Bat Mitzvah Gift? | Imamother

amother

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 7:46 pm

I was recently invited to a neighbor's bat mitzvah. It's very nice, but I haven idea what to get her.
Please give me some ideas and how much to spend.

Anon because I asked in the real world Smile

Scrabble123

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 8:12 pm

It's really hard to say because each girl is different. Some would appreciate a watch or a ring, while others a tehillim or a chovos halavovos. Still, it's perfectly acceptable to give a gift certificate, a book, a wristlet, a scarf, etc. Do you know her well enough to decide if any of these things are on par or totally off?

bamba

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 8:16 pm

I think a mini aneini is cute... its the type of thing that will be useful to any type of girl at some stage also it is not so expensive...I dont think u have to spend so much..just something little and cute... the only problem with this is that she will prob get loads of this type of thing...its typical bas mitzva prezzie... mayb a gift voucher is better... she can get what sje wants...

amother

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 9:08 pm

Can anyone give me a $ amount?

I have only been to 3 bar/bat mitzvahs in the past 25 years and they were nieces/nephews.

Can you please be more specific? I barely know the bat mitzvah girl, except that she's a really nice girl. My kids are little and so haven't had that much contact with her.

Scrabble123

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 9:11 pm

Dollar amount can be anything. Books cost between $12.00 - $40.00. Siddurim, Tehillims, Chovos Halavovos can be from $15.00 - $100.00. You can find coach scarves and wristlets for $20-$80. It depends on what you want to buy. You can always find a variety of prices for similar items as well as sales. I think you can get something very nice for $20-$30 if that price range works for you (but you may have to shop around).

harriet

Tue, Mar 18 2014, 11:16 pm

costume jewelry is also in now and can be for any budget (although if you don't know her taste, it's risky), kids in the kitchen or another teen/kid cookbook is nice.

Ruchel

Wed, Mar 19 2014, 9:55 am

Many MO girls won't use a tehillim or tfillas chana book type, at least not before 10, 15 years down the line. That said, not all charedi girls will use it either.
I assume most of them already have a book to pray from since they can read Hebrew and will not change it, and will probably not add to it unless they make this decision as adult.

Also if you don't know her level (of fluency, of davening), I say get something else. Someone got my kollelman husband a shabbes basics book for our wedding... you can imagine we haven't touched it.

amother

Wed, Mar 19 2014, 11:32 am

If you are looking to give jewelry, I have given this necklace to several girls....

https://www.etsy.com/listing/7.....ew_11

(I am posting anonymous because my friends will figure out who I am!!!!)

ilovesem

Wed, Mar 19 2014, 11:44 am

Anything personalised goes down well eg a cosmetics bag with her name on, a towel, a cushion etc

amother

Sun, Jun 15 2014, 5:45 pm

amother wrote:

If you are looking to give jewelry, I have given this necklace to several girls....

https://www.etsy.com/listing/7.....ew_11

(I am posting anonymous because my friends will figure out who I am!!!!)

I think $68 is a lot for a Bat Mitzvah gift.

pumpernickle

Sun, Jun 15 2014, 6:09 pm

Juicy couture had a 50 percent off online sale and I stocked up on their bracelets. Now, every time I have a bas mitzvah just give that. I find that most 12 year olds appreciate it and I paid around $20 each.

amother

Sun, Jun 15 2014, 6:16 pm

Juicy Couture is sold out. When is their next sale so I can also stock up?

out-of-towner

Sun, Jun 15 2014, 6:21 pm

I would get her something like Susie Fishbein's Teens and Twenty Somethings Cookbook. It's a little old for a Bas Mitzva girl, but she will grow into it relatively soon and it's not as childish as a kids book. It happens to be an amazing cookbook BTW!

amother

Sun, Jun 15 2014, 6:32 pm

out-of-towner wrote:

Thanks tons.

I was looking into charm jewelry, and there is no question that she would lose interest in a year or two.

amother

Sun, Jun 15 2014, 6:51 pm

After polling my friends who are mothers of older girls (already have had their bat mitzvas so its not weird to have the convo with them), it seems that most of their dd's (ok, all) preferred cash. The amounts were all over the place, it depends on where the party was, who was invited (just you, you and your dh, you, dh and dd, you and dd) but the range was between $36-$150.
Also, the mothers seemed to feel slighted when their boys were given larger gifts than their girls, although from my talking to them it seemed that the girls were unaware of this or not bothered by it.