Time Maybe the Perfect Gift for Your "Tweener" Daughter

Finding the right present for your “tweener” daughter or her best friend can be a nightmare. These girls are too old for most toys and too young for the things they seem to really want, so the default seems to be cds and clothes. 

Here are a few options that have worked well for me. The first is by far my favorite, but remember you still have to buy something to go under the tree. 

A day at the spa - This can be accomplished one of two ways, by actually buying a spa package or by planning a do-it-yourself day at home. The best of both worlds is to combine the two. 

My favorite local spa, Egyptian Revival, offers a “Little Princess” day program that includes an up-do for her hair, makeup appropriate to the age group (mostly just lip gloss), a manicure and lunch for about $125. Take the day off work during Christmas break when she doesn’t have school and spend the day together. This will be a great gift to both of you, as it won’t be long before she wants nothing to do with hanging out with mom. 

Letting the spa do all the work can be nice, but it means that strangers will be having more interaction with your child than you do. A better, and less expensive option, is to plan for most of the spa treatment to take place at home. This also helps with the what to put under the Christmas tree problem. Discount stores generally have manicure and pedicure kits designed just for the holidays and usually for less than $10 each. 

Buying this type of gift assures that as the parent, you have control over the colors that she has as an option. Do you really want your ten-year-old with fire engine red nail polish? And, it let’s you have something to put under the tree.