Teenagers have never been known for their restraint, but perhaps these times are different. Tuned in to worries of a deepening recession, many teens say they've been smart shoppers and lowered their expectations for receiving gifts this holiday season.

"Since I've gotten older, it's got to the point now where gifts aren't everything," said Shakara Walker, 18, a senior at Benjamin Banneker High School in Atlanta.

The sluggish economy prompted members of the Walker family to agree to one major gift and a few smaller items. That's different from last year's long list of gift ideas Shakara and her younger brother picked out of catalogs and magazines to give to her parents.

Research by the Buzz Marketing Group, a youth market research company based in Voorhees, N.J., indicates many teens had come to the same conclusion as Walker and planned to cut back this year. What's more, they had told their parents it was OK to do the same.

"They're making cuts or asking parents for less, saying just get me the big-ticket items and not all the ancillary items," said Buzz chief executive Tina Wells.

These overriding concerns come at a time when many teens are making their first efforts at managing their own money.

A high school sophomore in Rock Island, Ill., Mackenzie Heriford, 16, said she saved a monthly allowance from her parents to spend on Christmas.

Though her family has talked about cutting back because of the economy, Mackenzie expected to spend more than $100 on gifts. Even so, she said her friends also are talking about how the recession affects them.

"A lot of people have been talking about [money] lately because of how bad it's been getting," she said. "I know my parents have been a lot more conservative with their money."

Teenagers wield considerable economic power. All told, the nation's 26 million teens spend about $80 billion a year, according to Rockville, Md.-based market researcher Packaged Facts. Their parents spend another $110 billion for their clothing, food and entertainment, the company said.

Teens typically get their money from part-time and seasonal jobs, parents and other family members.

Walker, for example, used savings from a summer job at Six Flags Over Georgia for her holiday shopping. She said other teens she knows talk about economic problems but many aren't sure what to do because it's the first recession they've experienced.

"They do worry about it," she said. "Most people don't save money ... so when this kind of stuff comes around they don't know what to do."

Retailers, expecting one of the worst holiday shopping season ever, have been working on strategies to get teens back in their stores to spend whatever they have this year.

Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney, for example, planned to have a complete line of new spring clothing for juniors and young men available on the sales floor by the day after Christmas.

The company was hoping teens would come in with their gift exchanges or holiday cash and gift cards.

The National Consumers League says the spending clout teenagers carry in a family is significant. However, teen-oriented retailers have recently reported falling sales, reflecting recent surveys showing teens are more frugal this year, said Executive Director Sally Greenberg .

Earlier this month, American Eagle Outfitters Inc. reported same-store sales slid 11 percent in November, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reported same-store sales were down 28 percent, and Aeropostale Inc. reported same-store sales were down 5 percent.

Junior Achievement — a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based organization that focuses on educating students about financial literacy — says its most recent survey of 500 teenagers showed 57 percent said they would spend the same or less for Christmas this year, while 41 percent planned on spending more.

Jack Kosakowski, president of Junior Achievement USA, said the results may reflect the need for more education about the economy and spending.

"In fairness, these kids are younger teens and have never faced this before," he said. For that matter, it's the worst recession many adults have faced.

Kosakowski said the current economic situation shows how many adults lack enough information to fully understand finances.

He strikes a cautionary note about what's in store for today's teens: "When you look at the subprime loans small business people took out or college-educated people took when they refinanced their homes, it shows clearly that our financial education system has failed these kids who are now adults."