What should I get Carla for her birthday?

(Also: how is she turning twelve????? Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was asking for How to Get Labor Started ideas?) 

(I have somehow evaded my typical Carla’s Birthday Melancholia the past two years, possibly because of Moving Stress and then Joy of Not Moving, but it’s back, baby, and it’s better than ever. One of my friends noted that I only have six years left with Carla in my house. SIX YEARS. This is already the third summer we’ve been in this house! Six years will be gone in an instant! SOB!)

Okay, back to the subject at hand. 

To be honest, when I think of gifts for Carla, I get so weary. We already have so much stuff. My husband and I decided that our big gift for the kiddo would be tickets to see a play – and we got an extra ticket so we can take a friend of her choice with us. Experiences are always better than things, right?

In terms of other experience gifts, I’ve also toyed with the idea of allowing her to dye her hair (probably just a streak of bright blue or purple or whatever). Carla requested getting a second piercing in her ears, which – fine, but let’s maybe wait a few years for that one. We want to take her to New York City for a weekend (she’s never been), and do all the NYC things… but I think we’d rather save that for when she turns thirteen. (Will a trip to NYC compete with everyone else’s b’mai mitzvah??? Probably not, but we can’t have it all.)

I am looking for a couple of gifts that Carla can unwrap. But it’s not easy. She’s at that transitional age where she’s not quite sure what she wants. She still thinks she likes OMG dolls and the endless array of surprise toys… but whenever she buys one of those things, she loses interest very quickly. (Nonetheless, I think she would get considerable joy from this Miniverse All You Can Eat collection.) She would also enjoy gift cards that she can spend herself; she does not approve of me picking out clothing for her any longer. But the gift card/shopping spree thing is something she often does with her grandmother, so it doesn’t feel quite as special as it should. (I also don’t want to pre-empt her grandmother’s gift idea when I know full well how difficult it is to come up with gift ideas.)

Let’s see. Here are a few ideas I’ve been throwing around. 

• Miracle berries: Carla and I have both heard about miracle berries before (they supposedly make sour and bitter foods taste sweet?), but there may have been an article about this in a recent-ish issue of Highlights, so it’s more top of mind lately. These strike me as the perfect birthday gift: expensive enough you wouldn’t buy them for yourself; a purely fun, novel thing to experience and share with friends. Bonus: these are consumable so they would presumably not live in my house until the end of time.

• Candy subscription: My husband requested a Universal Yums subscription for Father’s Day, so we gladly complied. Which got Carla interested in her own treat subscription. I don’t think she’d eat everything in a Universal Yums box, though, so maybe candy would be a better way to go? There’s a fun retro candy club that she might enjoy, or a candy-of-the-month club. I don’t love her eating so much sugar, but she adores candy and adores getting mail and I know she’d get such a kick out of this.

• New scooter: One of Carla’s favorite things to do is to ride around the neighborhood with the neighbor kids on her scooter. Her existing scooter is fine, maybe, even though it’s at least five years old… but is there a better option? Maybe she’d enjoy an electric scooter? (John Hamm, scooters are expensive!!!!)

• New bike: What she could definitely use is a new bike. We got her a bike back in 2020 and it has lasted a nice long time, but she is now too tall for it. The only problem with getting her a new one is that it’s hard to know the correct size for her now – especially if we don’t really want to buy another new one in a couple of years.

• Board game: Carla has always loved board games, and we’ve been on a game kick lately. (Her current favorites are Telestrations and Clue.) I think this Smug Owls game sounds fun. She has either heard about What Do You Meme or played it with friends, because she’s asked for this one specifically. I also think Six Second Scribbles could be enjoyable for her, especially because she enjoys Telestrations so much.

• Sweatsuit: One of the few things Carla has specifically asked for is “a cute sweatshirt and sweatpants set.” I like this one from Abercrombie & Fitch, and I know the pants of that brand fit her. She’s into pale yellow lately, so maybe this one from the Gap would be good?

• Drafting chair: I am really embarrassed that we STILL have yet to get Carla a chair for her craft room. We have been promising that we’d get her one for a long while now, and have never followed through. Would this be a good gift, though, or would it be fulfilling a promise?? You know I love a practical gift, but this almost seems too practical.

• Animals watercolor book: Carla’s crafty and she loves animals. I think this would be a fun intersection of those things.

• Handlebar speaker: This would be perfect for Carla to take with her on bike rides/scoots around the neighborhood. 

• Comfy: This is another one that Carla requested specifically. She and my husband got me a Comfy years ago, which Carla promptly adopted. (It was, indeed, comfy, but I don’t need anything that helps make me hot. I’ve got that covered.) It’s possible that the Comfy got “lost” during the move to this house, and now Carla would like her own.

• Book subscription: This, of course, would really serve my never-ending quest to get Carla to read more. But I love that this particular subscription comes with little gifts the reader can open at specific points in the book. That might help keep Carla’s attention and scratch the “surprise gift” itch at the same time.

• UGG slippers: Carla has loved and worn her UGG boots so much since she got them in December that they have holes in the toes. I could probably just get her new UGG boots, but the slippers seem more summer-appropriate, somehow???

• Pool toys: Carla loves to be in the pool, but prefers to be Doing Something (gymnastics, games) instead of Just Swimming. I like these swim-through rings and I bet she would, too. 

• Outdoor game: Skee-ball is the only game I’ve ever enjoyed at an arcade, and this flyball game looks like a fun way to bring that game home. The only thing is, I’m not sure Carla has ever played something similar?

• Cookbook: My kid is a picky eater, and yet she is also interested in the concept of cooking things. She often earmarks the recipes in Highlights, and is enrolled in a week-long cooking camp this summer. I wonder if she would find enough things that pique her interest in this book to try? Maybe it would be easier to appeal to her sweet tooth with a baking-centric cookbook instead?

• Cat garden kit: No one is more obsessed with Lenny than Carla, and I think she might love growing and tending to a little cat garden for him. There’s the cat grass version, complete with tools. This option has four separate grasses to grow. Or there’s this luxury cat lawn – wait, this is not a post about gifts for Lenny.

• Cat training kit: Carla loves training the dogs in our neighborhood. Perhaps she would get a kick out of training Lenny?

• Skincare set: Carla requested some skincare items. I don’t know if she’ll use them, but it’s probably good to get started on a routine even if it’s not something she follows exactly. I’d especially like to get her into regular daily application of sunscreen. This set has multiple options.

If you were turning twelve, what would you most want to unwrap? Lenny enjoys the wrapping paper as much as the gifts themselves.