Gift suggestions for teen girls (14 and 16 year olds)

[mathnerd]

This year, I am participating in a Holiday Gift Giving program for foster girls and I am looking to buy gifts for 2 teen girls (14 and 16 year old). The organizer of the program has only 2 restrictions: that the gifts each be worth a max of $15 and that we don't buy "essentials" (like socks, gloves, gift cards) but something fun and age appropriate for them and which they would enjoy. 

There are no girls in my extended family, so I am not sure what the trend is for holiday gifts for teen girls. Please help me with suggestions on what I should buy. Thank you!

[Dianthus]

Do you have specific girls or just gender and age? Do you know anything about them like if they play sports? Then could get something related like a soccer ball?

Fashion hat or scarf

Hair barrettes or other accessories

Nail polish

Fancy coloring book and pencils

Purse, bag or wallet

Books like Little Women, Pride & Prejudice, Anne of GG, or other classics every girl should read.

Coffee/tea mug or water bottle

$15 is tough. May need to shop sales to get much in that budget.

[katilac]

Don't they give you a wish list of any kind? Or tell you anything about them? If they didn't provide that, I would ask to see if it's possible to get. It's really hard to get anything nice for $15, so there's not much margin for error. 

In the absence of any information, I'd probably go with a bit of a grab bag (because the wrong $15 gift is pretty disappointing, like makeup for the kid who doesn't wear makeup, or a book for the kid who doesn't read). Candy/treats. Face masks. The little plushies or squishies that clip onto back packs. Stickers or vinyl decals. Cute/colorful pens. The super-cute erasers with rollers from the other thread; if you buy little sets like these, you can break them up and each one is only $1 or so. Extra-helpful if you know anyone else doing the same gift program. 

Look for inexpensive party/card games, you can usually find a few in the $5-$7 range this time of year. Amazon currently has Sushi Go for $7.40, Coup for $7, some UNO variations for $5-$6. 

If you have a Five Below, they are great for inexpensive teen items like squishies, plushies, games, crafty items, and so on. 

[kristin0713]

4 hours ago, katilac said:

Look for inexpensive party/card games, you can usually find a few in the $5-$7 range this time of year. Amazon currently has Sushi Go for $7.40, Coup for $7, some UNO variations for $5-$6. 

This is a great idea. Barnes & Noble has a bunch of small games under $15. If you had some guidance on what they would like, I think you could get something enjoyable for under $15. Kids are so different with what they like at this age. With no other guidance, I would probably do a combo gift of a small game, lip gloss, and candy. 

[mmasc]

I’d probably go with a game as mentioned above, or maybe one of those Bath & Body Works sets with the wash/lotion/whatever. They usually have the sets that look so pretty at Christmas. I like the idea of a squishy or fun blanket or something too. 

[Kassia]

18 minutes ago, mmasc said:

I’d probably go with a game as mentioned above, or maybe one of those Bath & Body Works sets with the wash/lotion/whatever. They usually have the sets that look so pretty at Christmas. I like the idea of a squishy or fun blanket or something too. 

I like all of these ideas. 

Can you go with fuzzy socks since those aren't a necessity in maybe some fun patterns?  Gel pens with some pretty note paper or a nice notebook or something like that?  Chocolates or some kind of treats.  A mug with hot chocolate packets.  Lip balm in fun flavors.  I'll keep thinking.

[J-rap]

My girls would have loved a fun holiday set of Bath & Body items.    Also, one of my girls at around that age got a recipe book like this one (recipes in a mug) that she had so much fun using.  I haven't looked at this exact book, but they usually require just simple, basic ingredients ~ put them in a microwave oven and bake!  You have an instant mini-cake, or whatever.

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Mug-Just-Heat-Serve/dp/0990950859/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=make+in+a+mug+recipes&qid=1637157101&sr=8-1

You could get a cute mug to go with it, and maybe even ingredients for one recipe.

 

[PeterPan]

I did spa things for my dd around that age. Target has adorable things (mud masks, body scrubs, lip balms, bath bombs, fuzzy socks, etc.). 

They'd probably also appreciate a cookbook that has pictures for the steps. https://www.amazon.com/Betty-Crocker-Learn-Essential-Techniques/dp/1328497674/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=learn+to+cook+betty+crocker&qid=1637158218&sr=8-1&asin=1328497674&revisionId=&format=4&depth=1  This isn't the exact one my dd received, but it's the idea and easily on budget. You could probably even throw in a spatula and still be below $15.

Edited November 17, 2021 by PeterPan

[SKL]

That's tough - girls are all so different.

When I used to buy for my grand-nieces whom I really didn't know, I would usually buy art supplies such as a nice set of coloring markers, packaged in a cute backpack that they can use for school, sports, or overnights.  It might also be fun to include one or two small cheap things that may not be a hit for that particular girl, but could be exchanged for other small things - such as nail polish/lip gloss, a paperback novel, fuzzy cute footies, an electronic handheld game ....

[alisoncooks]

Haven’t read the other replies so forgive any redundancy. 

My girls are 13 and 15 — and so hard to shop for, lol. As far as “generic” (non interest-specific) gifts, I’d say:

journals, metallic gel pens (a big wish this year was sketchbooks with black paper and white gel pens)

gift cards for treats (coffee shops, ice cream, boba, fast food)

My girls love all that stuff in 5Below, too. Unusual candies, especially. Cheap art supplies. 

Edited November 17, 2021 by alisoncooks