£20 gift for 12 year old girl?

[Smedsmoos]

A charity has allocated me a 12 year old girl to buy a Christmas gift for. The budget is around £20.

It is likely that this will be her only Christmas present.

What can I get her?

I don’t want to buy a load of cheap tat just to make it look like more but equally I don’t want her to only have one thing to open. Help please!

I have a 13 year old girl… I think there have been some great suggestions. Id defintely say yes to the fluffy socks and Oodie suggestion and any plushie. Body sprays ( should smell quite sweet generally which are the Sol de Janeiro dupes). Hats & gloves I have a question mark over because I don’t see them being worn here in the South East ( but might be a thing in Glasgow). Stationery is good but needs to be cute or “ aesthetic”. I agree that skincare is difficult but lip balms are fairly universal. Hope you find some bargains. ( water bottles weren’t a weird suggestion but you would need to know the right one so I’d give that a swerve )

Home bargains do cheap bath bombs to bulk it up, then maybe a cheap jewelry making kit, mini handheld memory game where you press the coloured buttons and a cuddly toy like a panda and a nice looking cheap pen. All fairly cheap and maybe a tiny bit over budget but gives some variety if you don't know what she likes

Yes. Because if this child is in care, and other children living in the same care home get £20 worth and she gets a lot more, it's not fair and will cause more problems than it solves.

The charity need to set an amount that will get the most people possible willing to donate.

Lots of great recommendations. I would avoid a hat though. Neither of my dd's, one currently 12 and the other older would have been happy or even worn one.

Yes to fluffy socks, fairy lights, fluffy blankets and sweets/chocolate mine like unusual ones you don't get in the corner shop. Clear nail polish, my elder DD who doesn't wear much make up does like to use clear nail polish. Lip balm or a tin of vaseline rosy lips/coca butter one. A nice notebook and some nice pens.

Also like the idea of tote bag but a canvas one. Primark do lots of designs for a couple of £ dd's have recently started using them for PE kits, going to clubs, pretty much most places they are chasing the canvas bag over any other type of bag.

I saw the Dunelm Christmas one on social media last year and heartbreakingly there too many on the lines of deodorant, underwear with no holes, hair ties for school, own hairbrush etc 😭 I’d do a mixture of the practical and fun but it’s a shame that there’s no hints that could help narrow down the potential list.

Cute stationary she can take to school and a branded body spray she can use in PE, when you have no money little bits like this you can take to school feels amazing. I always put in a bit of chocolate in as I sometimes wonder how much food they have at home.

Just a little pointer but please don’t but anything that needs batteries , even if you put some in when they’re used it’s doubtful more will be purchased.

DC in foster care have foster parents to buy them gifts. I'll be spending £200 on my foster sonnplus £50 sticking, same as on my own DC.