Ideas for 11yo DD!

[CoffeeChocolateWine]

I would love some fun ideas for my 11yo DD. I feel like I'm struggling a bit with the transition from child to tween and the fact that her list looks a bit boring compared with previous years. I'm anticipating wider family asking for some suggestions too so a few ideas for cheapish to mid-range gifts would be appreciated!

In terms of interests and hobbies, she's very creative and loves art, cooking and baking. She's a singer and plays hockey. She likes Harry Potter and creative writing. She's getting into skincare, make up and nail art. She already has things like Posca pens, a waffle maker and ice cream maker. She's not mad on bubble tea.

A sewing machine is likely to be her main present unless she changes her mind. This will include fabrics and lessons.

She's also getting:
Teddy bedding set (requested)
Make-up/cosmetics storage.

Then I'm stuck! She quite likes Lego dots so that's an option. She'll get a squishmallow from her sister as is their tradition.

Any other ideas would be welcome!

We’re buying for one around the same age with similar interests. She’s got some clothes, pyjamas, a sequin cushion with her name on it from Next, a couple of ‘how to draw’ books for little cartoon animals and faces, Ugg socks, a hot water bottle in a cover that also has room for pyjamas and some mini toiletries.

My list for dd (11) so far (she has lovely grandparents and aunt's and uncles who always ask what to get so I tend to make a big old list):

Cotton Clara embroidery or cross stich kit
Hogwarts legacy - Switch
Card game (unstable unicorns or gloom)
Board game
MinaLima illustrated Harry Potter
Oodie copy from 5pound shop (as she is always hotter than hell and never even wears her dressing gown but insists she wants one 😆 so not spending ££££ on one!)
Converse HiTops
Crazy American cereal

Then stocking will be (so far):
Coke
Snacks from the Asian supermarket
Stitch lip balm from Boots
Body spray
Essie cuticle and nail oil

She is probably getting concert vouchers as her main one from us this year.

It's an awkward age. Mine's had an airtrack for her birthday which went down well and still gets plenty of use.
If she's into baking maybe some books or slightly more advanced stuff, novelty biscuit cutters, sprinkles, cute sugarcraft stuff, e.g. this or this.
The how to draw cute stuff books are popular here.

Some of these ideas are absolutely perfect for her already! Thanks so much 😊

The Hogwarts Legacy game and the Cute Bakes books are on the list! The MinaLima books look absolutely stunning too.

Some of the other stuff mentioned she already has such as the How to draw books, fake oodie, stuff for her room, baking and sugar craft stuff. She's getting PJs in the Xmas Eve box and stocking is sorted.

That Airtrack looks fab but she's not much of a gymnast. I'll reserve that idea for when my younger DD is a bit older though!

My 10yo is obsessed with Sol de janeiro body spray, as are all her friends. They smell lovely tbf

Our ideas list for 12yo and 10yo girls
12yo
Camping backpack (for Scouts etc)
Climbing harness
Trainers (she was lusting over some purple Sketchers)
Harry Potter Lego
Hufflepuff dressing gown
Hufflepuff travel cup

10yo
Rugby ball
Rugby club hoody
Instant camera
Harry Potter Lego
Lilo and Stitch blanket
Dr who book
Personalised travel cup

Thanks for the suggestions!

@anormalperson, I keep seeing Sol de Janeiro mentioned on these threads...I've not come across it before. They seem quite expensive for a body spray but it's the sort of thing she'd like. I'll see if I can hunt them down in Boots and have a little spray!

@PuttingDownRoots, my DD is a Hufflepuff fan too so I should look out for a bit of merch rather than just Harry Potter! She'd probably like that! It's great when they have hobbies to inspires a few ideas, but there's not much my DD needs with hers at the moment!

If she likes baking how about a cake decorating turntable and piping set. I got that for my daughter in lockdown as a present and it's still regularly used. It wasn't particularly expensive but easy to add extra decorating bits to so could be a good grandparent present?

@CoffeeChocolateWine try dunelm for Hufflepuff stuff!

Oh and nomination charm bracelets seem to be taking off? My dd loves hers and I'm just pleased they're cheaper than the Pandora ones

I got my dd Lily and Fox nail wraps for her birthday - they are so easy to do and look great - shipping takes a couple of weeks.

For Christmas she is getting:
Soft, fluffy socks
Some knitting supplies (new wool and a couple of patterns)
Some soft fleece reusable face wash pads
Some new earrings
A cute posable phone stand/nightlight for her desk that is shaped like a dog (£4.99 on Amazon)
Sims add on pack
Lush bubble bar
Natural loofah
Small cross body bag.

Her main present will be a bike I think although haven't got to this yet!

@UncleBryn, she has a lovely baking set with a turntables and more piping nozzles than she will ever need 😆 But it has reminded me that a little while back she was asking about cake stencils so I can look into that.

Thanks for the Hufflepuff tip @PuttingDownRoots...will take a look!

@CuntRYMusicStar, I have no idea what nail wraps are 😆 And I can't really tell from the website. How are they different from fake nail? I'm not a 'nail' person so haven't got a clue but it could be up her street! The designs look lovely!

They're like sticky covers, you press them on then file them down to fit your nail shape. So they don't add length and aren't any more brittle than the natural nail so less chance of them causing damage. My dd loves them because she can have fancy designs I can't paint and I don't mind getting them for her as they're not expensive!

She sounds fab! How did source sewing lessons btw? Seems something my daughter would like

Thanks @CuntRYMusicStar. They sound great actually so will look into it!

@rockpoolingtogether, thank you 😊 I haven't booked anything for her yet but I've got an enquiry out to a local art and craft centre that seems to offer a variety of courses and workshops so I'm hoping they will have something suitable for her. I'm based in Southwest London.

@CoffeeChocolateWine

Where did you get the baking set please

My daughter is a similar age and loves baking and last year my mom got her Edd Kimber's tray bakes book, a baking tray the correct size for all the bakes in the book, and a box with all of the more unusual/hard to get ingredients for some of the bakes in the book. It was an absolutely brilliant present - we are still using some of the ingredients now!

This year I am getting her some stuff for her room (picture/shelves/novelty lamps/cushion/ornament/coasters); skin-care stuff; stationery;a few books; soft toys; pin badges reflecting her humour/interests. Oh and a pen-knife, which was something she specifically requested. But her main gift is a trip away for the two of us to her favourite seaside resort - I will print off the booking details and wrap them! I think it's always worth considering whether experience type gifts would go down well, if your child maybe has a lot of things already.....

She actually won it as first prize in a school baking competition! But I think it was probably from Amazon. It's a few years only now but this is the closest I can find to it and same brand...
Cake decorating kit

It's not premium quality or anything but for her needs it's been great and she's had loads of fun with it!

@Ilovelurchers, I love the look of those books...thanks for the suggestion. Recipes that (hopefully!) don't use every utensil in the kitchen, slightly challenging for her but at the same time straightforward enough to try by herself.

Yes, I'm looking into experience-type gifts as an option. For her birthday in the summer we got her tickets to see Six the musical and she said it her favourite present ever!

We were actually in London today and wandering around Covent Garden market and she fell in love with some hand-painted high-top trainers so I think they've flown straight to the top of her wishlist! She also seems more interested in artist materials rather than a sewing machine now so I'm glad I held off before investing! But along with some of the suggestions on this thread I've definitely got a clearer idea of what we'll be getting her 🎅🏻🎄🎁