Christmas Gift Ideas 12 y/o Girl, 11 y/o Boy

[1BiGG1]

I’m buying gifts for a family this year (I don’t know these people nor will I ever meet them) and trying to figure out a main gift for each kid. I have found several secondary gifts for each but need ideas in the $100 range for the main gift.

Any ideas that are not clothes? What would be really cool for a kid that age?

 

[Gl3nn]

Video games always do the trick for teenage boys.

 

[Xcuze]

Just give them a Gift voucher so they can choose themselves. Thats what kids prefer these days.

 

[Drifterwood]

Maybe guns.

 

[yngjock20]

For the girl, anything Camp Rock or High School Musical. ANYTHING. Berrettes, folders, backpacks...whatever.

-Demi Lovato's album
-Miley's album
-Jonas Brother's album
...that is if they own any music devices.

The boy's gonna be a bit more tough.

-If he's into sports, then you know what to do:

*Basketball
*Football
*Soccer ball
*Baseball

If he's into reading (which most school-aged kids are), get him:

-any one of the Maximum Ride series

-any one of the Twilight series

-"Beedle the Bard"

...or just go to Barnes & Noble and ask someone what the kids these days are reading.

As far as toys go, I'd stay away from that. It's too selective and would probably end up costing you an arm, a leg and a hurt family member who didn't get whatever it is that you gave the other one.

 

[MASSIVEPKGO_CHUCK]

Maybe gift cards from various stores or even ones from a major credit card company in the form of a debit card?

 

[nudeyorker]

For the girl: the place that Michele Obama buys her clothes has some lovely accessories in your range.
For the boy: Al Franken Book Gift set
Seriously thats about the most difficult age to buy a gift for, too old for the toy store by not old enough for most adult gifts, I would go to to a department store and talk to a personal shopper.

 

[MrToolhung]

1BiGG1,

What a great thing you are doing by giving to a family that is in need. You Sir, need to be appreciated for what you are doing. My idea would be a Nintendo DS if you are spending on $100+ for the main gift on each of them. If it is $100 combined a Game Cube is pretty close to that range.

Good Luck!

Merry Christmas to you.

 

[SpeedoMike]

subscriptions to Cosmopolitan and Playboy, respectively?

at my age I'm not really knowledgeable about child-intensive gifts.

 

[Hippie Hollow Girl]

The game player things are a good idea for that age. You might look at Circuit City and see if you can get a good deal there on a game player and maybe 1 game. Our Circuit City's are going out of business, so maybe you can get some good deals there. My 12 year old daughter is big time into Sims 2 games. And so are all her friends. A gift certificate to Wal-mart is a good thing. I have found her computer Sim's games there for $14.99 verses finding the same game at Target for $29.99.

Another popular gift idea for that age in the $100 price range is something called a Rip Stik. It is kind of like a skateboard. Anyways they are all the rage right now. All the kids in our neighborhood are asking for them. You can get them at Target, Wal-mart, Toys R Us. They are about $89.

Hope this helps.

 

[1BiGG1]

Thanks for all the great ideas! I checked out the RipStiks while waiting at the airport and they are very cool. I ordered two + two helmets from Amazon (my sister loved the idea as well and ordered two for kids she is sponsoring). I have a question on these though. Are girls into skateboarding also? It seems like I only see boys when out and about. If so I need something else for a main gift for her.

Buying for kids like this is difficult because you never know what they have at home like a computer or game counsel. I don’t even know if they have a DVD/CD player but did get High School Musical 1 & 2 for the girl along with a Jonas brothers CD for stocking stuffers. I also got a glove, ball, aluminum bat and a soccer ball for the boy to go along with several other items I already have for both.

I scour the ‘net year-round looking for deals and buy quite a bit for Toys for Tots and generally only buy stuff for kids that are a little older as most of the stuff donated is for younger kids. I find sometimes spectacular deals on baby items/younger kid’s toys and buy that as well like early this year I found 25+ dollar Barbie Dolls for five bucks with free shipping. I don’t have any kids so this is fun for me and a bonus is this is all a tax write-off.

Gift cards I don’t do for two reasons, A) I like the idea of gifts that can be opened/played-with Christmas day, and B) I’m afraid the parents might spend them on themselves or other things instead of the kids (a lot of these parents are drug abusers/alcoholics etc. and there are cases where the cards are sold for less then face value to get cash). I am getting the parents a $100 gift card to a local grocery store though.


P.S. Speaking of Sims = I buy those for me! I’ve had every Sim City game since the beginning!

 

[Rikter8]

Maybe guns.

Good Idea!

I would recommend a Remington Airmaster 77.
Licensed Products - Air Guns

These are a HOOT, and he can practice his aim before moving up to something more powerful, like a .22cal or a 4/10.

If that's a little too hot for mom and dad, then Paintball guns are the way to go. But be prepared to clean up the plastered paint.
Marksmanship teaches patience, steady aim, competitive nature, respect for firearms, and helps strengthen the bond between a parent/parents.

That is...unless... you have a Metrosexual for a father....

 

[Rikter8]

...I just re-read and realized ..theyre not your family members.


Meh... Mall gift voucher

 

[midlifebear]

In my day, one received a .22 caliber rifle for your 12th birthday or Christmas that same year. If you didn't kill yourself or someone else by your 18th birthday, the community figured you were a responsible adult.


Go figure. Now you get video games.

 

[B_FruitFly]

Wish someone woulda bought me a hardcore video when i was 12.

It would have consumed all my time

 

[Northland]

I’m buying gifts for a family this year (I don’t know these people nor will I ever meet them) and trying to figure out a main gift for each kid. I have found several secondary gifts for each but need ideas in the $100 range for the main gift.

Any ideas that are not clothes? What would be really cool for a kid that age?

Camping gear. Get them a pup tent-which they can trade off back and forth and each of them their very own sleeproll-a.k.a. sleeping bag. What kid wouldn't love to sleep out in the woods (or maybe just in their yard-which would make the parents more comfortable). Perhaps even throw in a book on hunting and gathering (so they can tell which leaves and berries are safe and which are not).


If they are city dwellers, and camping seems to be unrealistic, find out about movie theaters in the area and check on a movie passbook which would cover a dozen or more movies.

Since you know nothing about them, it is hard to know what would suit them. Do you have any contact with their parents or someone who does know them? If so, try to determine what they like-sports, dance, music, other.

You mentioned skateboarding and wondering if girls are into that. The first person I knew who was into skateboarding was an 8 year old girl many years ago, so, I'd say at least some girls are.

 

[Mem]

An Ipod within that price range, such as a mini or shuffle.

 

[neko446]

Gift card for Gamestop.

 

[1BiGG1]

Hey Northland, camping gear is an excellent idea! These kids are from east-central WI so camping gear should work for them. I had my own tent when young and loved it whether we were actually camping or the back yard. The book sounds cool too. A tent, sleeping bag and some miscellaneous gear would be perfect and not that expensive (I already got both kids mini LED Mag-Lite flashlights anyway just because they are cool).

And no, no contact with the parents other then a list of what they wanted but that only had clothes & boots (which I got + cool tennis shoes). WTF kind of a Christmas list only has clothes? I do know these people are dirt-poor (the father is disabled and not on Social Security yet) but no cool stuff on a Christmas list?

I was asked today if I would take on another single mother with four boys so if somebody else doesn’t step-up I will and the camping gear angle + other suggestions here will be in-play for sure.

I do appreciate all the good ideas and after hearing them I think “why didn’t I think of that!” Some things like IPod’s would be cool but I don’t know if they have computers or money for downloads so I gotta stick with safe items.

 

[Hippie Hollow Girl]

Sorry, I haven't gotten back with you about the Rip Stiks. The girls on my street are all into them this year. There are 5 girls on my street that have them. In the 12 year old range. I am going to get my daughter one also. The girls seem to be able to ride the Rip Stik better than they can the skateboards. I figure anything that will get my kid outside getting fresh air and exercise can't be bad. (My daughter tends to want to stay inside and play computer and video games.) For my son I am purchasing him a Nintendo DS Lite Game player and it comes with a Mario game for $148. From Sam's. I think the game players by theirself are like $120 at Gamestop. $89 with a trade in.

P.S. I have found that Ross Dress for Less is a good place to get neat gifts for charity. There is no telling what you may find there, but it is one of my favorite places to shop. I recently was sent there to purchase toys for Blue Santa and I got a whole car load of neat toys, electronics and sports equipment for $90. I had a hard time choosing.