I love shopping with my 17-year-old daughter.

Not only does she have excellent taste, but she has spruced my wardrobe and home up a bit, too.

I love getting gifts for her now (in fact, I keep a secret stash to have on hand - you never know when someone needs a surprise) because I have MASTERED the art of giving to a teen girl.

I know that my daughter’s love languages are quality time and gift-giving, so by giving her gifts I am showing her that I know and value her - I take the time to listen and pay attention to what she loves.

Gifts are so much more than something physical, they are an expression of love.

Gifts For a Teen Girl’s Room

Girls love their spaces - don’t we all?

My daughter’s room is cute and cozy. She spends a lot of time in her room, listening to music, watching YouTube, reading, and working on her hand lettering.

I get many things for her at Home Goods, Tuesday Morning, and other little haunts I frequent. I even found some great flannel sheets at Aldi last week! If you are like me, however, holidays get busy and I rely on Amazon for my shopping!

These are a few of her favorite things - and I have to admit the record player has been the best! She is enjoying playing old records we have in the basement.

Gifts For a Teen Girl’s Creative Side

My daughter loves hand lettering, chalkboard design, and bullet journaling.

I try to encourage anything that is NOT staring at a phone or YouTube, know what I mean?

We took a book journaling class together. A friend of mine hosted a hand lettering class for girls. In this day and age we have to fight for the hearts and minds of our girls. Encouraging creativity is one of the best ways to do this!

My daughter has created a fun area in her room, complete with a rolling cart and lots of journaling supplies. I hear her in her room at night with her music going and she is journaling - makes my heart smile.

There are so many fun Instagram and Pinterest lettering and journaling accounts to follow - your teen girl might just fall down a rabbit hole with this one!

Here are some of my Anna’s favorite supplies:

Gifts for Your “Girlie” Teen Girl

I have one of those girls who loves makeup, clothes, jewelry, hair - I have to credit her with making me more stylish over the past few years. She has great taste, and I know that when we look good we feel good, right?

And here’s a little secret - I would like each and every thing on this list! (The Frog Prince lipstick is probably my favorite.)

Gifts For a Teen Girl Who Likes to Read

First of all, it’s difficult to find books for teen girls.

Books for younger teens will be much different than books for a 16 or 17 year old. As our teens grow and change we need to let them choose more of what they want to read. I try to gently guide and suggest, but ultimately - at the age of 17 - my daughter chooses her own books.

(For some book suggestions, check out our Historical Fiction for Teen Girls.)

A few years ago we purchased a Kindle Fire for my daughter. Best decision ever!

Here are some gifts for your book loving teen!

I’m sure this gives you quite a few ideas to get started for your teen girl!

Do you have a favorite gift your favorite teen has loved? Share it in the comments below!

Sometimes you need something other than LEGOS to keep kids occupied!

We all know (especially as homeschool moms) that there are times where everyone benefits from alone time. Playing games and engaging in activities that require just me, myself, and I can be very challenging.

Out of necessity our family has discovered some great games, puzzles, etc... to help your children learn to love their alone time.

While it helps build their habit of attention, it also helps develop logical thinking and reasoning skills.

I try to make sure my kids spend some of their time throughout the week challenging themselves with these types of games and puzzles. It seems to help when they become overwhelmed with everyday tasks and events as these activities can really help quiet their minds and allow them to focus.

(And selfishly it helps a mom get some much needed things accomplished, too!)

From solving puzzles, creating new shapes, and even improving on chess strategies.... these one player games will give kids a bit of quiet down time that you may be looking for.

Brainwright Cat Stax: A creative puzzle that uses small plastic cats in a game that is similar to Tetris.
Color Code: You can make variety of new and colorful shapes with this one person game. Great way to get creative with shapes.
Castle Logix: Copy and build the castles on the cards or create your very own designs.
Junior Brain Builders: Build different types of structures including towers and even bridges. A great way to build on your architectural creativity.
Pixy Cubes: A great way to test your memory and see how well you can memorize in a short amount of time.
Space Challenge Maze Globe: Find your way through this hands on maze. This would also be great as a time filler instead of using an electronic.
On The Dot Game: With over 60 different puzzles, this game has a bunch of challenges waiting to be devoured.
Parking Puzzler: This brain teaser will keep kids busy for a long time. You parents might enjoy this one too. Figure out how to set up the cars in their parking space to break the pattern.
Solitaire Chess: I like this one player game because it gives kids a chance to improve their chess strategy all on their own.
Compose Yourself Music Card Game: Make your very own music with this solo game. Perfect for the budding musician!
Visual Brainstorms: Challenge your brain to solve these abstract puzzles and brain busters.
Balance Beans Game: Balance the beam with different weighted beans. It may look easy, but this game is much more challenging than you think.
Math Dice: A great way to improve on your math skills! All with a simple set of dice.