Gift ideas for a 12-and-a-half-year-old girl?

September 15, 2019 12:47 PM

I'm looking for gift ideas for a wonderful 12 1/2-year-old girl, our friends' daughter. We don't know any other kids this age, and we haven't seen her in about a year, so we don't know what The Big Things are for her peer group.

A little more detail:

--In years past, she's been into making stuff she's seen on Pinterest or YouTube (various kinds of slime, painting glass jars to make them into lanterns . . . ). Last year, she was into clothing from Justice--not sure if that's still the case.
--Her parents say that she likes Why Don't We and that she has been making shell jewelry in the "VSCO girl" style.
--She used to read voraciously, but that has fallen off a bit in the last few years. We'll probably end up getting her at least one contemporary YA book just because we always end up giving books.

A quick internet search tells me that there's a lot of stuff I could get her in the VSCO direction, and I may use that for some inspiration, but there's more to her than the trends she's currently following, so I'd like to include some other ideas, as well.

Thanks for your help!

posted by TEA to Shopping (8 answers total)

My niece just turned 13 and VSCO girl is definitely the thing. Friendship bracelets, scrunchies, white sneakers, big t-shirts, etc. She's moved on from Justice and Urban Outfitters is the ultimate in desirability. Anything they had she wanted.
Of course a book is a great idea too!
posted by MillyMath at 1:27 PM on September 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

If all else fails: A book with a crisp bank-note as a bookmark?
posted by Wild_Eep at 1:28 PM on September 15, 2019 [4 favorites]

Ukuleles are big with tweens at the moment, and are easy to learn. My 12yo just got one for his birthday. If she's at all musical, she should like it.
posted by signal at 4:16 PM on September 15, 2019

Craft kits are nice for that age and she already has a past of liking that sort of thing. Maybe something with beading that seems a little more grown up?
posted by vunder at 4:49 PM on September 15, 2019 [1 favorite]

My daughter is near that age and also into a lot of those things. I think the two things I’d lean towards are raw crafting materials and gift cards. Gift cards for crafting places would obviously work too, but for kids that age, gift cards basically give them buying power to pick out stuff they want. If you’re concerned with “just” a gift card, then some small cute item that can be reused and can hold or contain the gift card would be a good call.
posted by sleeping bear at 5:05 PM on September 15, 2019 [7 favorites]

With the VSCO thing, you might want to touch base with parents first. I've a number of friends with daughters who actively are pushing against VSCO and won't touch anything that is associated with it. For example, a daughter had the HydroFlask before it became the in thing, and now won't use it. She found an old Nalgene bottle in their camping gear and uses it instead.
posted by Ftsqg at 6:14 AM on September 16, 2019 [3 favorites]

Seconding raw crafting materials. My daughter likes Sculpey clay. It's easy to work with, and you can "fire" it with a few minutes in the toaster oven. She likes to challenge friends to see who can make the best sculptures. (I'm then given the fraught challenge of choosing the winner.) You can also make beads and jewelry with it. I'm pretty sure there's a YouTube community around clay modeling as well.
posted by diogenes at 11:15 AM on September 16, 2019 [1 favorite]

An Adafruit wearables kit.

A make your own Ukulele kit.

A sugru variety pack.

a micro:bit (with battery pack). She can make a magic 8-ball game.
posted by at at 11:24 PM on September 16, 2019