Seeking Ideas for Sweet 16 Birthday

Hmm, it wasn't that long ago that I was 16 myself and I know that I would've loved something that was very particular to my interests. If she's a writer or an artist get her something along those lines that isn't something easily found or rather something she would think to expect. I was given a certificate for my 16th birthday from my parents redeemable upon the age of 18 provided it was something I still wanted, mind you I asked for a tattoo/piercings. It would seem that you have a very well mannered teen so I would assume that anything you give to her will be great.

My mom got me a diamond ring for my sweet 16 she got it from a pawn shop so it wasnt very expensive. or maybe you could offer to pay for half of her first car up to a specific ammount as her gift.

How about an experience? Like say a spa treatment, or hot air balloon ride, or something really memorable like that...maybe rent a limo and take family and friends on a ride to a dinner out? Experiences are by far my favorite kind of gift, those you can talk about for years and years to come.

when savannah turned 16...we gave her a black/white party. All the girls and guys dressed up and we got a cake that looked like a wedding cake but it was decorated like her 16th birthday...it was nice outside so we decorated the garage like a danceroom...we put the stereoout there and they had a ball! I think the girl's just wanted areason to dress up. I let her have 5 total girls spend the night.
To decorate we got the strands of white lights with black balloons.We hung them in the garage. We alsohad a big crystal ball that hung in the middle and reflected light off of the strands of lights as it turned.
I just ordered a big party sub sandwich from the sub shop and laid it on the table cut into slices...had chips and punch with dry ice in it. The punch was fruit punch with seven-upadded toit...then I put a few bottles and fancy glasseson the table with apple cider champagne looking bottles.
We had napkins printed up...just a few with her name and Happy 16th on them. I think we only got a pack of those....
Look in the Oriental Trading magazine...they have great items for a Hawaiian party...and so does our dollar store here. That is what I wanted her to have....
You could get chips, a meat tray,punch,decorate the tables with Hawaiian paper table clothes and little plates...

I know a gal that had just music and decorated with alot of lights and a cake and frozen pizza's....they all had a ball!

Savannah wanted gift certificate for a store that she wanted to shop at and never gets to go to. Then i added a star Bucks card for her.....she loves to go there with her friends.....

I took my 16 year old to dinner, the opera and then to the cheesecake factory. It was a very special "grown up" date.

A friend of mine is getting her daughter who is turning 16 a nice laptop, don't know if she has one of those or not but that would be a good idea that she may enjoy.

Oh J., I understand. I was a bit of a spoiled..or may be privaledged child. I did receive a car (a CLUNKER!!) when I turned 16, and my grandmonther bought me very nice jewelry, too for that occasion. But, let me tell you what meant the most to me. My aunt wrote me a letter. In her letter she told me how proud she was of me and how much she loved me. She told me what she hoped for me and what she knew I deserved in life. She was not an English major and she just wrote what she felt. It wasn't long and it was wasn't pretentious, it was just love on paper. I'm a 23 year old wife and mother now and I wear the jewelry my wonderful grandmother gave me on special occasions, and my brother now drives my old clunker, but a copy of that letter is ALWAYS in my wallet. It is one of my most cherished possesions. It you'd like to combine that with something else, I've seen those small charm bracelets/necklaces (whichever your wonderful daughter prefers) at Things Remembered that you can have her initials engraved on. The letter, and the small piece of casual everyday jewelry might help to remind her that she is who she is, and who she is is perfect. I hope this helped

I am sure it would be nice to have a lasting gift, but it might be nice for the two of you to have a spa day together (something simple like mani/pedi, or more extensive with a facial and/or massage).

I haven't read the other responses, so someone could've suggested this already. Treat her and a couple of her best friends to a night at a hotel, complete with dinner at the restaurant there and breakfast the next morning (assuming the hotel has a restaurant or two). Obviously, you have to trust her and her friends and find a hotel that will do this...and probably lay a few ground rules ahead of time. One with a pool is a plus because they can swim.

My mom/stepdad did this for me when I was sixteen, and it was so much fun. They came at night, too, and delivered a special cake for us to eat. It was just three of us girls, and we had the best time!

Feel free to email me if you have more questions.

Good luck! What a special time for you and your daughter!

We are not into big parties for our children as they are just too expensive. The thing they actually love the most are sleepovers with a few friends. For our daughter's 16, I did get one room in a friend's Bed & Breakfast (luckily I got a discount) and she and two friends spent the night there - I was in another room there. It was great and they had a blast.

Given our family make-up with a very demanding disabled child, we have never gone on a vacation as a family. So, this was in a sense a mini-vacation for me and I loved it.

Maybe just a dinner out with a friend or something special with 1-2 friends would be nice.

Have fun,

C.

My step daughter turned 16 this past fall. We could not afford a car, either. I am also the mother of 5 (4-16 yrs.)!But we did give her a gift certificate for a pedicure (what girl doesn't like to feel pampered?). You could schedule to go get it with her, or offer to take her and a friend.

I also made some 'coupons' for car use, so that she could redeem them when she got her license and wants to borrow the car. They were simple with a little graphic of a car. I called them "YOU DRIVE IT" and then outlined the details below. She loved both things.

It doesn't have to be big and expensive, just thoughtful.

Best wishes!

J. - I would suggest that rather than material things that come and go you give your daughter an experience to remember. I'm not sure what level of budget-friendly you need, but you are close to some great possibilities in Clarkston.

Does she love the outdoors? Take her on a whale watching trip, or a camping/hiking outing to Glacier Nat'l Park (wonderful place!!). If she's into seeing new places take her on an overnight to Victoria, maybe go in on it with her best friend's mom as their gift to her so she can have a friend along, too. Those overnight trips start from $149 with Victoria Clipper (I understand you have to factor in roundtrip gas to Seattle, but like I said, budget-friendly is subjective). Or if she's interested in the arts set up a trip to one of the musicals, plays, ballets, or operas in your area and dress up for it. (If she has a friend who is really good at doing hair and/or makeup, ask them to come do it for you. I used to do prom hair for my friends all the time to spend time together and save money.)
The best thing you can do is really think about who she is and what she loves and how you can make a connection with her on that level. 16 is an important age because she is beginning to distance herself from her parents to start her own life, but needs to know that the best thing she can do is come to you with troubles and questions. Making a connection now will have lasting effects!

For my 16th birthday my mom started my "hope chest". She bought a large wooden chest (from a thrift store) and had plans on re-finishing it with me (we never did, I loved it just the way it was, Ikea has some neat storage containers too) and she filled it with household items that were just for me when I moved out. It had things like kitchen wares... strainer, spatulas, bowls, you get the picture. It also had cute magnets and a recipe book started with all my favorite family recipes.
This could be a very budget friendly project, and something she will be able to always have.
I still have that chest, too!

I share this story when ever I can and hopefully it will be helpfult you as well. A friend of mind had a daughter turning 16 and so we planned a scavenger hunt around the town that we lived in. We rented her a limo ( you don't have to do that you can use your own car) for her and her friends she had about 7-8 of them. The limo picked her up first then each of her friends at their houses. We (the mom and I ) then gave them their first envelope with the clue in it. All of the businesses we asked to help us were all for it and had fun with it as well. At each location we had another clue and a small gift. We made up the clues for example there was a sewing place called The Taylor's House, so we used a picture of my son (who's name is Tayler) a + sign and a picture of a house then an = sign and left it blank. So she figured out it was the taylors house. We had a friend drive us around and follow them (without her daughters knowledge) and I think we had more fun than they did. She's 25 now and still talks about her 16th birthday. It was alot of fun not only for her but for us too. You don't have to make the gifts expensive at all. Just something fun she'd like. The last place was her favorite restaurant where we had it all set up with balloons and her cake and had lunch with her! Best wishes and I'm sure she'll have a wonderful birthday.
W.

What about a day of pampering? You could get a mani/pedi, or go to massage place, or the mall to get her makeup done and let her pick some.
You know your daughter, and you know what she would like.
Good luck

The most memorable gift I got was my own set of keys to the family car. Of course, then came with some major restrictions; but I had my own car keys. My mom put the keys in the front seat of a model Trans-am (my dream car at the time) then wrapped it up. Of course, I got some other little things too, but this is the most memorable and I'm 40 now.

There are some great ideas here, so I will just add that no matter what you buy her, she will also love it if you take some time to write her a nice letter about how happy you are to have her for a daughter and listing all the things you love about her. Kids can't hear it enough and it will be a way for you to celebrate her day with her. Happy birthday, mom and daughter!

Well, I would suggest maybe a suprise party with all her friends and family. My mom did this for my 16th birthday, and it still to this day is probably my most memorable birthday!

Hi-
We recently took in my younger 14 year old half sister. And of course she arrived just before her 14 birthday, putting us in the position you are in. We had no idea what to do for her since we only have a 4 year old and 2 year old. So we took some advise from a few friends. We threw her a bar-b-que at the lake on base. We rented a few paddle boats and made a day of it. It was family friendly and all ages enjoyed it. As for a gift we got her a digital camera. You can find them for as little as $90 dollars up to several hundred. But at her age we stuck with the least expensive so if she breaks it or looses it we aren't out a fortune.And this way I am not letting her take my professional size digital camera all over town since she can take pictures of anything. :) Hope this helps and remember the most important thing is spending the day enjoying each other not stressing over throwing her the perfect party or giving her the perfect gift. SAHM of two beautiful girls 4 and 2 and recent sister/mom of a 14 year old.

An iPhone would make her the coolest kid on the block! They are coming down in price in July, to like $200. I want one myself, that's what makes me suggest it. It has phone, camera, email, internet. Way cool.

J.,
Not sure if she's into it or not, or if you even allow it, but I do free in-home presentations with my own business and love to have Pajama Mother/Daughter Parties! It would offer the girls the chance to have fun in skin care and cosmetics that are designed just for them, and enjoy free products during the party. I used to do them often in Texas and the kids (and moms!) love to show up in their favorite pjs! Our products are all natural, you can take a look at www.J..myarbonne.com

There are some great ideas here...thanks for the vicarious pleasure.

When my nieces turned 16 we got them birthstone earrings. Which wasn't really "equitable" because one kid was opal and the other was emerald. But they didn't care, they loved them.

When they graduated from high school they received Tiffany "beans". What girl doesn't love that little blue box?! They were much more reasonable than I expected...$148 for the little bean. (we also got them matching luggage but that was because it was a going to college thing, not really because they wanted it.)

Hope this helps and thanks for asking such a great question, I'm loving the answers!

"Hmm, it wasn't that long ago that I was 16 myself and I know that I would've loved something that was very particular to my interests. If she's a writer or an artist get her something along those lines that isn't something easily found or rather something she would think to expect." from Melanie G...I agree totally with what she said..When I was 16, I had an old, crappy guitar, that my parents bought at Sears Roebuck when I was 6 years old. I learned to play it over the years (self taught) and they SHOCKED me, when they took me to the "BIG" music store in Ventura, and I got to PICK OUT the exact guitar I wanted/that was the right size for me. I was extatic, and didn't even care that they left for a vacation to Europe ON MY BIRTHDAY (and they were NOT rich at all--they just saved their money). The next year, they bought a great, hard core case for it, and the year after, they bought a wonderful leather and lambswool strp for it...so they kept up the "theme" for a few years, and it worked out well for me. SO, if she has any special interests, that you know of, that would be the way to go. The ONLY other thing I WOULD HAVE LOVED, was to spend time JUST with MY PARENTS (believe it or not) and do something like a spa day or a special restaurant trip. I have 2 siblings, and we are each a year apart in age (it was like living as triplets, so we never had "personal time alone" with our parents) SO, it would have been a DIFFERENT experience to have my parents to myself, and that would have made me very happy...These are just suggestions, and you, as the mama, will know, deep in ypur heart, what YOUR daughter really wants.
Good luck, and happy sweet 16 to YOU, Mama!!

For my daughters 16th I let her invite 3 friends and we stayed at a hotel near the mall that had a heated pool and jacuzzi. They spent the day walking around the mall then had fun in the hotel pool(s) and we ordered pizza to deliver to the room! They all loved it! She is now 19 and her and her friends make it a yearly thing that they all do together. They still talk about how much fun they had at 16.

My neice asked for a digital camera for her sweet 16. I dont know if thats something your daughter would like. Also when my daughter turned 13 we dressed up and went to dinner just the 2 of us and try to make it a Mom/Daughter special time at least once a year now. Good luck!

Even though it doesn't sound like a "fun" present, maybe (since she sounds very mature) start a "special" fund for college in addition to the one you already have. Like--maybe one just for her so she can buy dorm decor and things like that... Or even one for college application fees and all these little college costs that pop up that no one thinks about.

Happy birthday to her!
S

What about a wonderful pampering day-spa treatment? You know that kind that give you lunch, has the steam room, the whole jazz. It will run you around $300-$400. But let's face it...it's not really something you buy for yourself when you're an adult either, so the experience would certainly evoke memories. After she's all pampered and done up, take her to a restaurant or drop her and some friends off at the local hangout because she's going to want to show off her sparkling new look!

What great ideas! I love the scavenger hunt idea, I'll have to remember that one.

When I turned "18" my mom took me to the hotel of my choice and the 2 of us stayed the night and then spent the entire next day together doing whatever I wanted, saw a movie, shopped a little, had lunch. It was great and I'll never forget it. (she did this with my 3 other siblings as well)

Good Luck, can't wait to hear what you do.

It sounds like she is the oldest of a large family. Maybe she would enjoy one on one time with you. Shopping, dinner, movie. A mom and daughter date. Set the budget with her before you go, so there will be no disappointment on that side of things. Within the budget let her choose what she would like to do with you. I was suprised to find out my 12 yo wanted to go to the zoo alone with me. Have a great time.

J.,

When my niece turned 16 yrs, we had a "formal" party for her. We scheduled the church for the evening and invited the youth group along with some other friends of hers. We dressed fancy, danced, had appetizers/tapas, and cake. Drinks included an ice cream punch, sodas, water...etc. Balloons were present.

Nothing too fancy, but it felt GREAT to her to dress and celebrate! The other teens ran all over, and her younger siblings were allowed to be there to celebrate with her.

Good luck.

T.

I wonder, would she like a 'something special' to do with her friends, or a couple of best friends? Perhaps one of the "you paint it" pottery places in town might do the trick. The girls could each paint a mug to keep. If you had the time to do a one-on-one outing to her choice for a nice meal and go see an exhibit she was interested in. I came from a larger family and always thought one-on-one time with mom was great. Those were the birthdays I remember the most. Those are just a couple ideas.

Celebration-wise, you could always have everyone invited bring a special picture or story (printed) to put in a book. You could write "Why We Love (your daughter's name)" on the cover and fill it with special memories. That would be very meaningful and would be a special keepsake.

Good luck and happy birthday to your lovely young lady.

Hi J.,
Give her a vias type gife card. That way she can use it at any store where she can buy clothing, shoes, a swim suit, cd's, makd-up, go to the movies, or go out to grab a bit to eat. I've found that gift cards are great for almost any occasion.

Good luck,
Mandy

I found that my daughters enjoy a day at the spa with either their mother or a friend. You don't have to go all out, you can just get a pedicure together. It's a wonderful time to bond and create great memories together.

What about a "spa day"? Has she had a proffesional massage or manicure/pedicure? I would recomend that and lunch with just you.

She sounds wonderful! I don't know if this would work but it is an idea. What about a prepaid credit card (the kind that works like a gift card you can only use if there is money already paid on it) I think at 16 I would have loved buying whatever I wanted with my own credit card. Or maybe a spa day. I am not sure if a 16 year old would like the spa. Anyway, I know whatever you do she will love it.
God bless you

J.,
I have read so many of the responses you received and It's amazing what others have done. The responses I like best are the ones that recommend that you give her a memory rather than a "gift". I agree that a memory is more meaningful than jewelry, clothes, shoes or a computer.
I completely missed my nieces 16th because she didn't have a celebration, but when she turns 18 and graduates next year, I have a gift for her that I have been waiting her entire life to give to her. When I started my first job and received my first paycheck I went to the Shane Company and purchased some very simple diamond earrings. Later on I received a necklace with two small saltwater pearls and a diamond. The entire ensemble is absolutely feminine and dainty. I love my niece to tears and look forward to passing on this special gift to her.
I believe that our kids aren't mature enough to appreciate "things" that are given to them, but a memory just feels right.

Best of luck to you and happy 16th to your daughter.
P.S. I like the spa/pedicure idea.

My stepdaughter (age 11) is hard to buy for...she is at our house only every other weekend and most of the summer, but it makes things difficult with her having enough time to actually use a toy or other item we purchase. Last year she really, really wanted a certain dress from a catalog. It was a girl's party dress (big swishy skirt)...she had wished for it for three years. It was out of our budget. Finally, we felt it was her last year being a little girl, plus our $ had improved, so we purchased it. She was over the moon! I was worried we didn't have somewhere other than church to go...would she wear this. We also then gave her tickets to a special night out with us, we were able to take her to see a musical at a big theater. (The certificate we made read: Every beautiful girl with a new dress needs a ball to attend...") This was a first-time experience for her, and very memorable. We also took her out to dinner, not even an expensive place, but one of her choosing. We left the other kids home, so she would feel special on her "date".

After doing this, and remembering a birthday lunch out with my parents when I was in my early 20s, I know that the experience will last long after the dress is gone. I'm not saying go buy a dress...just make the day something meaningful! It can be as cheap a day as you can find, she never has to know the cost!

She also had a special girlfriends' night over. She loves to go to "spa" days, but we limit it to getting a manicure/pedicure. (FYI, she's like a feminine tomboy, so it might surprise you she likes girlie stuff...she's just well rounded. She can beat her older brother at most athletic challenges!)

We have also taken our birthday kids in the past to do different things like canoeing, horseback riding, ice skating, hockey game, etc. Our kids love to have fondue parties at home where we break out the fondue pot, gather round, and cook our meat at the table (their friends have never done this at their own homes, so it is quite a fun experience for all!)

Another special item I own is a piece of jewelry from when I turned 30...my mom gave me a gold bracelet that said "29", the joke being that I was now always 29 (and should never tell someone I was older). Any meaningful jewelry you choose for her 16th birthday would also be special.

I hope you find your special gift and it fits her to a tee!