I need help with a birthday and Christmas gift.

[Shpepper]

Mathnerd doesn't need a bakery, as she is a most competent baker, and could probably knock that out herself in her sleep. Excellent idea, though.

Wonderful and it looks as if mathnerd got tons of great stuff for this young lady as well. I was unaware that she was a most competent baker, and the cookies sound super yummy.

[MaggieTheCat]

I am all for shopping small businesses, and there are several sellers on Etsy who make handmade charms that are related to/inspired by video games/anime/MLP/etc. Zombies Go Rawr is just one who I'm familiar with, whose prices are low, and who I know is reliable: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ZombiesGoR..._shop_redirect

[XCashier]

I wish I'd seen this earlier, I'd have suggested a Hello Kitty tie blanket. But it looks like you got her a good haul. It's a good idea to give separate birthday and Christmas gifts; I know a lot of folks born around Christmas who get combo gifts and feel ripped off, and I can't say I blame them.

Thank you for your kindness towards this girl. Things like this make a big difference in a kid's life. Perhaps she'll do the same thing for someone else someday.

[mathnerd]

Thanks for all your ideas. Since my budget was tight, I couldn't get everything I wanted to, but this is what I wound up with:

For her birthday:



For Christmas:



Not pictured is 5 different lightly tinted lip glosses. I'm also going to bake a bunch of different kinds of cookies and will take a few of each kind and package them up for her.

[mathnerd]

Awwww, thanks Jester. Actually, I was thinking of baking several different types of cookies to add in with the gift.

Oh, and Jester, the Christmas part of this *is* an afterthought. My entire motivation was "Christmas baby! Need to do something special for the birthday!"

GypsyWitch, that store sounds perfect, but unfortunately, it doesn't appear that there are any locations near me.

I'm heading out to the mall after dinner tonight to try to find the birthday gift/s and will swing by the various big box stores to get the little licensed character odds and ends.

[Jester]

A Mini personal sized birthday cake, Most bakeries make small ones that can serve just a couple people and it is always fun to get your own cake you don't have to share.

Mathnerd doesn't need a bakery, as she is a most competent baker, and could probably knock that out herself in her sleep. Excellent idea, though.

[Shpepper]

AAAAHHHHH ! ! ! I see now. I missed that in the first reading. May I add one more suggestion? A Mini personal sized birthday cake, Most bakeries make small ones that can serve just a couple people and it is always fun to get your own cake you don't have to share.

[gypsywitch84]

I'm shopping for a 14 year old girl. ...

Any thoughts?

I don't know where you live, but there might be a store called "Five Below" near you, and if there is, it would be a great place to check out. They sell items geared towards teens for five dollars and below. If I was you, I might do a twist on the stocking idea by starting with a Hello Kitty tin lunchbox and filling it with little items like Hello Kitty candy and tissues, as well as maybe a video game stylus and Pokemon items. If there isn't a Five Below near you, most dollar stores that I have been in, also, carry a large variety of items featuring Hello Kitty and My Little Pony and items for video games. Also, most teen girls can never have enough chapstick, especially during the winter months. Maybe place a couple of candy canes or other Christmas candy inside the package but emphasize that the present is a birthday present by placing it in a cute "Happy Birthday"bag with birthday tissue paper. Should be able to do that for under $25, Hope that helps even a little bit.

Just want to say that I do not work for Five Below, I just really love that place, even though I am out of my teens.

[Sheldonrs]

You can find a ton of low cost MLP stuff on e-bay:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from...+Pony&_sacat=0

[Jester]

Don't make most of the focus be on the birthday. Make ALL of the focus be on the birthday. My best friend's birthday is Christmas Day, and for all her life, her birthday's been forgotten by almost everyone. Which is why every year when I talk to her on 12/25, I say "Happy Birthday!" and nary a word about Christmas. And she loves that.

Look, I get that even Christmas babies sometimes still like a little Christmas thrown in. But chances are good that no one has every separated the two for her. Be that person. Focus solely on her birthday.

Honestly, as a Christmas baby yourself, I'm surprised you didn't see this killer opportunity.

Also, it's been my experience that people who are into Hello Kitty love just about anything Hello Kitty you can find. So have at it!

[CorneliaMarieRocks]

you mentioned video games, do you happen to know what kind of game system she has? maybe look for those stylus things that go with the DS that have Hello Kitty on them? Hello Kitty video game?

sorry, that's all I got

[mathnerd]

Thanks for the suggestions so far!

Shpepper, I totally get the whole birthday thing. My own birthday is Christmas Eve. That's actually why I'm doing this. Being a Christmas baby sucks rotten eggs. When I was told about her, my reaction was an instant "I must do something for this girl's birthday! Oh, and I should probably do a little something for Christmas too."

I think I like the idea of the licensed products like lip gloss and shower gel and such for the Christmas stocking. I still haven't quite decided on the birthday. The only thing I know is that it WILL be wrapped in over the top birthday wrapping paper, and not Christmas paper like I always got. I do have to hand it to my parents on that one. When I was little they were very uptight about making sure my birthday and Christmas were two separate events, and tried to make a really big deal out of the birthday. One year I even got my own mini fireworks show (my dad shot commercial fireworks as a hobby, and put together a small show out of odds and ends that were leftover from shows he'd done). But even with all that, things were always wrapped in Christmas paper.

[Shpepper]

May I suggest less focus on Christmas and more on birthday? My birthday is two weeks after Christmas and I know there were numerous years that I got one gift for both things. But others in the family got their own special day. I applaud you for wanting to do something for her it is really wonderful. I think she would appreciate seeing the birthday paper more than christmas paper. This is of course just my opinion,. If you have one, look for Sanrio stores. Walmart and other department stores of the like have Hello Kitty stuff also. Lip Gloss, ear buds, slap bracelets, Packs of Pokemon cards, Maybe a gift card to half price books to get some new anime books. I sugges Half price books if they re in your area because she can get way more books for far less money and all the books there are in very very good condition. And they have warehouse sales several times a year that sell off excess inventory. Please let us know what you end up doing.

[Tama]

Those blind bag pony figurines are always good.

[LesserSouthernFroglet]

I'm not sure whether there's any difference between the Aus and US Avon catalogues apart from season, but they have a range of Hello Kitty jewellery and watches right now in the Aussie catalogue. Might be worth looking at online.

I checked - Avon. There's also bracelet and earrings.