by Katelin Blake

Created on: August 01, 2010   Last Updated: August 02, 2010

People singing carols on the sidewalks of Manhattan, venders brewing steaming hot chocolate and roasting sweet chestnuts, the smell of peppermint, spectators swarming Rockefeller Center and the feeling of joy in the air- that’s Christmas in New York for you. If you have ever walked down a commercial street during this time of the year, you would see that everyone gets into the holiday spirit. You can see children sliding down the hills of Central Park on sleds, young couples ice skating together, and people hurrying in and out of stores to shop for each other.

Being from the big city myself, I have witnessed many young people shopping alone, or with groups of kids there own ages. Even I, myself, have gone into Macy’s and other stores to buy a gift for my sisters and parents on my way to and from school.

Giving a gift to someone shows that you care about them, that you love them and you appreciate them. Searching for an appropriate gift can be frustrating and challenging, depending on the type of person you are shopping for. This can be especially difficult for a teenager because many of them are on tight budgets. Having an adult stand over you while you go through the process of searching, deciding and buying a gift can be extremely annoying. Besides that, no one wants to attempt to buy a gift for someone when that person is shopping right besides them. What good is a gift if there is no element of surprise!?

Teenagers are categorized by many as being untrustworthy, reckless and impulsive. It’s just as stereotypical as saying every Irish person has a drinking problem, or that every person from the Middle East is a terrorist. It is a strange thing that many adults teach their children to talk to a person before you judge them, but then they go off and conclude that young adults can not be trusted alone in a store for an hour or two.

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