As the holidays go by year after year, trendy gifts come and go. A few years ago we witnessed the truly engaging battery-operated, wall-mounted singing fish. Rewind to the decade prior and we find the puzzling Rubik’s Cube, as well as a dozen theory books on how to solve it. But holiday seasons throughout time have shared one common truth. It’s a constant struggle to find that perfect gift for teens, especially one that adults can feel good about.

This should come as no surprise. Most parents and grandparents, not having been constantly glued to MTV or regular cruisers of the local high school’s hallways, feel hopelessly out-of-touch with what’s cool for teens this and every holiday season. In addition, teens have high demands and a fickle sense of style, making it hard for even the hippest parents to stay on top of the latest trends.

Still, according to published reports, the National Retail Federation is expecting the best holiday sales in four years in 2003 with an expected 5.7 percent spending increase over the previous holiday season. So the question remains: will adult shoppers be in touch with the cool barometer for teens?

To clear the air and avoid perplexing shopping situations, here are a few fundamentals that teenagers tend to look for in gifts. These factors hold steady for technology, fashion, games and most any kind of teen gift.

* Coolness — Teens want the latest, greatest thing out there. It has to be pleasing to the eye and in tune with what’s fashionable these days.

* Customizable — While teens usually want what everyone else has, they also want to be able to put their own twist or stamp on it for self-expression.

* Multi-functional — The more ways to use it and still look cool, the better; in social capacities, for entertainment, for organization or for school.

There are guidelines that savvy gift-buyers can follow to make this holiday season fun and functional for teens. These tips revolve around ways to ensure you hit the hot buttons for teens this season.

First, stick to fashion seen in today’s teen magazines and on TV. Editors and on-air personalities with these outlets are usually trustworthy when it comes to what’s cool to the younger crew. They often publish or broadcast on-air gift guides a month or so before the holidays.

Secondly, the latest technology provides a sure bet for coolness. When it comes to technology, consider a product that delivers what kids crave in terms of speed, coolness and fun, while also delivering what parents crave in terms of longevity and educational value. A product like a graphing handheld from Texas Instruments, such as the TI-83 Plus Silver Edition and compatible TI Keyboard, fulfills this multi-faceted requirement both in and out of the classroom. From a long-term investment standpoint, it can also be used throughout a teen’s educational career.

Third, in the wake of rising homeland security issues, today’s teens are developing a deeper sense of social responsibility. For teens in this category, a donation to a favorite charity in his or her name can be a welcome and heart-warming gift.

Furthermore, there are certain items that will likely never be cool gifts to teens. The following are prime examples of gift-giving faux pas often committed by unwitting parents and grandparents.

* Socks and underwear — Never cool. Few teens are capable of opening this type of present without some degree of embarrassment, no matter how multifunctional or customizable they may seem.

* Footed or flannel pajamas — While these might have made a comeback in some isolated species of teen in the Galapagos islands, footed PJs just aren’t what teens in North America want to show off to their friends. And, beyond being mildly entertaining to other family members, they don’t have any redeeming qualities from a functionality perspective.

* Portable cassette tape players — Yikes. It’s hard enough to stay on top of the hottest music for teens without having to work with an outdated mode of playback.

And lastly, Santa made a list — so should your teen. Identifying the scope of your holiday shopping smorgasbord ahead of time will shorten time spent in long lines at the mall and free up time for family and friends. It might also save some embarrassment for both you and your teen.

Graphing handhelds by TI are available at retail and office supply stores nationwide or on the Web at education.ti.com.

Looking for a snazzy stocking stuffer for your siblings, the perfect gift for a friend, or a stylish token of appreciation for the ‘hostess with the most-ess’? The Body Shop has the holidays wrapped up with an extensive collection of inspirational gifts at a wide range of affordable prices.

“There are gifts that bring the indulgence of a relaxing spa treatment right into your home,and all the benefits of high-quality skin and body care” says Laine Ferguson, Executive VP of Retail, The Body Shop. “And don’t forget a seasonal pick-me-up for yourself to help you stay calm throughout the holiday rush.”

Seasonal Gifting Made Simple

Just for the holidays, the bath and body care collection features a tantalizing trio of festive fragrances. Mix and match scents and products to create personalized gifts and stocking stuffers that are truly “scent-sational.”

Get fruity with Fig – a fresh scent that combines figs, rock rose and peach with a subtle woody fragrance – and available in a stunning collection that includes Shimmer Body Lotion, Shower Gel, Lip Balm and Bubble Bath.

If your holiday tastes are more traditional, consider the sweet, fruity scent of Cranberry – a true holiday classic at The Body Shop. This year, a kiss of Cranberry has even been added to Body Butter® Lip Balm, Shower gel and Shimmer Body Lotion.

Let it Snow! This soft seasonal selection of products with a crisp floral scent of Snow will drift through your senses and pamper your body! Create a blizzard of excitement with Snow Shower Gel, Body Lotion, Bubble Bath, and more.

Soak in the Season

How do heavenly bodies get that way? With “skin-tilating” gifts that soothe and smooth! Dive into The Body Shop Milk — a moisturizing mix of organic milk powder to soothe the skin, infused with a delicate hint of vanilla. The Milk gift combines a miniature Foaming Bath Powder, Shower Cream, and Body Lotion. They’ll be talking about this one ’til the cows come home’!

Butter-up! If you love your body, you’ll love this gift – a funky triangular box has three mini BODY BUTTER® varieties! Drench the skin in decadent luxury with the “fruit” collection in Grapeseed, Blueberry, and Mango or the “nut” collection in Coconut, Shea, and Nut.

Countries all across the world celebrate the winter solstice holiday season in their own unique ways. Some such as Christmas and Hanukah are religious celebrations, while others are non-religious celebrations of nature, people and the coming spring solstice. The reasoning behind the various holiday celebrations can sometimes differ greatly, but there are a surprising number of commonalities among the celebratory traditions. Over the thousands of years that man has celebrated the season, each group influenced others with their traditions.

Today each country and faith celebrates the holiday in their own unique ways, but more often than not you can detect common themes shared between countries. In this article we will take a closer look at how Christmas is celebrated in Germany, during which you will see that their traditions are not unlike those shared by England and America.

The youth in many countries celebrate a beloved mystical figure such as Santa Claus and Germany is no different; the German equivalent of America’s Santa and England’s Father Christmas is none other than the kindly Kris Kringle. Unlike Santa, Kris Kringle is not responsible for passing out gifts to excited children – that duty is reserved by another holiday figure: Christkind.

In Germany children will write letters to Christkind (translated as the Christ Child), much like American children send letters to Santa in the North Pole. The German children place their letters into an envelope heavily adorned with glue and sugar. These envelopes are placed on windowsills where they can glitter in the gentle light of the moon.

And as if the German youth didn’t already celebrate enough kindly eternal figures there is yet one more: Saint Nicholas! Traditionally children will stuff their shoes with hay, straw or carrots every Christmas Eve and leave them on their doorsteps. When Saint Nicholas rides by later that evening on his proud white stallion he stops momentarily by each door so that his stallion can feed on the treats left behind. To thank the generous children, Saint Nicholas will replace the eaten hay and/or carrots with delicious candies.

Few things capture the holiday spirits of people better than the age-old Christmas tree. While millions of people set up their Christmas tree each and every year, a good portion of them don’t even realize that the tradition originated from Germany. Germans love their Christmas trees just as much as Americans and Englishmen… in fact it’s not uncommon to see more than one tree in a German household!

There are conflicting myths about how the Christmas tree first came to be, but one of the most common stories tells the tale of an old woodcutter that stumbled across a young hungry child in the woods. He stopped chopping trees for a bit to befriend and feed the child. Once their meal was finished the two went on their separate ways.

Early during the next morning the child appeared in front of the woodcutter and his wife in the form of a spirit. He identified himself as Christkind and thanked the surprised woodcutter for his act of kindness on the previous day. To repay the woodcutter’s good will, Christkind gave him the sprig of an evergreen tree and told him the tree from which the sprig came would bear fruit year round. In response to this miraculous incident, each year Germans started felling evergreen trees each winter and decorating them with ornaments, candies, candles and more.

Once Thanksgiving arrives in America you can be sure of one thing: virtually every mall and shopping outlet will be adorned with many festive Christmas decorations. Germans know how to kick the holiday shopping system into high gear too… in fact they have a name for this tradition: Kriskringlemart. During this time vendors and merchants will line the various town streets and offer special sales for Christmas. The festive decorations, scents and sounds of the holiday create a true feast for the senses.

What Christmas would be complete without a seemingly endless assortment of tasty foods and drinks? If you were to celebrate Christmas while in Germany you would have your fill of indulgent treats such as spiced cakes, cookies, handmade candies and cocoa. Although all the above are enough to satisfy the palate there are two specialties Germans are renowned for: gingerbread and gluwein (which is a spiced red wine). Bakers also produce a special type of dough called Christbaumgeback, which is molded into various shapes and hung on Christmas trees as adornments.

Each country has their own festive traditions that take place during the winter holiday season, but few are quite as memorable as Christmas in Germany. Those lucky enough to vacation in this wonderful country during the holiday season will leave with memories that will last them a lifetime.