Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Extravagant is tacky.
Work backwards from something meaningful to fit into budget. Some things are naturally expensive, and nice, but not extravagant, like travel or a first formal dress or (part of) first car for a driver.
Yeah OP tell her that for her 13th birthday you pledge to pay for part of her prom dress or part of a car in the next five years or so.
So, you’re not tacky.
I would be so angry if someone gave my child a gift that assumed they would be getting a car before they turned 18. That's way outside a godparent role.
I think it's so odd that we're supposed to pick a $500 present for someone knowing nothing but their gender, and people are rushing to make all sorts of weird assumptions. If I were to look at the young people in my life (children, godchildren, nieces and nephews), I could come up with a great gift for each of them at that age in that price range, but each would be different. Here are some things that each of them either got, or I would have bought if I was spending that kind of money on them.
Plane tickets to come visit us for a week in the summer and do the DC sites
High end knives, kitchenaid stand mixer, or other cooking equipment
Sporting event tickets -- Caps, Commanders, etc . . .
Sporting equipment
Tickets to see a musical on Broadway, or at the Kennedy Center, or somewhere else
A musical instrument
White water kayaking or rock climbing or ski/snowboard day trip with a couple friends
Woodworking tools
Jewelry making tools
High end art supplies
Art lessons
Camera equipment
A dolphin or shark experience at the Aquarium
A week of summer camp
A room makeover
An extravagant lego or robotics kit