12/06/2015

10 Best Holiday Gift Ideas for Tween Girls

From fun games to cute accessories and awesome gadgets, we’ve got the best gifts for tweens.

The Spirograph was one of my most favorite and memorable art toys as a kid, and it’s nice to see it reemerge as another hot seller this holiday season.

The Ocean Wave Night Light Projector and Music Player! This little light projector is like having an ocean above you while you dream of being a mermaid. You can set it on one color or it rotates through beautiful ocean waves of red, blue and green lights but then also mixes the light for multicolor waves. The projector is quiet, unless you use it as a speaker. You can plug in an iPod, iPhone or other device and play music through the projector. 🙂 This one makes me happy!

Don’t kid yourself. What she really wants is a puppy. But I realize that’s not entirely practical because it’s a long term commitment that eats, needs lots of time, love and long walks. So if a puppy isn’t on your short list, why not try the Furby Boom (or for Tween Boys, the Furby Star Wars Furbacca). Furby Boom has more than twice as many possible responses as the previous Furby, and how you treat Furby Boom will shape its personality. Use the Furby Boom app to give your Furby Boom creature virtual food, checkups, showers and more. You can even keep track of your Furby Boom creature’s health, hunger and cleanliness levels using the app’s monitor. And if you’re really into the accessories, you can get a Furby sidekick called a Furby Furblings (my fave is Rainbow), which responds to your Furby Boom. True, there will be no puppy breath or warm cuddles, but on the upside, no poop scooping.

For the crafty girl who loves to make pretty things, the Smart Lab Spa Natural Soap Making Kit is awesome! The kit comes with everything you need to get started. Use the recipes included or improvise and add your own ingredients from natural products such as lavender or honey.

For the fashionista. I’m not even gonna lie, a $50-$100 gift card to Brandy Melville, Delia*s, Forever21, Hollister, H&M, Justice or Old Navy will set her spirits soaring because, what girl doesn’t want a shopping spree? If she has a specific store that she LOVES, a gift card for that place-and a free Starbucks or Jamba Juice drink will suffice.
Feisty Pets: Glenda Glitterpoop the Unicorn
Game loving gals will love Codenames , PieFace or Connect Four
For music lovers, anything from One Direction or the new Adele album on iTunes (if she doesn’t already have it). If you’re not sure, an Apple iTunes gift card is pretty sublime.
And last but certainly not least, for the Director in the making, the VTech Kidizoom Action Cam is perfect. The awesome things about this camera is the durability and price. The Kidizoom Action Cam is nearly indestructible, with plenty of features (Point and Shoot, Video, Stop Motion, Games) and plenty of available accessories (2 mounts which attach the kids digital camera to bikes, skateboards and more; the underwater camera comes with a waterproof case to take photos and videos in up to 6 feet underwater). The image quality is OK, but don’t expect GoPro quality image — GoPro is a little pricey for a first action cam. Kids can be their own Director and show the world how life looks through their lens.