I need inexpensive gift ideas for "tween age" girls, please.

[Kitty 34]

A couple of years ago I started a tradition where I invited my great grand nieces over to pick out their own inexpensive gifts from Aunt Kitty. They then wrapped the gifts they picked out, ate goodies I made for them, and took the presents home; not to open until Christmas. Not sure how we're handling it this year but the girls still all want to some how participate.

Their ages are 9, 10, 11 and 13. Gift ideas from $5ish to $15ish would be appreciated. I know you guys will be a wealth of great suggestions. Thank you.

 

[Carol_]

1. Diaries and Journals!!
Kids this year especially need a private place they can go to express themselves.
2. makeup kits.
3. Silly socks or jammies.

 

[mjkacmom]

Bath and body works candles, bath bombs.

 

[Mamabun]

If they have phones, wireless ear buds and gloves you can use your phone with (inexpensive versions of both of these are available from stores like $5 below).

funny earmuffs

sparkly or decorated water bottles

 

[nw6675]

My DD is 9 and loves bath bombs with surprises inside, insulated tumblers or nice color changing cups with straws, art supplies (check out Arteza), Roblox gift cards, craft kits, baking kits...

 

[daisy2013]

All the bath stuff- bath bomb, bath gel, bubble bath
Nail polish lip glosses
Small lego sets
Art supplies- colored pencils “adult” coloring books

 

[Kitty 34]

Just googled bath bombs........very interesting.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I have 3 girls ages 9, 15, 16 and they all love fun, cozy socks. Christmas pjs maybe? Two of mine love makeup and bath stuff, the middle one not so much - but you know your nieces’ personalities.

Are their ears pierced? Maybe some earrings from Claire’s?

Maybe some art supplies?

 

[ronandannette]

Tell us a little more, Kitty - this sounds like a lovely thing you do. Is it like a Yankee Swap or what? How do each of them choose what they want from the available loot?

 

[karen4546]

Just googled bath bombs........very interesting.

I make bath bombs with citric acid, baking soda, corn starch, coconut oil (or hemp oil if requested) essential oils, and food grade food coloring. I personally don't like the epsom salt in my bath bombs. You can get all the ingredients on Amazon.

 

[TCRAIG]

My great nieces (and nephews) favorite cheap/fun gift is Lottery Scratch-Offs -

 

[disneyjunkie]

A gift bag filled with nail polish, lip gloss, a cute journal/planner, a few gel pens and a few pages of cute planner stickers.

 

[Frozen Canuck]

• an ice cream sundae kit (you can buy an ice cream dish and add a small jar of sprinkles and some chocolate sauce
• small, modern board games (Cat Lady is a good one, as is Sushi Go, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, and so many others)
• books--cartoon books like Calvin and Hobbes or drawing/doodle books like Kawaii Doodle Class or Kawaii Doodle Cuties
• Hanayama brain teaser puzzles (very high quality and varying levels of difficulty)
• acid-free fine-tipped markers/pens for people who love to Zentangle or doodle
• SMASH books and accessories
• hair towel wrap
• a brain tickler/head massager (these things are great!)
• Nite Ize BugLit Micro Flashlight
• Pocket Disc flying disc...basically a crocheted “frisbee” which can be folded and stuck in a pocket or backpack
• a Welly kit from Target
• one of those Sherpa blankets that they sell at Costco
• coloring books or activity books designed for older kids--examples include books in the Color Quest series, Paint by Sticker Kids or Brain Games - Sticker by Number books, or Extreme Dot-to-Dot books
• Kanoodle or similar brain games (I'm getting my son SmartGames Zig Zag Puzzler for Christmas as he really enjoys Kanoodle)
• a Rubik's cube or variation thereof
• book light

It is hard to know what to suggest without knowing their personalities...are they nature lovers? creative and artistic? science and engineering-minded? mini chefs? readers?

Something you could do, especially if you think that things might be different this year with Covid, is that you could just curate a box or gift bag for each girl...they could all be the same, or they could be different depending upon ages and interests. You could include favourite snacks, a book, game, or activity, etc. Maybe each girl gets one bigger item (in the $10-$15 range) and then a handful of smaller items to fill it, kind of like doing a stocking, but with better quality items. You could buy some "fancy" soda in a 4-pack and place one bottle in each bag and split up other items as well...one package of Lindt chocolates, but spread them evenly between (and if they don't go evenly, you are obligated to eat the excess for quality control purposes!) Each girl could get ice cream sprinkles, journaling pens or special silver and gold ones, a pad of sticky notes, a suet block and holder for feeding the birds, washi tape, skeins of embroidery floss in their favourite colours for making friendship bracelets from a pattern online, whatever! Just make it fun and eclectic.

Your event sounds really fun and hope that things work out for you to do something special, even if you can't all be together.

 

[NotUrsula]

If they are athletes, tchotchkes with their sport are big with that group.

Gift cards to Redbubble are hugely popular with that group, but that's a wee bit more than you want to spend ($20 minimum for gift cards; though if there are sisters, they can probably share the value.) Redbubble sells custom stickers, which are a big fad with the tween set around here.

 

[katie01]

I see bath bombs were mentioned, but didn’t see cocoa bombs, they are all the rage this year, if one of the shops in your town makes those, there are even some adorable ones shaped like unicorns (try homemade candy stores).

I have a 16 and 13 year old, my older one loves makeup, nail polish, face masks, jewelry. My 13 year old loves anything to do with animals, or art supplies, holiday flavored chapstick, etc

They both love gum and candy.

Do you have a 5 Below store? Everything is $5 and below (although recently they started adding some things for around $10. That is a great place to find cute gifts! They even sell fuzzy pj pants for $5 in cute styles (my girls love those too), and they sell games, craft kits, electronics, and so on. I’ll bet you’d have no trouble finding things there, they do ship also

Have fun with your nieces!

 

[NYCgrrl]

Hair ornaments

 

[neverlandsky]

*Nail polish.
*Makeup, especially liquid eyeliner, and Makeup wipes remover.
*Favorite Candies : jolly ranchers, skittles, etc. Always a hit.
*Face Masks especially Aloe Vera calms acne.
*Their own personal coffee mug (both my teens love having their own mugs for teas, coffee, soups, and of course ice cream)
*A small fun zip bag: great for makeup or brushes, concealing hygiene products, etc.
*Teen styled covid masks: favorite bands or likes.
*Small sketchbook and brush markers for the artists.
*Fun new cellphone case or cellphone pop sockets.
*Netflix subscription gift card.

 

[mjkacmom]

I see bath bombs were mentioned, but didn’t see cocoa bombs, they are all the rage this year, if one of the shops in your town makes those, there are even some adorable ones shaped like unicorns (try homemade candy stores).

I have a 16 and 13 year old, my older one loves makeup, nail polish, face masks, jewelry. My 13 year old loves anything to do with animals, or art supplies, holiday flavored chapstick, etc

They both love gum and candy.

Do you have a 5 Below store? Everything is $5 and below (although recently they started adding some things for around $10. That is a great place to find cute gifts! They even sell fuzzy pj pants for $5 in cute styles (my girls love those too), and they sell games, craft kits, electronics, and so on. I’ll bet you’d have no trouble finding things there, they do ship also

Have fun with your nieces!

I want to get the hot chocolate bombs for my kids this year, thanks for the reminder.

 

[Kitty 34]

Tell us a little more, Kitty - this sounds like a lovely thing you do. Is it like a Yankee Swap or what? How do each of them choose what they want from the available loot?

The girls pick from three groups; 1st item last year was simply candy; 2nd pile was different flavored lip smackers (I think that's what they were called) and then the third item was the "big" gift. The big gifts I put out on the spare bed and they chose who went in to pick first (of course Sophie the oldest decided she was first ) They can trade their gift if they so desire.

Then I have tons of wrapping paper, scissors, tapes, and bows for them to wrap. I swear they love that part. They also wrapped a few gifts I got for younger nephews just to help me out. They put their own tags on their gifts; ex: To Sophie; from Aunt Kitty. I play Christmas music and just simply stand back and enjoy their chatter.

 

[Kitty 34]

Thank you for your helpful replies. I've made a great list and can hardly wait to go shopping. I raised boys so this has been fun for me.