A swoonworthy list of gifts

It's Jemimah's birthday today. She's 10 years old, and is terribly excited. She also maintains that one should not have to do school on one's birthday, so we'll see how we go with that.

She is having a couple of girlfriends over for BBQ, swim, play and sleepover. It is my first sleepover for other than cousins, so we'll see if we've bitten off more than we can chew at...oh... about 9.00 pm tonight.

Last week I asked on Facebook for ideas for birthday presents for 10 year old girls. I received some fabulous replies, although most of them were above the budget we had allocated and the gift we did purchase is not included. Anyhow, I though some of you might find them useful for gifts for your own or others, and so here they are in the words of my friends:

• A well-stocked Sewing Basket. Love this one from Cath Kidson!
  
  
• Mystery books like Ruby Redfort: Look into my Eyes by Lauren Child or Philip Pullman's The New Cut Gang.
  
  
  
  
• Anything that requires glue.
  
  
• Cook book, oven gloves, apron and kitchen utensils; mini food processor.
  
  
• Jet boat ride in Sydney Harbour.
  
  
• A hammock.
  
  
• Hand crafted Monopoly set with wooden (or indeed Gold) pieces, presented in wooden boxes. (I'd hate to think of the price however.)
  
  
• Begin a collection. eg piece of china. Some of my friends had large collections by the time we were married and a few have done that sort of thing for their daughters. Other people find out they are collecting, either a set or eclectic and add to it over the years. Imagine a piece of Wedgewood's Harlequin Collection every year!
  
  
• A sewing machine of her own, along with Quilting stuff. Wouldn't you just die for a Singer 160?
  
  
• A chess set. My son was ogling a LOTR chess set the other day, while I was swooning over an Alice in Wonderland one. Expensive - $200 - $300 for the pieces alone, but something they will treasure for the rest of their lives.
  
  
• A little book called Sewing School and a couple of Cath Kidston 's books 'Sew' & 'Patch' which would be a nice addition to a sewing basket.
  
  
• A fun book of sewing crafts she could do.
  
  
• Tools for a tool bag each year, in case future hubby doesn't come so equipped, lol!
  
  
• A beautiful wooden boxed set of chalk pastels and some lovely textured papers (large) and books on art and famous artists.
  
  
• A worm farm and a mushroom kit!
  
  
• A microscope and slides so she can look into the tiny things in life. It's always fun studying things found in the garden, or fungi and things like that. Even a birds feather is full of live things.
  
  
• An iTunes card.
  
  
• A flying trapeze lesson. I think you can buy via Red Balloon.
  
  
• More grown up art supplies, a new beautiful journal.
  
  
• A KINDLE fire or Ipad with a lovely Very Bradley case http://​www.verabradley.com/
  
  
• A nice literary t-shirt!!

So there it is - the swoonworthy list for fantabulous gifts for 10 year old girls.

What would you add? What would you like to buy for your daughter if money were no object? What would you like for yourself? Quite a few of these ideas appeal to me. Most of them actually - except the trapeze lesson, perhaps.