More and more dds friends ds are "de-gifting" - no tangible gifts just experiences and donations. Gifts at parties and gift bags are gone for the most part.
We do plan to give gifts on major milestones- a watch for graduation, diamond earrings for 18, but the smaller stuff is gone.

We gave DD a Sony MP3 player with earbuds and a speaker for her 11th and she loves it. Listens in her room and on road trips and on the trampoline with friends. Also aunts, uncles and grandparents have iTunes gift cards for her to load it and they appreciated the easy gift giving. They can also listen to audio books on an MP3

Clothes from Zara. Or Mango clothing store as well.

Anonymous wrote:I asked her and she shrugged and said "I don't know, I don't really need anything" but I know she'll be disappointed if she doesn't get anything.

This is such a hard age to buy for. She's outgrown most toys but does not yet have teen interests. A phone is off the table. She likes reading (has lots of books), writing (has journals aplenty) and ballet (can't think of any supplies). Help?

A Kindle Fire, a cool stylus for drawing and writing apps, and a gift card with $100 for books.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't give money to a charity.

How about a Kindle for reading?

How is her room? A redo is nice.

We have hue lights all over our house. You need a hub for some so they can get pricy. Best Buy usually puts them on sale/best price and Costco. Other ones don't require a hub but make sure they are URL rated.

I'm the PP who mentioned giving money to a charity and while I definitely would not recommend it as the only gift, my kids really loved it. The oldest is really social justice oriented and my youngest loves animals, so they felt great finding charities and kind of being able to do something about those things.

DP: My kids at 10-12 loved it when their grandparents gave a donation to heifer.org in their name. The idea that there was this real live interesting animal that would make a difference in a family's well-being was really compelling to them. They loved reading about it and just even the concept that an animal could improve a family's fortune rather than cost a lot of money (like our pets!) was super eye-opening. It surprised me how much they liked it. But it was at Christmas and they already got a lot of other gifts too, so I agree on the "not the only gift" caveat.

+1 for not the only gift, but my kids got the animal rehab donations and loved seeing photos/videos of their progress until they were released back into the wild. They were excited enough to share with their classmates, so I'd totally do something similar again.

+2

WWF has little gifts associated with the donation.

https://gifts.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/Default.aspx

Sometimes we don't always need Things but experience. And if they have limited experience, they have no idea what they really want. Ask if she wants to do something or go somewhere or try something new she heard about.

Anonymous wrote:Is she turning 11 or turning 12?

If the latter, I'd do a two-part gift.

The first thing she would open would be a "gift certificate" for a covid vaccine.

The second would be concert or play tickets for four weeks after her birthday, when she'd be fully vaxxed.

My DD turned 12 this year and was super happy to schedule the vaccine the next day! She said it was like a birthday gift from the scientists!

Is she turning 11 or turning 12?

If the latter, I'd do a two-part gift.

The first thing she would open would be a "gift certificate" for a covid vaccine.

The second would be concert or play tickets for four weeks after her birthday, when she'd be fully vaxxed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't give money to a charity.

How about a Kindle for reading?

How is her room? A redo is nice.

We have hue lights all over our house. You need a hub for some so they can get pricy. Best Buy usually puts them on sale/best price and Costco. Other ones don't require a hub but make sure they are URL rated.

I'm the PP who mentioned giving money to a charity and while I definitely would not recommend it as the only gift, my kids really loved it. The oldest is really social justice oriented and my youngest loves animals, so they felt great finding charities and kind of being able to do something about those things.

DP: My kids at 10-12 loved it when their grandparents gave a donation to heifer.org in their name. The idea that there was this real live interesting animal that would make a difference in a family's well-being was really compelling to them. They loved reading about it and just even the concept that an animal could improve a family's fortune rather than cost a lot of money (like our pets!) was super eye-opening. It surprised me how much they liked it. But it was at Christmas and they already got a lot of other gifts too, so I agree on the "not the only gift" caveat.

+1 for not the only gift, but my kids got the animal rehab donations and loved seeing photos/videos of their progress until they were released back into the wild. They were excited enough to share with their classmates, so I'd totally do something similar again.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don't give money to a charity.

How about a Kindle for reading?

How is her room? A redo is nice.

We have hue lights all over our house. You need a hub for some so they can get pricy. Best Buy usually puts them on sale/best price and Costco. Other ones don't require a hub but make sure they are URL rated.

I'm the PP who mentioned giving money to a charity and while I definitely would not recommend it as the only gift, my kids really loved it. The oldest is really social justice oriented and my youngest loves animals, so they felt great finding charities and kind of being able to do something about those things.

DP: My kids at 10-12 loved it when their grandparents gave a donation to heifer.org in their name. The idea that there was this real live interesting animal that would make a difference in a family's well-being was really compelling to them. They loved reading about it and just even the concept that an animal could improve a family's fortune rather than cost a lot of money (like our pets!) was super eye-opening. It surprised me how much they liked it. But it was at Christmas and they already got a lot of other gifts too, so I agree on the "not the only gift" caveat.

Yes on the room stuff. Maybe she wants to pick out a new bed spread or cute throw pillows. Mine liked the felt letterboard thing for a while.

If she’s done something special lately, a collage frame might be fun - put together several photos of the activity and any other memento from it. (Like Spring Soccer 2021 or Girl Scout Camping Trip 2021)

Fashion starts to get big around this age. DD was very particular about what she wanted. Certain colors and brands were a big no. She didn’t mind sending me exact links to what she wanted which I then purchased and wrapped up for her bday!

Wireless earbuds?

Anonymous wrote:Don't give money to a charity.

How about a Kindle for reading?

How is her room? A redo is nice.

We have hue lights all over our house. You need a hub for some so they can get pricy. Best Buy usually puts them on sale/best price and Costco. Other ones don't require a hub but make sure they are URL rated.

I'm the PP who mentioned giving money to a charity and while I definitely would not recommend it as the only gift, my kids really loved it. The oldest is really social justice oriented and my youngest loves animals, so they felt great finding charities and kind of being able to do something about those things.

Anonymous wrote:Could you redecorate her room? Even to a small degree (string lights with little clips to hang photos and drawings, funky pillows from five below)

This

Great suggestions- our DD liked
good markers/pens and a sketchbook for writing/drawing, micron pens and there's a ton of sets of good markers on Amazon--look for good reviews. These are popular with her and her friends.
agree on string lights or one of those lighted sign boards where you can adjust the words (also on Amazon) Room deco is big with this age.

I would love to do experiences, but my kids don't really view those as real gifts. I guess because we pay to take them places all the time. Maybe it would work better if I was more obvious active in letting them pick and plan and maybe made some special box with the tickets or whatever. But one time I did Bway tickets to a show DD had heard about and was excited about (which was more $ than I usually spend and when grandma asked them about what they got DD didn't even mention it! She just said the random small trinket I actually gave her on the day with the tickets). She did love the show though and I guess that's what really matters...But if I do an experience gift again, I'm going to find some way to make it more tangible.

Don't give money to a charity.

How about a Kindle for reading?

How is her room? A redo is nice.

We have hue lights all over our house. You need a hub for some so they can get pricy. Best Buy usually puts them on sale/best price and Costco. Other ones don't require a hub but make sure they are URL rated.