Gift Question

[Anonymous]

Every year, DD's martial arts school does a gift drive for a local family shelter. I normally do baby gifts, but this year, DD picked up arts/crafts request from a 7-9 year old girl. In the past, I have always bought things that are requested, but also some that aren't, but I know would be needed (like if the baby is 3 months old and they request clothes, I'll pick up clothing to get through a year, diapers, grooming and medical supplies, etc.). So, a couple of questions on the older child.

Should I do the same thing? Instead of just arts and crafts, also get things girls in that age group might like, like soft blankets, or pillows or squishmallows or something? DD (almost 10) says no, to focus on what was asked.

What should the quality of the products be? Better off giving a lot of more generic stuff, or one or two nice things like Prismacolor? DD is artsy, so I have some sense of what I would like to give, just don't really know about quality.

[Anonymous]

No - I don't think you know what 10 year old girls want (blankets?) Just leave it at the request.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No - I don't think you know what 10 year old girls want (blankets?) Just leave it at the request.

My 10yo asked for a blanket for Christmas. Don’t be presumptuous, PP, just because your kids are materialistic spoiled brats.

OP I think it’s a great idea, assuming you’re looking to add to what was requested; you should purchase those things, that’s the whole point. But depending on your budget, some accoutrements would be nice, Justice has really soft blankets that would be perfect for a girl this age. Kohl’s also has some of their Big One blankets with tween designs on them.

[Anonymous]

OP here: DD can’t get enough of soft things. Her bed looks like something out of Princess and the Pea. All the soft blankets at home end up on her bed. She does not seem to be alone in this, as a lot of her friends are like that as well.

[Anonymous]

For a young girl living in a shelter, I would think that a fuzzy blanket that's both cute and warm would be a great gift. Something that's faux-fur on one side and soft fleece on the other, in a cute girly color, would be perfect. Or maybe warm fuzzy slippers or socks, to protect against cold institutional floors. Something pretty and warm, to brighten up a place that may not feel much like home.

For an older girl, I'd probably say get nicer supplies, but for a 7-9 year old, more is probably better. She might not be quite skilled or experienced enough to appreciate a curated set of Prismacolor pencils, but a zillion-color set of middling-quality gel pens would really dazzle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No - I don't think you know what 10 year old girls want (blankets?) Just leave it at the request.

At 10, my kid loved soft, fuzzy pillows and blankets. Even now at 13 she can’t get enough of them on her bed, in the corner of her room where she curls up to read, etc. So I don’t think OP can go wrong there.

As far as art supplies, my kid also loves to draw and craft. Prismacolor would be her holy grail. But she does just fine with lower quality pens and pencils. Sharpies, gel pens, brush pens, as long as she has a variety of tips and colors plus good quality paper (smoother than regular printer paper...she likes sketch pads and journals for that reason) then she’s happy. I’d go for quantity over top quality here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here: DD can’t get enough of soft things. Her bed looks like something out of Princess and the Pea. All the soft blankets at home end up on her bed. She does not seem to be alone in this, as a lot of her friends are like that as well.

And yet my DD has one blanket and is not that type of kid your kid is. Kids are different. Get the kid what she asked for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here: DD can’t get enough of soft things. Her bed looks like something out of Princess and the Pea. All the soft blankets at home end up on her bed. She does not seem to be alone in this, as a lot of her friends are like that as well.

And yet my DD has one blanket and is not that type of kid your kid is. Kids are different. Get the kid what she asked for.

To be clear, I am getting her what she asked for. That’s not in question. It would be idiotic to ignore a specific request and get random things. My question is whether to add extras that she didn’t ask for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No - I don't think you know what 10 year old girls want (blankets?) Just leave it at the request.

At 10, my kid loved soft, fuzzy pillows and blankets. Even now at 13 she can’t get enough of them on her bed, in the corner of her room where she curls up to read, etc. So I don’t think OP can go wrong there.

As far as art supplies, my kid also loves to draw and craft. Prismacolor would be her holy grail. But she does just fine with lower quality pens and pencils. Sharpies, gel pens, brush pens, as long as she has a variety of tips and colors plus good quality paper (smoother than regular printer paper...she likes sketch pads and journals for that reason) then she’s happy. I’d go for quantity over top quality here.

I got gel pens and a giant drawing pad. And a craft kit. I’ll drop by Michael’s and see what they have that would be good. Maybe some watercolors or graphite pencils. Maybe a nice brush set, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No - I don't think you know what 10 year old girls want (blankets?) Just leave it at the request.

At 10, my kid loved soft, fuzzy pillows and blankets. Even now at 13 she can’t get enough of them on her bed, in the corner of her room where she curls up to read, etc. So I don’t think OP can go wrong there.

As far as art supplies, my kid also loves to draw and craft. Prismacolor would be her holy grail. But she does just fine with lower quality pens and pencils. Sharpies, gel pens, brush pens, as long as she has a variety of tips and colors plus good quality paper (smoother than regular printer paper...she likes sketch pads and journals for that reason) then she’s happy. I’d go for quantity over top quality here.

I got gel pens and a giant drawing pad. And a craft kit. I’ll drop by Michael’s and see what they have that would be good. Maybe some watercolors or graphite pencils. Maybe a nice brush set, too.

How about something to store/transport all of the craft supplies in