Turn Down That Music and Get Off My Lawn Moment?
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LisforLeslie,
That’s a really good system! I definitely tended to be pretty oblivious to how much clothes cost until I had to start paying for some of the non-necessity ones. Then I discovered Forever 21! And that you got a decent discount on clothes when you work in a clothing shop.
Copa, if they’re into gardening or cooking at all, I think a small aerogarden with cherry tomato and jalepeno or herb pods would be pretty fun. They’re not a lot of work after the initial set up – just water as it indicated and add a bit of plant food when the light goes off (it’s included in the pod kits) and it’s fun to watch them grow – bonus points if you can eat what you grow.
An aunt one year ages ago gave me a potted lime tree and that was fun, too. It was harder to work with, though, and needed a lot of babying to get good limes.
If anyone is a Swiftie, a Kelce jersey might be fun. But useless they break up in a month or two.
If you have any readers, maybe a kindle gift card or subscription or something similar so they can buy books?
Something along those lines for gamers? (I literally know nothing about gaming. Haven’t touched a video game since the OG Nintendo days.)
@copa, before my niece sent me her list, I was going to get her this and put a few fun things in it. She’s 14.
She’s really into makeup and drawing. So I would have added some fun pens and maybe a little makeup thing or sephora gift card.
Oh, last year, I got my nieces fun bracelets from a local shop. They were probably like $20 or $25 or something. And then I got them little travel jewelry cases with their names on them. That was an easy Etsy google search.
One year I did cookbooks for all nieces / nephew and then a little something to go along with them. They all like cooking. One niece got a Mexican cookbook and tortilla warmer – she’s into mexican food. Another got a baking cookbook and apron – she’s into experimenting w/ desserts and likes making up her own recipes. My nephew, who was 5 at the time, got a kids beginner cookbook and now I can’t remember what the “extra” was.
I had a conversation with some people in my workout class about gift giving, and I think every person who was shopping for nieces/nephews was shocked at the expensive stuff they were asking for! One was asking for Airpods- and my friend was surprised/confused because… she’s 11? And doesn’t even have a phone? Anyhoo.
I have an 11 year old nephew and I’m giving up on getting him gifts (since he has previously not been too excited about my gifts) and instead I’m going to either give him a $50 bill or a gift card to target. The younger nephew (age 6.5) will get some legos and/or hot wheels and puzzles. Quite frankly, I’m less invested in gifting them stuff since I haven’t seen either since *last* Christmas nor talked to them in any form, so I’m not putting much effort into their gifts this year!
@Miss MJ she made it easy to earn the money – after a night of babysitting for my younger sister I’d be able to get something from the pile of items we’d store in her closet. She and my stepdad were pretty open about managing money – and remembering to consider the cost/effort ratio. That plus what I call “shoe math” has helped me either reconsider or justify them. Even if it means spending a little more for convenience – my time has value too!
Shoe math is when you calculate cost/estimated use – a pair of $1400 stilettos will be about $700 per wear. A pair of $150 sneakers will likely get you under $1 per wear.
I love the idea of a art case/ makeup case. I had two when I was in high school and they went with me to college. One for makeup one for art supplies. If they are arty – put in funky pens or pencils. If they are make-up-y toss in some lip glosses or sparkly things.
For a 10-year-old girl, maybe a jewelry-making kit (like friendship bracelets)? Baking supplies for 12-14 is also a great idea. Calendars are always good if you have an idea what theme they might be into. Cute earrings if they have pierced ears and you have an idea what their tastes are. Maybe headphones, portable speakers… These ages are so hard to shop for!
One thing Jackson, who is 12, has enjoyed getting from my parents for the past few years is an animal “adoption.” He’s “adopted” an endangered troop of mango monkeys, a giraffe, and for the past two years, an orphaned elephant. My parents buy a year-long foster/adoption in Jackson’s name, he gets an adoption certificate, and then quarterly emails with updates and photos and a bday message on his bday. He’s an animal lover and really enjoys this gift.
It looks like this set is just about sold-out so it probably won’t work for any of you looking for gift ideas, but for future reference, I bought this set for Joanie (8) during the thanksgiving week sales (it was half off) and it’s her favorite thing right now. She wears a uniform at school and then changes into this when she gets home like it’s her “at-home uniform.” I could see girls up to mid-teens loving this:
Oh, my 18 year old niece likes fun socks and tote bags. We had to cut her off of tote bags because she had way too many.
Thanks for the suggestions! I don’t know the 12- and 17-year-old well, they live in a different state. The 12-year-old for some reason owns just about every Drunk Elephant product under the sun. The 10- and 13-year-old live in a nearby suburb to our city. The 10-year-old is still relatively easy to shop for: she’s happy with games and craft kits. The 13-year-old is getting harder to shop for. She’s creative and likes art/crafts, but increasingly into makeup, clothes, hair.
I recently tried some ELF lip stains after seeing them on TikTok — they were cheap and sometimes I want to put on lip color without it being a lipstick. I thought they were fun and might make cute gifts for tweens. But then I saw that these kids have and use high end makeup already and figured they’d think ELF stuff is lame. LOL.
On the subject of Air Pods, one of my friends has three girls, the middle child is about 7 and has been participating in Girls on the Run. So I guess my friend wanted to get her 7-year-old Air Pods for running and I was surprised. They’re pricey and easy to lose — plenty of adults I know can’t keep track of their ear buds — and the fit can be weird.
I’d also be concerned with any hearing damage using AirPods that young. Also why does a 12 yo need Drunk Elephant??
I’m curious what your siblings/niblings’ parents think of the list, MissMJ. Did they know? I know my mom wouldn’t be happy with me sending a $200 wish list to my aunt haha.
I remember asking for a calendar from my secret Santa aunt/uncle. I’ve also liked nice pens, note paper, a duffel bag, and lip gloss selection.
Other threadjack questions:
– do you expect a thank you card if you gave a gift in person and the recipient asked them then?
– do you get gifts for siblings?
– what kind of gifts do you get for your SO?Damn. Drunk elephant for young teens. High rollers!
Hfantods:
1. I don’t expect thank you cards for gifts I give in person. Saying thanks in the moment is enough for me.
2. I do buy gifts for my two sisters. I used to get their husbands gifts too, but as soon as they started having kids, I no longer bought for the husbands. I like picking out fun things for my sisters, so I’m happy to get them gifts. It brings me joy.
3. Husband varies. I usually get him a couple sweaters, some kind of book, something fun and silly and then go a little overboard on stocking stuffers.A couple years ago, I gifted him a small man purse. He wears glasses and wanted something he could walk around with that would hold his sunglasses. He still takes it on trips when we’ll be out all day. I carry smaller purses now so can’t fit his in mine. He loved it.
