Gift Suggestions?

[gnomi]

lcmlc and Abba are going to a Bat Mitzvah on Monday for a girl they don't know all that well (she's the granddaughter of two of lc/lc's dear friends). And lcmlc is unsure of what to get as a gift. So... I appeal to you, the all-knowing friends list. What is a good gift for a girl of whom all I know is the following:

-- She's 12 years old
-- She attends a pluralistic Jewish day school

So, yeah. What does one get for such a child? Any thoughts and suggestions are appreciated.

Comments

[jesshartley.livejournal.com]

Books (or a gift card to a book store)

[somehedgehog.livejournal.com]

iTunes gift card.

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

Cash?

[lomedet.livejournal.com]

my mom gave beautiful journals/blank books to every bat mitzvah in our havurah. they always seemed to go over well.

[thespisgeoff.livejournal.com]

I'd say a generic gift card - Best Buy, Target, iTunes, or cash. She'll be spending the rest of the year comparing her haul with everyone else's, and tchotchkes don't count.

[dianora2.livejournal.com]

iTunes is a good idea, though I'd make sure she has her own iPod first. Target gift card is a good idea, too. Kids that age love gift cards.

[rivkaesque.livejournal.com]

I got six pairs of candlesticks... but the one I treasured was actually an album for the bat mitzvah pictures.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Based on previous comments, it seems like gift cards are the overwhelming opinion. I don't understand why a $x gift card to one store is better than $x that can be spent at any store (or for other kinds of things entirely, like concert tickets, or travel, or given to tzedakah, etc).

[elul-3.livejournal.com]

Bookstore gift certificate, or else one of those big, pretty (but informative) books about Jewish women through the ages. And/or a donation in her honor to the Jewish Women's Archive (http://www.jwa.org/).

[sorek.livejournal.com]

Since this is for a girl, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned jewelery.

[(Anonymous)]

My first thought was of books. I don't like gift certificates; I like it when someone finds for me a book I end up really enjoying reading. Think Jewish literary novels or collections of Jewish tales and legends.

[stakebait.livejournal.com]

I concur with iTunes or bookstore or other giftcard, but if you want an actual object -- funky patterned lap desk? Mom and I picked out one of those for a going-to-college present and it was a big hit; dunno if 12 is too young.

If you want to go the donation route I think Heifer Intl. is cool.

[42itous.livejournal.com]

Jane Yolen's book Briar Rose is a good Bat Mitzvah present... but not by itself. In my family we tend to give dictionaries, or complete volumes of Shakespeare, or nice chess sets... but for someone you don't know, money is usually the most likely to be appreciated.