What do you give a 21 year old daughter for Christmas?

[McManus]

if she has plans to move out on her own at some point then it's a great opportunity to start gifting small household items. as a young person i asked for this and was one of the only of my contemporaries whose first place wasn't largely furnished via hand me downs and goodwill. dd and ds have gotten gifts from us of nice silicon cooking tool sets (they have such good deals around the holidays), glassware sets (of their favorite anime and such), and the odd small kitchen tools that i can't do without/they frequently use(d) cooking here.




kudos to your dd. i had a friend who graduated from art school and then went into tattooing. so many people couldn't understand why until they saw how she was able to make a much more stable and livable income vs. her fellow grads. i'm so glad it gets the appreciation it deserves now.

At first I was a little worried about DD taking this route after college but it's something she loves and it directly involves her artistic skills but in a different way. So very proud of her. Thanks for sharing with me about your friend!

 

[McManus]

How about a cool subscription box? There are so many neat ones out there to choose from and it's always fun getting a package in the mail!

What is a subscription box?

 

[McManus]

You said you're going to Disney with her this summer? How about a Disney gift card and she can pick something out there? Otherwise I would ask her for a xmas list - let her tell you what she would like.

For sure a Disney gift card! She's very much into the pins!

 

[Hikergirl]

Just curious, what type of tattoo does she want? Hearts, butterflies? My daughter has 3. One is of Harry Potter world.

I know DH and I will give her cash, some gift cards and a few art things she asked for. I did ask if she'd go shopping with me. Maybe she'll point out something she likes. No apartment yet and she won't be moving for several years so I think I'll hold off on the apartment items for a bit.

I thought she wanted a lavender sprig but then she mentioned trying to find a bee that she liked so I don't think she's narrowed it down yet. My guess is she will end up with both.

A shopping day with mom is a great gift!

 

[kymom99]

I don’t have a 21 year old daughter but I have a 20 year old son. He never asks for much. The last 2 years I have given him experiences. One year I took him to Indy to an eagles concert. The next I gave him tickets to a pacers game in Indy and let him invite a friend. I took them but they went to the game without me. We spent the night at a hotel.

This year I decided to make a little game of it. I am going to wrap 3 boxes. One will have info about a Beatles tribute show that is going to be in our area this spring. Another will have something related to the pacers. The third will have play cash in it. I’ll do something where he chooses a box to see what his gift is but I may end up letting him choose which of the 3 gifts he wants. That way it’s sort of a surprise but also allows him to pick what he really wants.

We just had to buy a car because his car was finally past it’s useful life. He doesn’t have steady income so he needed our help but it put a cramp in our holiday spending. I don’t want to waste money on stuff he doesn’t want or need.

 

[belle032]

What is a subscription box?

They are a recurring delivery of products from a company. You sign up with a company who offers a box you are interested in and usually it's a monthly delivery, but some offer bimonthly, quarterly, etc. So a box of neat things are delivered to your home! There are subscription boxes for pretty much any interest. I've seen makeup boxes, gaming boxes, book club type boxes, snack boxes, candy boxes, candle boxes, etc. I've even used BarkBox, which is a subscription box for my dog and it's a delivery of fun treats and toys. So tons of possibilities!

 

[elgerber]

I don't have a 21 year old daughter - but when I was that age I'd have loved a good bottle of champagne and some $$$ to fund my next bit of travel....

A few years back I got my dd a case of individual Prosecco bottles. She loved it.

 

[McKelly]

Well, reading all of these responses, I guess we are all on the same page for that age group for gifts!
My soon to be DD21 (in January) is going to Disney with her boyfriend in January, so she is getting a Disney gift card, plus a gift card for her favorite clothing store. She's also getting a new handbag, socks and underwear and new PJ's. I have also bought her a subscription to Snack Crate - which is a monthly subscription of snacks from around the world. I rounded that out with some Bath and Body stuff and some of her favorite candy.

I asked her if she wanted some things for the household - since she will be graduating college in May and she looked at me like I had three heads. I guess she is not considering moving out any time soon, which I'm fine with.

When I asked her what she wanted for Christmas - the only thing she said was gift cards.

 

[MermaidLagoonResident]

something that I've personally been trying to do in my gift giving over the last few years is experience based things. We all have too many "things" or the bad habits of outright buying what we want for ourselves and then when it comes around to gift giving opportunities there is nothing left to get the person.

Last year I gave my parents a voucher for a habour boat cruise that included lunch, a previous year I gave my Dad a luxury car experience ( he got to drive the car 4 laps around a race car track), this year I am thinking scandinave spa passes. My husband has received passes for an animal conservation tour, concert tickets, etc. You could check on Groupon and see what's available in your area to get some ideas.

Also on the shopping day idea, I'd highly recommend setting something like that up. My mom and I for the last 10+ years have taken part in a weekend long shop till you drop bus trip. We drive down on the bus from Southern Ontario to Erie, Pennsylvania. The early years we did a lot of Christmas gift shopping for family members and I also used the trip as my back to school shopping trip (our bus trip is early nov, so we'd find summer bits on super sale and then fall pieces with different sales as well, had my wardrobe set). More recent years, we really haven't "needed" to do the trip in the same ways we used to but its a set time that we know we have together each year and it gives us tons of time to catch up.

 

[J'aime Paris]

My DD is 21, and here are a few of the things she's asked for...
Warm, cozy PJs and cabin socks
Nice boots for winter
Certificate for getting her nails done and a facial
Specific perfume-- I think it was Jimmy Choo?
Colored jeggings
Real gold small hoop earrings
Uber Eats gift card
New comforter for her bed at home

 

[AnnaS]

Make up, jewelry, gas cards, Starbuck's/Donkun cards? Purse?

Does she buy her own clothes? Perhaps a coat/jacket/boots, sunglasses, etc. scarves - my dd has a ton. Gift Certificate for manicure/pedicure? Hair Salon.

 

[RUDisney]

Luckily, my 23yo DD was easy this year. She moved into an unfurnished room in an apartment. I already bought the dresser and mirror that matches the bed she bought.

DS, 24, wants a beach vacation... he stressed that he didn't want to go with his father or I. That's the reason he goes on so few vacations and his DSis goes on a lot of them with me. His friends can't afford to travel. I'm going to give him money toward a trip. He can decide what to do with it.

 

[mmbrad02]

I think the subscription boxes are a great idea... On the lines of a gift subscription, I'm well past 21 but I LOVE my Billie razor, and it's not too expensive.

https://mybillie.com/pages/gift-subscriptions
My mom, sister and I have gone shopping on Black Friday (not to the crazy late or early hours, just that day because we can all be available and do it together). My mom has an envelope for each of us, plus our spouses and kids, with cash in it for Christmas. My sister and I pick out our own gifts plus our respective families gifts, and we have the BEST time together. Lots and lots of laughs and giggles. My sister and I are polar opposites, she will spend hours searching the clearance racks and buying off season clothes, while I tend to use the occasion to buy nicer things I wouldn't normally buy myself. My mom really looks forward to this day more than Christmas itself. After the day is done, mom takes the gifts home and wraps them and we open them at Christmas.

 

[MillauFr]

My daughter has college friends studying abroad in Ireland. I bought her a plane ticket to Dublin during Spring Break for Christmas.

 

[kathy884]

My 24 year old loves musical theatre, so theatre tickets are my go to gift. This year it's tickets to see Wicked on Dec. 28th (traveling broadway show coming to our home town).

 

[neatokimmo]

What about car maintenance stuff? Our local car wash does packages for 9.95 the first month. It will help keep her car clean from salt.

 

[takemethere]

I have 22 y/o and 20 y/o girls and an 18 y/o son. All out of state in different schools, I bought the 22 y/o a 4 day festival ticket/the 20 year old a gc for delta airlines and the boy got celtic tix they really don't need "stuff" and I know they will all be thrilled with what I got. We go to NYC for 2 days while they are home and if they see anything I will get it. No more buying just to buy.

 

[dhardawa]

My daughter is 20. She is getting an aquarium, a new bedding set, a printer (she’s in college and needs one), a blowout brush, a book, and fuzzy socks.

 

[MrsPete]

I have a 22 year old, and she's getting: a couple items of clothing, new bedsheets, a necklace, a couple books, two board games, and some art supplies ... maybe something else I can't remember. And stocking stuffers. Nothing 'specially unusual, but the things are very "her".

 

[pklein09]

Underwear for a twenty year old? Kind of strange is it not?

Not for our family! I always received socks and underwear growing up. My sisters and I decided to be goofy and we would pose with the underwear on our heads...like a hat. Fast forward to my 4 kids, and socks, underwear, and toothbrushes are feature items in their stockings. The socks are silly socks at this point, underwear are the nicer kind they might not purchase for themselves (i.e. Soma for the girls...boys just get boxer briefs), and they guess the color of their toothbrushes.

ETA: my kids are now ages 19 -23. My mom doesn't give me underwear anymore, but we all get tea towels instead.