Casey Lewis Knows What Presents Your Teen Wants

Aliyah, a 23-year-old university student in Canada, says she “hates the sound of the alarm” and the experience of waking up when “it’s still dark outside.” She had heard the Hatch “slowly gets lighter,” which she thinks “would help me a lot in the morning.”Abby, 23, discovered the Hatch through TikTok. “I feel like every influencer has one,” she said. “It sets you up for a better routine.”Summer, 24, said she wants one in part because she has seen a lot of people on TikTok talk about their Apple alarm not going off. “Missing something or running late is my worst nightmare,” she said. “My whole thing is if you’re five minutes earlier, you’re ten minutes late.” Several of the girls I talked to mentioned the aesthetic appeal, which is important when you’re sharing DIMLs and GRWMs on TikTok.

Stanley,the “It” water bottle of Christmas 2023, still has its fans. Aliyah has owned a Stanley for three years and says it stays ice cold “for over 24 hours.” She is very particular about water temperature. “If it’s not cold, I would rather just be dehydrated,” she said. She currently owns a pink Stanley and a white one, and is planning to add a cream version. She has tried the much-hyped HydroJug — her younger sister has one — but she prefers Stanley’s insulation. “I think the HydroJug just doesn’t keep the ice as cold,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything beat the Stanley, personally.”

Aliyah says she asked for theRhodeGlazing Milk for her birthday last month and is “loving it.” She has “very sensitive skin” and “it doesn’t irritate my face,” which is why she decided to double down and put the brand’sblushandlip productson her list. Abby says she likes that the brand feels “approachable” and “straightforward.” She started with the pocket blushes, which she uses “every day,” before moving into skin care: “I’m always super-skeptical” of new products — “I’m like, do I want to ruin my face?” But she tried the Glazing Milk and was impressed: “I love it and I use it every day now.” She’s asking for the whole Rhode skin set.Morgan, 21, was similarly skeptical before she tried the brand: “I don’t really know why it would be so amazing,” she recalled feeling about Rhode before trying it. But then she used her friend’s blush; now, “I’m obsessed,” she said. “The formula just feels so nice.” She pointed out that the line feels accessible because it’s “a little bit more expensive than drugstore, but it’s not as much as Tatcha skin.” She also likes the design, calling the packaging “super cute” and “so sleek.”

[The full skin set is currently sold out, but you can still get the Glazing Milk.]

Gracie said Rhode coming to Sephora was “the biggest break” in terms of making the brand more accessible to her and her friends. She pointed out that the lip treatments are “$4 cheaper than Summer Fridays,” which makes them feel more attainable.

Morgan is asking for Tasmans because they work both as a house slipper and a campus shoe. “People go to class in them all the time,” she said.Charlotte, 21, wants Tasmans too. She already has thePlatform Ultra Minis, which she loves, but with the tall sole, “I feel like I’ll roll my ankle.” The Tasmans seem a little more comfortable, something “you can just slip on” and wear to class every day.

Gracy, 19, calls herself “such an UGG stan” and says she’s worn her Platform Ultra Minis constantly because “you can dress them down or dress them up.” The platform “just gives it a little something different,” she said. She likes the platforms so much, in fact, she’s asking for the Platform Slippers this year.

Robesare another example of something Gen Z wants but refuses to buy for themselves. Abby said she’s asking for one this year because it elevates her everyday routine: “I feel like this kind of goes with making everyday life feel a little more luxurious … a little more put-together and upscale.” She’s been looking at Brooklinen, Hommey, and Dusen Dusen. Summer also asked for a Brooklinen robe. Living in Florida, she wanted something lighter but still substantial: “The Brooklinen one is thinner, but it’s still that terry-cloth towel material.”

A new cool-girl hoodie has entered the scene. A brand called Scuffers has oustedonce-hot hoodies from Parke, Pink Palm Puff, and White Fox. Lucy, 18, hopes to get one in butter yellow — her favorite color — this year. “I just love the cut of their hoodies,” she said. And as for the other hoodies on the market, she’s convinced they’ve only proliferated because of influencer gifting: “I don’t really see a lot of people actually buying them,” she explained. “I think they’re popular on TikTok, but they’re not actually popular in real life.”

In all my previous years tracking Christmas-wish-list TikToks, I don’t remember anyone mentioning L’Occitane, the French luxury brand that once dominated American malls before filing for bankruptcy in 2021. But this year, it came up again and again. Aliyah is asking for the shower oil. “I’ve seen that all over my feed,” she said. Summer said her mom introduced her to the body oil, which is “the best-smelling thing ever.” She added the brand’sshimmering body oilto her list after moving away from trendier glow products: “I used to use the Patrick Ta glow-bomb thing, but I don’t like it — it’s too sticky.”

Thefashion industry has moved on from sneakers, but teens and 20-somethings have not:Lucyasked for two pairs this year: brown Puma Speedcats andbright-pink Golas, carefully selected because they match the two sweat sets on her list. Brands like Puma and Gola stand out to her because “they’re not basic, and that’s kind of what I look for.”

But it’s not just about retro silhouettes. Dad sneakers, especially ones from New Balance, topped a lot of wish lists. Summer admitted that she was “always a hater” when it came to the clunky normcore trend — until she realized they were “a perfect walking shoe.” She has since converted: “I think they’re cute now.” She wants the 740s. Morgan said she had been seeing New Balance in a lot of Christmas-wish-list TikToks, and she’d put them on her list if she didn’t already have them. She hasthe 530sand thinks they look especially cute with matching workout sets.

Gracy has her eye on Hoka Clifton 10s in a pale cream-and-gold colorway, which she calls the perfect “leisure” sneaker. She plans to wear them with frillysocksthat peek over leggings or sweats.

Jellycatswere one of the most-mentioned items across all of the Christmas-wish-list TikToks I watched, but most girls don’t have strong preferences for which Jellycat they receive. Charlotte said she “used to think they were kind of silly,” describing them as “overpriced little teddy bears,” until she was gifted one for her birthday. Now, she loves them. “I just think they’re so cute.” “I feel like you can tell a lot about someone’s personality based on what Jellycat they have,” said Abby. Not one Christmas-wish-list TikTok that I watched requested a Labubu. Charlotte described them as “almost like satire,” and Abby told me she never saw them around campus at all, calling them “more of, like, a joke.”