Hi All,
Each year my husband likes to choose something special for his three nieces; they are 15, 17 and 19. His tradition is to find one item (say, necklace, perfume bottles, fancy boxes, nice horn combs) and get a different style for each girl. While he's usually great at coming up with idea, this year he's been swamped at work and hasn't had much brain-space or time to shop. Any suggestions? We're looking at a $25 dollar range for each girl.
Oh, and I should add that since the eldest is away at college a group gift won't work. We really want to stick with a personal gift for each one and would like to avoid the gift card option. These young ladies always love what he chooses for them and aren't hard to please.:) I have some great nieces!
Thanks in advance~
Thanks for all of the suggestions~
Yes, thanks for the kind words, TF and Mel. I do have quite a sweet guy and the girls are pretty wonderful. He's always been thoughtful about gifts for people. We are pretty blessed to have some very *quality* folks in this family!
I have two daughters (20 and 16) and they love anything monogrammed. If you go to Etsy and look up monogrammed gifts you will see so many options! Order fast to give time for delivery, and the thing all 3 girls would probably love are the boot toppers. I'm not affiliated in any way with Etsy or any of the merchants, just a Mom with girls that age and I know what they like!
I like these fortune keeper keychains:
http://www.uncommongoods.com/product/fortune-keeper-key-c...
You could print out a "fortune" for each girl that is a bit personalized and include it as well.
"The One Word that will Change Your Life" book and get them each a stone or shirt with their word.
phone cases
slippers
cute umbrellas
ETA: I just thought of another one - picture frames, preferably with a picture of each of them.
One thing to consider is not giving each girl a version of the other girls' gifts. Sometimes kids this age really want to be individuals.
College kids just love college spirit items - tee shirts and so on with the college name or logo. They can always use more stuff because they hate to do laundry! A coffee pot and some coffee might be nice too - coffee in the dining hall isn't as nice as a starter cup in her room, and the snack bars are expensive.
The 17 year old is driving and might like a nice key ring for her own keys, and maybe some earrings. She's got proms and dances coming up. Maybe a mani/pedi too.
The 15 year old is struggling to find herself as the youngest of 3. Getting into some more "grown up" clothing might be very nice for her. Steer clear of the big name brands and you can get more for your money.
It might sound weird, but sometimes girls this age would really really love a facial to clean out their skin. They worry so much about pimples! You might be able to get a half hour treat for them at a local salon.
I don't have any great ideas but I DO want to say: Your husband is a very thoughtful person. We see so many posts on Mamapedia about dads/husbands who are clueless about gifts, hate to get anything for anyone, expect their wives to shop on their behalf, forget to mark milestones, etc. But you are married to a man who actually thinks about ways to show his nieces they are in his thoughts. Please give him a big hug today and tell him he's a pearl.
Your nieces also sound wonderfully appreciative, which many teens aren't. You are so blessed all around.
It sounds like your husband enjoys giving (and the girls like getting) nicely old-fashioned gifts. If he hasn't given bracelets before, consider something like a personalized bracelet for each girl with her name and the date engraved on a thin bangle, or a bracelet with a single charm that is meaningful for that girl (representing one's beloved sport, or the musical instrument that another plays, etc.). I am not at all a fan of the Pandora types of bracelets (there are similar brands) because they are very chunky and heavy once you have more than a charm or two on them, yet don't look decent with just one or two charms; the girls might not really wear them much if they don't want a heavy bracelet.
An "Alex and Ani" type of thin bracelet with much lighter charms and only one or two very specificially chosen charms for each girl would be easier to wear. You could include a gift certificate worth about the value of a few additional charms if you like. Be sure that your husband writes a note for each girl about why he (and you) picked the particular charm you put on the bracelet. These kinds of bracelets look fine with just one or two charms on them and don't look like they need to be "filled up" like the old link charm bracelets or the Pandora ones do.
But whatever you get them -- both your husband and these young ladies are worth appreciating!
A nice, big pretty ornate dark stained box they can put things in to keep
A bond (will have to wait for it to mature so add a little something with it).
A cute canvas print w/words on it. They sell them everywhere now.
A small silver ring.
a small wallet w/$25 in it.
I wish I could help you Nervy!! My nieces are both in their 20s...my daughter is almost 30...and my oldest son's friends that are girls - they haven't come to the house - so I don't get to see them in anything but a school or public setting...
The one that is in college?
A "CARE" package of sorts - things she can use every day - something to tote her shower stuff to the bathroom - maybe even a basket/caddie filled with shampoo/conditioner, scrunchies, etc.??
http://www.dormco.com/Dorm_shower_caddies_baskets_and_tot...
If the 15 year old has jewelry?? A jewelry box perhaps?? I saw a "Love you most" on Groupon for one...go to groupon.com
Hope that helps!!
I'm with Lisa P. My daughter will be 20 this month.
She LOVES Etsy.com and anything monogrammed.
She got some cute monogrammed boot toppers, scarf, license plate frame, IPhone cases, backpack, monogrammed computer sleeve, all from Etsy. She loves that site and I have no affiliation with it either.
She is a founding mother of Delta Zeta which just started at her college and she loves anything DZ. So if the college student is in a sorority, there are lots of sites where you can get special items.
Starting with her first Christmas, I always got a special ornament for her each year. I always kept them in a special box for her. She moved out to her condo and had her first tree last year and she loved the ornaments that had been saved all these years for her.
Your husband sounds very thoughtful! Merry Christmas!
I'm in the Lisa P. camp. Etsy. Something I saw on there recently was a small personalized plate/bowl that was meant to hold rings/watches on a bedside table. Those would be nice monogrammed. Lots of cute options on that site. https://www.etsy.com/search?q=monogramed%20ring%20holder
I know you said you wanted to avoid gift cards but a gift card to a local nail salon (If you don't live near them you can use yelp to find a good one.) They could each get a nice manicure or Pedicure and it would be especially great for the eldest sense she will have just gone through finals!
Check places like Groupon and Amazon Local for some great deals. My husband got me a necklace that's usually $69 for $30. It's a beautiful necklace that will have my kids names on it. Since you say they are easy to please and like his choices, than getting something personalized from an online shop is a great idea since you don't have to worry about them wanting to return it.
hate to say gift cards, but gift cards - to a favorite store or for iTunes. It may not be personal, it will probably be the most appreciated.
Pashminas?
They have some really cute ring dishes on Etsy that are custom painted with a vintage-looking face, you could get one for each girl with hair/eye color customized for them.
Do they have a charm bracelet? one of the ones popular now is 'pandora' as I recollect. Maybe a parent (or a grand) could get the bracelet...and you could get a charm? The charms come in ALL manner of interests/types...and would be easy to add to for other years. The bracelets start at around 75 I think...but the charms are in your price range. Earrings?? Maybe a book? Barnes and Noble near me has a wide selection of classics leather bound for $20 last I looked! Good luck!
This might be too girly to be from your husband, but how about a cute small makeup bag with lip gloss, nail polish, and a manicure set?
Or a pretty scarf for each (dressy kind not outdoor)
Or set of outdoor hat, gloves, scarf.
I was also going to suggest Etsy. I just ordered a whole lotta stuff from there last week! ;) I got some cute earrings with names written in metal, very reasonable and unique. There were a ton of monogrammed things.
Someone else suggested uncommon goods, that's a fun website too with funky, unique items that are still useful.
Other than that, I would say things like travel mugs for cocoa or coffee, scarves, gloves that they can use with their phones (they have special little fingertips that conduct the heat), maybe even monogrammed stationary?? Do kids still write things on paper?! I really like the products made by Philosophy. They have great lip gloss and their combo body wash comes in so many delightful flavors! I still want these items under my tree! You can usually get them at Ulta for reasonable prices as well. Also maybe one of those cases for phones that can store credit cards and ID, that's a useful product for girls that age.
Good luck!
