internet site, podcast and blog to see what’s hot. They’re just not as easy to impress. I’m the president of the Intelligence Group, one of the leading trend forecasting and research com- Today’s parents have their work cut out for them when it comes to gift-giving. Here’s what you need to know from top trend forecaster Jane Buckingham. panies. We conduct hundreds of focus groups all year on behalf of Fortune 500 companies to un cover what kids really think and feel. And when it comes to the holidays, they are certainly not shy about telling us what they’re eyeing. Teen holiday wish lists, we’ve learned, have gotten a lot longer and more specific. It used to be that you could wow your teen with a new Disc man under the tree, but today’s youths are hoping for far-pricier items and luxury brands. Who can blame them when TV shows like My Super Siveet 16 and The Hills present the fabulous life as if it were easily , attainable? So whether it’s a Prada j‘ purse or a Cadillac Escalade, teens | are dreaming big. Perhaps the most challenging pail ' may be that what your teens really want probably isn’t what you want to give them. You may want to give your son something sporty or your daughter something sentimental, but what many of them secretly hope for is cold hard cash. According to a recent Intelli gence Group poll conducted in conjunction with OTX and eCrush among 13- to 17-year-olds, 39% 6 USA WEEKEND • Nov. 30-Dec. 2,2007 ________ Ijon/i Buying# Toys cV Teeny*' say they’d like to receive money this holiday sea son. And it’s not because they want to pay off their cellphone bill or save it for a big-ticket item. To day’s teen is sophisticated and genuinely be- ... lieves that his parents couldn’t possibly know where to buy something cool or wouldn’t shell out the bucks for it. Of course, most parents we speak to feel just a little uncomfortable doling out the Benjamins in envelopes instead of giving gifts. Our inclination is to blame the kids for all of the holiday hysteria, but it’s also Mom r What do 1 teens secretly dream about receiving? Cold l hard cash! j children medals at soccer just for showing up; they write college applica tions lest their teen fail to get into the best possible college. Many approach gift-giving with the same zeal, trying to buy Junior just the right present that not only will sum up their love but also express how T hip they are foi and Dad who may be causing some of the problems. Just as gift-giving has | changed, so has parenting. Today’s | parents are notorious for wanting f (with best intentions) to do right by their children, but they often over do it in the process. Parents give Cover and cover story photographs of Amanda Bynes by Melanie Dunea, CPI for USA WEEKEND Illustration by John Ueland, Ueland Illustration Co. for USA WEEKEND 1’ MB * Hk J HI |£BSf Koppins lk t > $ IS