16th Birthday gift for niece

codemonkey

I'm hoping someone in here can help. My niece is turning 16 this year and I'd like to get her something special, rather than the usual Primarni vouchers.

I was thinking of getting her a Pandora bracelet but I'm not sure if this is still cool. Suddenly realising that 16 was a long way off for me and I'm not down with the kids anymore. She lives quite far away and we're not as close as we used to be and it'd be quite an expensive mistake to make if it's something that's now considered sad.

So, I guess what I'm asking, in a slightly confused way is, should I buy the damn bracelet or is something else in now? Or can anyone recommend a nice piece of jewellery or something she can keep?

DomRavioli

Pandora is quite personal - I love it, my twin hates it. I'd steer clear unless you can ascertain if they actually like it before spending a lot of money on something that might never come out of the box.

Forget what is "in" - it changes like the weather.

Have you spoken to her parents to ask them what she would like instead of guessing? If you want a keepsake, perhaps have something hand made, which she wants - etsy/folksy/pinterest is very good for that.
I know I would rather get something I want than some jewellery as I find jewellery very personal, and would want to pick it out myself.

codemonkey

DomRavioli wrote: »

Pandora is quite personal - I love it, my twin hates it. I'd steer clear unless you can ascertain if they actually like it before spending a lot of money on something that might never come out of the box.

Forget what is "in" - it changes like the weather.

Have you spoken to her parents to ask them what she would like instead of guessing? If you want a keepsake, perhaps have something hand made, which she wants - etsy/folksy/pinterest is very good for that.
I know I would rather get something I want than some jewellery as I find jewellery very personal, and would want to pick it out myself.

Her mum said to get her "whatever", which wasn't very helpful.

I'm not sure I have time to get her something personally made - her birthday is in 2 weeks, so as usual I've left it to the last minute.

DomRavioli

Hi OP,

When people say get them whatever, they usually aren't looking for something special - just get her the vouchers?

Etsy/folksy have UK suppliers - Folksy is majority UK based; they can whip something up in a day or two and have it delivered straight to your recipient.

Failing that, try something such as notonthehighstreet, which do bespoke gifts.

I would stay away from jewellery though. Have you spoken to your niece recently? Perhaps that might be a way forward.

codemonkey

Thanks for the folksy suggestion. They have some great stuff on there. I managed to get her a personalised 16th birthday thingy with her birthstone and name on it which she can keep if she doesn't want to wear it, and it wasn't expensive at all, so if I'm feeling generous I can still give her some vouchers or money. Oooh, maybe £16.

I also ordered a bracelet for me. Ooops. So maybe, not thanks :rotfl::rotfl:

DomRavioli

That is really good glad to hear you got sorted!