What’s the ideal birthday gift for a daughter turning into a teenager?
Thirteen, is not the perfect age to be.
A lot of unfamiliar emotions kick in at this age. This age shapes or breaks a lot of teens.
For her 13th birthday, it can be confusing to pick an ideal gift.
It depends on her personality, and interests. What does she like?
Is she the outdoorsy type? Is she artsy? Is she into electronic gadgets? Is she a fashion and style fanatic?
Think of what she mostly talks about. Check out her social media pages, and see what she and her friends are gagging about. It’s almost always about latest trends in clothes, gadgets and whatnot.
Teens are fragile. If you ain’t sure what’s best, pick the ‘mediator choice’.
The mediator choice in gifting is to go for two gifts. One gift is what you think would be her choice.
The second gift is what you’d want for her. This is what makes the real impact. You want something to last, something with a bodily and interpersonal impact on her life.
Here’s some suggestions:
An Experience
At some point, this has gained relevance. A special treat on a special day leaves everlasting memories, which far outlives tangible gifts.
You can treat your teen to a lunch or dinner in a fancy restaurant you wouldn’t normally dine in. A memorable drive together, perhaps to the park or to a mall she fancies.
This choice works well – one, you get to talk on life values and what’s expected of her as she enter puberty. She’ll remember how you took time off a busy work schedule to be with her, or let her skip school to spend time together.
A Painting Portrait
This is becoming trendy and not overly pricey.
There’s a rich cast of talented canvas and online artists who’d create a timeless piece of art at little cost. This would be framed, and hung in her personal space. At this stage, it’s most likely her bedroom.
Scour her social media pages for her most liked photo, or pick from the family album. That’s timeless.
Lifetime jewelry
Not every girl likes chocolate. A wiser choice is some timeless jewelry.
An iconic pendant, picked from her most-likely preferences set on a silver chain would be an excellent choice. With teens, price shouldn’t be exorbitant – she’s prone to losing it in some future party – so, attention should be paid to detail, not price.
Some trendy studs, perhaps. A bangle, or an anklet?
Legal tender
For a teen, money never goes out of vogue.
There will always be fancy things that’ll catch your daughter’s eye at the mall, at the fair, under the street light on the pavement – money will always nail it.
However, when gifting money to a teenager, it pays to be cautious.
The ideal way to gift a teen, and teach at the same time, is to introduce her to the basics of banking and savings. Create a savings account for your teen – and slowly impact lessons of money management – and encourage her to work and save for whatever she craves. It’s easy, with the right support.
Introduce her to the iconic Jumbo Junior Bank Account, with Co-op Bank.
Co-op Bank has a transitional account that’s a perfect for children below the age of 18 years. This is great as a financial teaching aid for kids, on the basics of money management.
First off, the account offers automatic membership to the Jumbo Junior Membership Club, which is packed with lots of benefits.
The Jumbo Junior Account Club comes through for their member’s birthday anniversaries with a funky birthday card, and intermittent clubbing events. How cool is that?
What’s more interesting is that the Jumbo Junior bank account attracts interest payable at 3%, annually.
To sign up, or learn more about Jumbo Junior, visit the nearest Co-op Bank branch, or click here.
The Big Bank Account….For Little People!
