One year, 17-year-old Kayleigh Vance bought her mother an expensive Christmas gift, but the reaction was not exactly what Vance expected.

“I bought my mom a Fossil purse one time,” said Vance of Bowling Green. “She tripped out. She tried to make me take it back.”

That was a couple of years ago, and because Vance is nearing adulthood, she plans to buy more Christmas presents this year than she did in years past.

“Now that I’m older, I feel more responsible for buying stuff for everyone,” she said.

Teenagers are expected to spend as much, or more, money this year than last year on Christmas gifts - one of the few favorable outlooks for retailers this year - holiday sales are expected to plunge along with the economy.

Most teenagers are not as aware of economic issues, and their spending confidence remains intact, said Rick Shannon, marketing department chairman and associate marketing professor at Western Kentucky University.

“I think teenagers are somewhat oblivious to what happens in the economy unless parents cut off their money,” he said. “I don’t think they understand the impact and just how serious the economy is, and that’s somewhat natural; they’re not really involved in the economy.”

About 76 percent of teens across the nation plan to spend the same, or more, money on gifts this year than last, according to the Junior Achievement’s 2008 Teen Holiday Spending Poll, and about 47 percent plan to spend at least $100 on gifts. Junior Achievement is a worldwide organization geared toward teenage success. This is the eighth year it has conducted a teen holiday spending poll.

Vance and her friend, Katelyn Mitchell, 17, are more involved in the economy than they used to be. Vance works at Rave clothing store, and Mitchell is employed at Zaxby’s restaurant.

“I’m hoping to save. Usually I try to buy everybody everything, and this year I’m making a list,” Mitchell said. “But when you make more money, people expect more.”

And many retailers are relying on teenagers to spend that money. The younger generation makes a significant impact on holiday sales, Shannon said.

“My guess would be that it’s pretty substantial, because they have a lot of money to spend, and they’re more willing to spend it,” he said.

Whitnee Lee, 18, of Bowling Green said she usually does not spend a lot of money on holiday gifts.

“But this year I will,” she said. “It’s my first Christmas out of high school,” so she has a full-time job and more money to spend.

According to the poll, 87 percent of teenagers plan to spend their own money on holiday presents. But parents will not be as generous this year, Shannon said.

“The big spending drop will be what parents are buying for kids,” he said. “Parents recognize that this is not going to be an easy time or a short time, and they are not going to spend as much.”

But kids will spend handfuls of cash on one another, and several retailers will focus this year on marketing teenage- and children-focused products, such as iPods, video games and cell phones, Shannon said.

“A lot of money is spent both by kids and on kids,” he said. “You see a lot of products targeted to the teenage generation.”