Gift Ideas for an 11-Year Old Girl

I have found that with older kids - money or gift cards are really the best. But I hated doing that. It is just so unimaginative. My son is 13 years old and when he began being invited to girls birthday parties, I did not know what to do. A mother of three girls told me a cute trick - tape 11 dollar bills (or how ever old they will be) together end on end. Then take a small box and cut a hole in the top. Put the roll of money in the box and let the end of the first dollar stick up slightly from the hole in the box. Attach a piece of paper that says "Pull." You can even put a piece of paper at the end with "Happy Birthday." You can add a $5 bill "to grow on." This has been a BIG HIT at every party that we have done this. The kids love it!

We have expanded this idea to many cute things, since he is invited to parties that have many of the same people. One time, we taped $12 worth of dimes together. We have also made a Christmas tree out of money, a money necklace (rolled up dollars for beads), dollars attached to cheap flip flops, etc. We even made a hockey puck and hockey stick out of dollar bills for a boy's birthday. My son and I have enjoyed being creative together and the kids that get these gifts are truly amazed. One girl said she has never taken the gifts apart, because she thinks they are so cool.

That is a hard age sometimes. I signed up on the ToysRUs website and get daily emails that include incredible coupons. They always have cool stuff for girls. At that age it is sort of hit or miss thou. I think you may be safe with possibly some young girl makeup or styling stuff. Possibly a gift card to a local game store or cd store.

If you do not know this little girl very well I would suggest a gift certificate (I know these are uncertain times) to very stable retailer and then she could go shopping for herself. Unless she has specifically stated something that she likes.

Good Luck.

My daughter is 11, but I don't think she is into what a lot of 11 year old girls are into...

My daughter LOVES the "Twilight" series of books. Also, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series. She loves to write and create stories. She also will pick up her journal on a regular basis. She is very much into finding "her own style" and while she is not a mall rat, she would love to go and study the window mannequins to see how they have styled their clothes. Music, music, music. People say that a gift card is too impersonal, but I think sometimes it is the PERFECT gift! I know I would rather get a gift card from some people instead of them getting me something I don't want or need! :)

Good luck and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Sam's has this glamour girl makeup kit. It's a large box that has trifolds and both sides fold out. It has all the essential beauty tools ie nail file, nail polish, lipstick, blush, mascara, mirror, etc..Its super cute and its right @ $20!!!!! My 2 year old wants it but I think she will have to wait for it...I think it would be a really cute gift!!!

Don't over look gift cards. who doesn't like to go shopping and pick something THEY like? if you know this child personally, just think about what they like to do and what sort of personality they have. If they are "girly" then I'd go with Claires Accessories or LIbby Lu, or a clothing store like Justice or Limited Two. If she is more sporty and wouldn't be caught dead in girly stuff then think about places like the sporting store or even just Target where you can get anything from groceries to sports equipment! LOL My nieces and nephews and my own kids love to get gift cards b/c then they can go to the store and pick somethign they want and/or don't have.

Also, the book store is a good one if you know the girl likes to read like mine does. So many options. Just think about the child and what you know about her. again...a store like Target or Walmart pretty much cover all options. music, toys, clothes, accessories, books, video games, craft supplies....all that is there.

Girls this age and up are really into the book series Twilight. There are 4 books in the set, and most girls are hooked after reading the first few chapters. My daughter was challenged to read the first three chapters - I read it aloud to her but I had to leave to get my son before we finished our goal. She continued on and didn't stop for weeks (we have all 4 books). She is now writing a novel of her own and her friends are editing it.
Another great idea for girls this age is any kind of notebook or scrapbooking items - they always find things to do with those.

I have an 11 year old girl and am in the process of buying her something to take to a gift exchange. Here was what she came up with for under 15-
The Daring Book for Girls, Mad Libs with a cute pin,
American Girl Books, or one of the cute craft kits (she picked out the Paper Clip Jewlery kit and the Pedi-cure kit)that they have a Boarders books.
Good Luck!

Webkins are great, so is anything Hello Kitty. Hanna Montana, High School Musical, or a makeup kit.

I have a website for you. What about a really cool blanket with something she is in to...or a custom canvas bag...$15.00 for a bag, with the ribbon and name.

www.nanapuddins.com

J. T.

I'm a thrift store nut. for $20 you can get a bunch of books for 50 cents each. The Little House series, Judy Blume, Babysitters Club, Christo pher Pike. They also have CD's and DVD's.

The dollar store is terrific for picking up hair do-dads, soaps and lotions, lip glosses and makeup.

At 11, a girl is on the verge of womanhood and her interests tend to move to girly kinds of things. You don't need to go with the expensive stuff, because they're just exploring new things and trying them on.

American Girl books, movies or magazine subscription - The books can be found at Barnes and Noble; Target has the movies; Bath and Body works also has American Girl items.

A lil'kinz or webkinz. you can find them at Halmarks or Mardels.

Craft Kits are usually fun-
scrapbook kit
jewelry making kit
Bath & Body works type stuff,
Mani/Pedi stuff
Gift card
HTH

Taylor Swift has 3 CD's available. There's also a CD entitled "Now 29." You should be able to get any of these at Wal-Mart. Camp Rock or Hannah Montana DVD's would probably go over well. Gift certificates are always appreciated: Justice, Limited Too, Wal-Mart, Target, etc. My 11-year-old loves to read and would really appreciate a Barnes & Noble, 1/2 Price books or Borders Books gift card. I hope this helps!

i am 11 and i have 4 brothers pedegg books

My daughter will turn 14 on 12/27.

At age 11 or so, the only clothes she loved were Abercrombie. Gift cards were always appreciated (and still are). Gift card favorites are ITunes, Best Buy, Starbucks, Sephora

The spa ideas are great. I have girls here almost every weekend and they have facials, do nails, etc. They LOVE spa stuff. Bath and Body, Body Shoppe, Sephora, Ulta are all good places to pick up spa items.

The Twilight series is also a great idea. My daughter has finished all of the books. She and her friends LOVE the series. I think it is great that this series is getting so many young girls to read. My daughter had a hard time putting the books down. I am also reading them and they are great.

Hope this helps with some ideas. Happy Holidays!

My girls like Webkinz, Littlest Pet Shop, etc. that have games one the internet as part of the present.

Taylor Swift's new CD "Fearless", Funky hat, scarf or purse from Claire's. Warrior series books by Erin Hunter about cat warriors are appropriate reading. The last book in the Twilight series is a little risque for an 11 year old.

My eleven yr old neice's "wish list" for Christmas is The Taylor Swift cd, The Jonah's Bros cd, and Aeropastle perfume. I got her a cute outfit from there also. HTH

I have 4 girls so love to buy girl things!! 11 is a great age for a scrapbook kit. All my girls loved crafty things at that age...even the ones that turned out to not be real crafty. You can find some cute ones at Walmart that have everything she would need to create a small scrapbook.

Hi B.!

My eldest daughter (I have 2) is 9 and already likes spa type items. This mini spa washcloth and facial scrubbie will be nice for her astringents and facial scrubs that she will be using. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=16376132 Plus they're only $7 per set!

Have a great day!
M.

My 11 year old likes Webkinz. She has an Ipod and a prepaid phone, and always enjoys $ for one of those. She likes gift cards for Wal-Mart and Michaels. Ultimately, though - she prefers green paper with autographed pictures of dead presidents. :) Especially on smaller gifts... she saves until she can afford something she wants. (Her #1 right now is a Nintendo DS).

www.novelcreations.etsy.com

purses made out of recycled books.
Some of them are really cute! I got one for my niece.

I just bought gifts for an 11 year old. Her parents are letting her get her ears pierced this month, so I got her several pairs of fun earrings and a neat thing to store her earrings in (not a jewelry box - but that would be cool, too) but a stand up thing that you hook the earrings onto. Very girly. I just remember at that age liking things that were semi-grown up - like make up, jewelry, etc.

Also - James Avery has great, great gifts in the jewelry category. Girls that age love their charm bracelets, or you could just do a single charm on a necklace that is age-appropriate?

My 11 year old has the following types of things on her wish-list...

Tamagotchi V.5
American Girl Books and doll accessories
Spa Kits
Webkinz (either kids love them or have no use for them at all)

She also loves gift cards. We make sure she knows from whom the money is and ensure they get a specific thank you on what was bought with that card.

Good luck!