The 10 Best 13 Year Old Girl Gifts
This wiki has been updated 33 times since it was first published in September of 2015. Given how frequently their interests and preferences tend to change, 13-year-old girls can be difficult to shop for. However, that doesn’t mean you need to resort to an impersonal gift card, as our list features a wide selection of items that are sure to please, whether she enjoys making or listening to music, taking photos, creating art, or trying out fun new fashions. When users buy our independently chosen editorial recommendations, we may earn commissions to help fund the Wiki.
1. Doss SoundBox Pro+ Speaker
2. Fujifilm Instax Mini 9
3. Aprilis Bath Bombs
Editor's Notes
December 08, 2020:
The newly added Craft-tastic DIY Collage Kit makes for a fun and easy way to decorate one’s wall, and the components can be applied in any shape your daughter prefers. The 251-piece set provides you with various colorful prints, several sheets of stickers that include 41 individual letters, as well as six yards of cotton thread. Personal photos can also be added, if desired, and the 80 foam spacers help to create a cool 3D effect. It comes from a Michigan-based business that offers various art kits that also include dream catchers, posters, and flower art. It replaces the My Cinema Lightbox, a fun set for making Instagram-worthy photos, but that might not be enjoyed by a young teen as much as the wall collage.
We also replaced the Doss SoundBox Plus with the more vibrant Doss SoundBox Pro+ Speaker. In addition to providing impressive sound with adjustable bass, this Bluetooth speaker with lights incorporates a wraparound light bar that syncs to the beat and can be set to your choice of pure, cold, and warm color modes to suit your preference. It’s compact and lightweight enough to be placed into a backpack, and features a built-in lithium-ion battery and a USB charging port. It’s got a durable rubberized casing, so you won’t have to worry too much if it gets dropped every now and then. Replacing the Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 Neo is a more full-featured set, the Fujifilm Instax Mini 9. It brings you a vibrant camera in your choice of five colors, two packs of film, a pocketed photo album, a carrying bag, four colored filters, five frames, and a selfie mirror. It’s fun for any group gathering, and kids will enjoy taking, printing out, and decorating their photos in less than five minutes.
November 19, 2019:
In this update the Zipbuds Bluetooth Headphones are replaced by the Mpow Bluetooth Headphones, which are recently updated to incorporate a microphone inside and outside the ear cup, to better cancel out noise. Your teen will be impressed with their sound quality, and also how nicely they fold up for storage or transport in a backpack or purse. (A soft, drawstring carrying pouch is included.) As their name tells you, they can be paired with a mobile device – and they also can be plugged in with the included audio cable.
Today we replaced the Shany All About That Face full makeup kit with the Shany Nail Art Set, which is a selection that’s more age-appropriate for young teens. This set brings your daughter 24 bottles of nail polish in pearlescent, glitter, and matte formulas. Four neon colors are included, along with shades of pink, blue, green, and red. All the brushes are thin, which is more conducive to making designs on one’s nails. This set is great for making flowers, rainbows, checkers, stripes, and anything your daughter can imagine.
The Doss SoundBox Plus comes on board as a more practical replacement for the large, 30-pound EcoXgear speaker. This compact and lightweight choice can be taken easily in a backpack for an outing with friends, and it syncs with your mobile device to access your playlist, podcasts, and more – and it can even accept hands-free phone calls. The sensitive touch controls allow you to play music, change tracks, and more with ease. The five available lighting modes can bring you a fun show after dark.
The Adidas Santiago Mini Backpack comes on board as a practical and stylish option for girls to carry their essentials in when they’re out with friends. As you can tell from the name, it’s quite small in size, but is great when she needs something to hold the basics like water, a small snack, money, and a cell phone. (It replaces the Victoria’s Secret Pink Backpack.)
The remaining new additions round out our list nicely, as Aprilis Bath Bombs are a fun way to make one’s bath smell nice and moisturize the skin – and they create a cool fizzing in the top of the bath water. The My Cinema Lightbox can take an Instagram photo from good to great, as it’s an easy way to add an attractive quote or message to a post.
Also leaving the list today is the DBPower T20 Mini Projector, which is unavailable at this time. For gift ideas for teen girls of all ages, see our Best Gifts For Teen Girls list, which features a range of must-have electronics, accessories, and more.
Special Honors
Personalized Cursive Name Necklace Available in your choice of silver, gold, or rose gold, cursive necklaces are a popular fashion statement among teens, and these won’t disappoint, with an attractive, eye-catching font. They’re available with names up to 15 letters long, and the gold ones come in either 10- or 14-karat options. The chains are available in two different lengths. alisonandivy.com
Bubble Tea Kit This set provides everything you need to whip up and enjoy a hot or cold batch of bubble tea. It comes with black and rooibos chai loose leaf tea, the latter of which features the flavors of ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, black pepper, fennel, and coriander. You’ll also receive a 10.5-ounce bag of tapioca pearls and two reusable, dishwasher-safe stainless steel straws. Just add milk, if desired, and enjoy. uncommongoods.com
4. Mpow Bluetooth Headphones
5. Adidas Santiago Mini Backpack
6. Craft-tastic DIY Collage Kit
7. Jasmine S35 Acoustic Guitar
8. Shany Nail Art Set
9. SereneLife Mobile Photo Printer
10. Art 101 Wood Set
Finding Her That Perfect Gift
When choosing a gift for a 13 year old girl, it's important to remember that while she is technically a teenager, she's still quite young.
When choosing a gift for a 13 year old girl, it's important to remember that while she is technically a teenager, she's still quite young. A newly minted teen is often eager to prove she can fit in with the older crowd, but you'll find that in some ways she is still a kid at heart. Finding a gift that strikes a balance between these two worlds can be quite the challenge.
One strategy is to take her already established interests and build on them. A budding artist will always appreciate good old fashioned crafts supplies. At this age you can invest in some high-end materials now that she is mature enough to take care of them. You can also combine her creativity and increasing awareness of fashion and get her a nail decorating kit or fabric paints.
Many young teens will choose to redecorate their bedrooms as they face the transition to high school. If your teen is ready for a change, find out what her new theme or color scheme is and choose gifts that will facilitate lots of study time and hanging out with friends.
Thirteen is that magic age when she can officially join most social media sites. Her cellphone might start playing a larger role in her social life, and there are plenty of fun accessories you can get to enhance her experience. A girl who loves posting photos of herself and her friends would enjoy a selfie stick. For the audiophile who keeps all her music on her phone, you can find headphones in a wide variety of price points. Phone cases or wristlets come in a ton of colors and patterns to help her express her individual style, while keeping her phone protected.
Encouraging Teen Girls To Stay Active
The teen years come with so many changes and challenges that sometimes the focus on physical health can get lost in the shuffle. At this age teens face increasing amounts of homework and have a tendency to engage in more sedentary activities like watching TV. They also start making more of their own food choices, too often choosing fast foods. Even children who were once active see their activity levels decline during the teen years. This combination can be especially troublesome for the developing teenage girl's body. Prevention is key to keeping teenage obesity at bay.
New activewear and passes to a fitness class to take together can help her explore new interests.
If your teen is not part of an organized athletic activity, she may have trouble finding the time or motivation to get the recommended one hour of exercise per day. With some high schools reducing or cutting out physical education classes altogether, sometimes families need to get creative.
Gifts that encourage physical activity can come with the added bonus of additional family bonding at an age when a child begins to resist spending time with parents. New activewear and passes to a fitness class to take together can help her explore new interests. You can rekindle an old passion by updating old sporting equipment, or a favorite outdoor game like croquet or badminton.
Gifts That Foster Independence
Early adolescence is a time marked by learning to make good choices about everything from food to money to time management. While a lot of parents worry about how they are going to keep tabs on their newly independent teen, it's equally important to focus on imparting the life skills she'll keep with her when she leaves the nest. Encouraging a teen to take more responsibility for her decisions is also a great way to help raise her self esteem.
Parents can often link their accounts to a minor's account, making it easier to transfer allowance money and track her spending, usually with little or no fees.
For a girl who is spending more time at home alone, but not yet able to drive, a healthy cookbook can kill two birds with one stone. She can learn about healthy eating while becoming more independent and helpful around the house. If she already enjoys cooking, enrolling her in a cooking class can be another great gift.
Thirteen might seem a little young for a debit card, but the time to learn about money management is when they are young and parents still have a measure of influence over their finances. If she doesn't already have a checking account, consider making it a birthday milestone to get one. Parents can often link their accounts to a minor's account, making it easier to transfer allowance money and track her spending, usually with little or no fees.
Karen Bennett lives in Chicago with her family, and when she’s not writing, she can usually be found practicing yoga or cheering on her kids at soccer games. She holds a master’s degree in journalism and a bachelor’s in English, and her writing has been published in various local newspapers, as well as “The Cheat Sheet,” “Illinois Legal Times,” and “USA Today.” She has also written search engine news page headlines and worked as a product manager for a digital marketing company. Her expertise is in literature, nonfiction, textbooks, home products, kids' games and toys, hardware, teaching accessories, and art materials.