Inspire me, please! What are your 13yo girls into?

[DrWAnker]

DD will be 13 on her birthday next month.
I'm very out of touch with knowing what kids are really into and would like to surprise her (rather than just ask her what she'd like)as 1. It's a big deal to be a teenager and 2.She really deserves a proper treat as she has been pretty great these last months.
She is also not super into 'stuff' so she'd be quite happy with some books/art stuff and a new tshirt or something.
But I'm finding the clothes difficult as she is growing out of old tastes - what does the average 13yo like to wear? She lives in leggings and hoodies!
I just feel like maybe I'm holding her back from growing up as we are not really all that up on what's in?
Usually we would have a trip somewhere or pizza out/cinema with friends but obviously that is unlikely at the moment.
So, please could you let me know what sort of stuff your 13yo enjoys...anything from movies/books etc.
I feel like an old fogey .

Mine likes manga and anime. She loves her proper manga drawing markers and special paper.

She also has a drawing tablet that she can use with a laptop.

DD turned 13 last month and I bought her a (second hand) drawing tablet. She loves anime/manga and also has specialist pens and paper for drawing. LOTS of sketch pads, charcoal, pencils, burnishing tools, skin coloured pencils.

She also loves dystopian and feminist literature, steampunk, metal (music), musicals, archery, writing, poetry and arguing feminism on Twitter!

Mine will be 13 in a few months. She likes clothes from Hollister and Superdry. She reads a wide variety of books but loves the His Dark Materials books and has recently got in to Stephen King. She loves Harry Potter too.

She draws and paints a lot (watercolours and acrylics.)

She likes experimenting with make up (mostly from Morphe)

Animal Crossing.

@ShowOfHands..what authors does she like?
Dd reads a lot but I'm not sure I choose the right stuff. She read something by Neil Gaiman recently and liked that and I bought His Dark Materials but she wasn't keen although she has read similar stuff.
I feel like she's not quite at the Stephen King stage yet..I'm sure I was a little older when I started on those.

They’re all so different! Mine likes Harry Potter, Minecraft and The Hunger Games - but not all her friends like the same things. Could you give her an online shopping trip or something? Set her a budget and sit down together and choose? Maybe you could give her some parameters eg must include one book, one item of clothing, something you can eat, something you can keep forever etc. Could be good fun!

@FartingNora. I probably will ask but I'd really like some insight too! I feel a bit like she's out of the loop sometimes because we are, if that makes sense?
And it would be nice for her to have some bits she hasn't thought of herself.

See, I don't even know if Hunger Games is appropriate for her age .
I think she'd like it. She's into spies, murder mysteries and most of the stuff mentioned here apart from anime..I don't think she knows what it is.

DD writes list but this year it is difficult. She turns 13 in less than 2 weeks and will get

A laptop, she didn’t ask but we think it is worth it as the school set lots of tasks online even before lockdown

Some Harry Potter stuff

Lush bath bombs

Animal adoption, it is a bit of a tradition

Biography of Catherine d Medici, she is a history fan so maybe not your usual kind of book. She got several new books during lockdown, she loves horror, mystery, British whodunnit but absolutely no romance or fantasy

She loves clothing from fatface, new look, zara and H&M

Dr has just turned 13...she loves Dr Who, Top Hats, drawing, Neil Gaiman, Warrior Cats books, Friday Khalo, Stranger Things, cats and stupid YouTube videos
Things she loved for her birthday-
Posca pens (expensive, but fantastic pens)
A3 sketchbook
An extendable cat pencil case
A 1950s style dress
Dr Who t-shirts
A 2nd hand Rocking Chair
Moonshine ring
Cat badges

My teen niece likes:

Curling her hair (tongs/wands)
Netflix
Make up (morphe eyeshadow palettes in warm shades, real techniques brushes)
Trainers (converse, Nike)
Leggings and sports clothes (comfy leggings and hoodies)
Pandora jewellery

She also has taken an interest in her bedroom and likes it to look nice. If she's not had an upgrade for a while maybe some new furniture or get it painted or some new accessories? Especially with spending so much time at home just now.

Thank you, everyone 😊

They are all so different. DD would have no use for make up and clothes wise, it would need to reflect one of her interests so something related to Ghibli or Sherlock or Dr Who for example.

DD is an avid reader and reads adult books tbh and has done for a while. I wouldn't feel comfortable recommending her favourite books for another thirteen year old! She read the Hunger Games when she was 10 I think. If I had to buy a book for a 13yr old, I'd take a punt on Patrick Ness. Or the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. Terry Pratchett maybe. The Gone series by Michael Grant. Or the Divergent series. They're all age suitable.

DD is 13 in a few months, after a solid 2-3 years of Harry Potter madness she seems to be moving away from that a bit (still a fan though!) and finding some different interests.

She's always been into crafting, at the moment needle felting is her favourite thing, and making small crochet animals
Baking
Animal Crossing
His Dark Materials
Anything with sloths on!
Japanese snacks (and kits where you make tiny burgers, pizzas etc)

If she's arty and uses markers Chameleon markers might be worth a look, they're expensive but DD loves the set we got her for Christmas. They have a 'blending chamber' so you can get a gradient/blend with a single pen.

I know they are all different, it's just good to see common themes and different ideas.
Lots on here she's into - I didn't even think of Dr Who and she loved that so something related possibly.
She also loves lego so perhaps something more challenging.
And the book recommendations are very helpful, as are all of your suggestions.

My daughter lives in leggings and hoodies.

She also loves kickboxing.

Her interests are baking. She loves art and being creative. She’s currently giving a make over to dining room chairs (lock down entertainment 😃

The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wind. It cost me all the pounds I'd been saving to go to the theatre in July but it's such a big game I think it'll last me months.

I was into Zelda when my DSs were younger. It's beautiful.

When I was 13 I was into torches, books and transistor radios. My latest 'tranny' is a tiny DAB which lives next to my bed and is on R4ex, - comedy and murder mystery all night.

Horse riding (don’t recommend, it’s bloody expensive! 😄). Art - decent pens, good paper, canvases etc always go down well. Music - she’d love air pods but I think she’d lose them! She got a laptop but that was mostly to do school work. She enjoys reading, currently working her way through some classics but likes easier books too, she’s just read The Girl Who Drank the Moon which she enjoyed.

Clothes wise she likes H&M and Zara, lots of leggings or black skinny jeans and either a t-shirt hoody or a nicer t-shirt (Puff skeeved ones from Zara are current fav). Sliders? DD loves hers - Adidas ones I think. Might be nike.

Does she have an Alexa? That was a good gift at Christmas, gets lots of use and she uses the alarm function (hurrah!).

Terry Pratchett sounds like a good bet.

I don't have a daughter, but my own 13th birthday presents were probably the most disappointing I ever had from my parents. They were really into hill walking at that time. They bought me a water bottle, a whistle, binoculars, a sporty bum bag, Kendal mint cake and various other similar bits. I pretended to be pleased. Inside, I was crying! I was not remotely interested in hill walking and couldn't believe that they would think I was, just because they were.

@LaTomatina.
That is a very disappointing birthday indeed, even if you were 63 .

My 13 year old lives in leggings and hoodies. Sports brands such as Adidas and Nike are favourites. She got Nike Air Force 1 trainers for her birthday which she loves! She's recently started watching Friends so loves all of the Friends merchandise such as PJs and t-shirts. She's currently reading-and loving- the Shadowhunters books by Cassandra Clare. Bath bombs are always a hit as are art supplies. She's not into make up but is very proud of her lovely, long hair and was thrilled with a hair waver (like a large scale crimper) at Christmas.