Pre-teen girl present (California)

[meresal]

Is anyone else buying in this category this season? I have three nieces that are 12, 13, and 9.

I think girls between 10-17 are the hardest to buy for, and I find myself gravitating towards a small wristlet for the one of the eldest girls and the other really likes messenger bags, but I have no idea for the 9 yr old.


Anyone is this position have ideas yet?

I swear, pre-teen girls are the hardest to buy for!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

My experience is only with boys. My son is 9 and has been going to birthday parties for years now (as has his 7 YO brother). The best way to figure out what the child wants is by asking the parent(s). This is the way it's done in our circle. My kids generally go to 10-15 parties EACH per year. It becomes insanely expensive and time consuming so this year, I've decided to switch to only gift cards of $15 per child.

 

[E B]

You're in Texas, right? What about a sterling silver initial charm and chain from James Avery? JA has a bunch of cute charms (hearts, butterflies, animals, etc.).

 

[Haven]

We always give some sort of activity set to our cousins and nieces who fall into this age category.
You can put the sets together yourself, and then decorate them, or buy one already made at a place like Hobby Lobby.
We''ve given:
- Friendship bracelet sets (box filled with different colored string, safety pins, and a safety scissors)
- Bead jewelry making sets
- Baking kits--you can buy these or make up your own just-add-xyz jar and buy cookie cutters or a loaf pan
- Painting kits with a canvas, a set of paints, and a how-to book
- Stuffed animal kits--they sell these at JoAnn Fabrics and such places. It''s an unstuffed animal with stuffing, a safety needle,a nd string.
- Purse making kits
You get the idea!

The kids in our family eat this stuff up. I usually make up the kits on my own so I can paint their names on the boxes or whatever container I use to hold everything in.

Now that I''m making sock monkeys for everyone my friends want me to make sock monkey kits that they can give to their kids. That would be fun, too! You can buy those online, I think.

 

[swingirl]

A lot of pre-teen girls like crafty things. Art supplies, bead kits, friendship bracelet kits. Klutz make a bunch of these kits that come with great instruction books and all the supplies you need.

I really like gifts at this age that kids can enjoy by themselves. Gift cards take someone else to do the work. But it's great fun to be able open your gift and start playing with it. Nice jewelry isn't like that. You don't play with jewelry, you wear it and once it's on, that's it.

I feel for families where everyone has to buy for the kids. Tastes and interests are so varied. My daughter used to get ugly Landsend sweaters every year from her aunt. Ugh! and another always bought books but they usually were for a much younger reading level than my daughter's. They were not thinking "fun". But her gramma hit it right every time because she kept it simple. Fun. Girl. Play. Good luck with your shopping.