Birthday ideas for my 16-year-old niece

[deathbyprocrastination]

I was going to buy her some high top trainers from kokoart.co.uk/ but DB (her dad) thinks they'll be too jazzy for her and I should go for something much plainer. Budget is up to £50 or at a push £60.

Her parents are divorced and she lives between two homes so she already has quite a lot of stuff but I'd prefer to avoid vouchers because they feel a bit boring and thoughtless and she's so lovely I'd like to get her something she will really love.

Any ideas much appreciated

Bump!

If you want to buy her trainers would it be best to tell her a budget, ask her to choose, then send you a link and say you will buy them for her?

Teens are a fussy lot. If you buy the wrong thing they will be stuck in the bottom of the wardrobe unworn and you will have wasted your money.

Pandora item.
Something personalised?
Decent make up

Rainbow glitter lava lamp
Digital photo frame
Pandora birthstone ring
Ice cream machine and recipe book for it
Gel nail polish drying lamp or Barry M gift set if she’s not into gel

Thanks for the ideas - much appreciated

Record player and vinyls
Weighted blanket
Glossier skincare
Makeup
Scented candles

My sister always took my children out for the day for their birthdays - usually lunch and a show. Maybe she would like to spend some time with you? For example, lunch and shopping? You could give her the money and you could spend it together.

Skullcandy sesh true wireless earbuds

Tell her to choose - clothes or shoes for a teen are tricky.

Go for something she'd like, ask her to choose as the PPs suggested. The idea of unch and shopping sounds great as well, this is the perfect solution, she'll chose something she'll definitely use or wear. If you want to give her something on your own, you can make a Birthday video for her (I didn't quite get it if she turns 16 or 17, but here are some Sweet 16 slideshow ideas that may be useful) and probably get her some good skin care products. I wouldn't recommend make up items because it's tricky with the teenagers.

Honestly money or vouchers would be appreciated more by a teen. It’s not thoughtless.

This just reads like an ad for the custom shoe you posted a link to. Great effort.

@rainbowthoughts that's a bit of a stretch I'm a regular poster. Looking for advice about my niece's birthday present I can remove the link if it offends you though I can't imagine why it would. It was just to give a sense of the kind of thing I'd looked at and why DB thought it wouldn't work.

Thanks everyone else for the suggestions. Been out with DC this morning so just catching up on all this. I guess it sounds as if money / vouchers and letting her choose is the answer.

I love the idea of taking her out but she lives a really long way away so it isn't practical for now.

Other option would be to give her a piece of jewellery that I was given by my parents (her grandparents) when I was a bit older than her. It's a really nice simple silver pendant that I'd have loved at her age but bearing in mind what others have said about letting teens choose for themselves it probably isn't the right thing.

My 16yo loves her weighted blanket and also house plants/ bonsai tree

A nice necklace?

[quote deathbyprocrastination]@rainbowthoughts that's a bit of a stretch I'm a regular poster. Looking for advice about my niece's birthday present I can remove the link if it offends you though I can't imagine why it would. It was just to give a sense of the kind of thing I'd looked at and why DB thought it wouldn't work.[/quote]

I'm not offended! And you talk about a stretch!!

No, definitely not offended. I was just saying what I saw, which was a link to a very niche site in terms of shoes for 16 year olds.

Sorry for misreading!

Mine is 16 in a few months and I'd say vouchers, as teens are a fussy lot. Mine would love the style of the hightops in your link, but they would have to be proper Converse.
She likes books, Shein, art supplies, Korean beauty stuff and graphic artwork. Her best friend likes jewellery, Nikes, designer make up and books. They are all so different.

@keiratwiceknightly house plants / bonsai is a really nice idea actually!

@CatCup yes, I did wonder about that, as per my post re the necklace I was given. It's just really hard to know her tastes because we've seen her so little in the past year due to lockdown and she is only with DB one day a week and he struggles to choose stuff for her too because her style is changing all the time.

@SusannaMorvern Just found out her mum is getting her doc martens so I suspect you're right that it would need to be an actual brand (and she has converse already)

Consensus def building on the vouchers front!

Thanks again, folks.

@FearlessSwiftie missed your idea about a slideshow - that is a v cool idea. Was going to just order a personalised card via touchnote but a vid would be much better

The trainers look fab - much better than tacky pandora stuff. But why not ask her or take her shopping? Surprises rarely work at that age.

@deathbyprocrastination

Mine got Docs for her last birthday 🙂

Those trainers are so niche I wouldn't buy them unless I knew that was what she wanted.
I've stopped buying anyone over the age of 11-12 a present other than vouchers unless they tell me what they want because they change trends so fast and are all into such different things.