16th Birthday Gift Ideas for Your Daughter

Sixteen sits right between child and grown-up, and she knows it. The best 16th birthday gifts for a daughter give her a little more independence while showing her you still see the kid she was. Here are 12 ideas, from under $30 to a real splurge, and our top pick is a song about her that she can play for her friends now and keep for the rest of her life.

Hear what a Songbond song is like

This one was made for another family. Yours would carry her name and your stories.

12 16th birthday gift ideas for your daughter

1. A song about her ($39.90). Share her nicknames, the way she laughs, the thing she said at six that the family still quotes. Songbond turns it into an original song, and it is the one gift at a sweet 16 that is only about her.
2. Practice drives and a key ring. A leather key ring for the car keys she does not have yet, and a card promising a practice drive every Sunday until her test. Usually $20 to $60.
3. Her first grown-up perfume. Take her to the counter and let her choose, rather than guessing. Usually $40 to $100.
4. An instant camera and a few packs of film. Real prints she can stick on her wall and hand to friends. Usually $70 to $120.
5. Concert tickets for her and her best friend. You drive, you wait in the car, you do not sing along on the way home. Usually $80 to $250 for two.
6. A sweet 16 dinner with her closest friends. A real restaurant, a reserved table, dressed up. Usually $150 to $400 depending on the group.
7. Good headphones. Sixteen-year-olds live in their headphones, so buy a pair that will last. Usually $50 to $250.
8. A time capsule letter to open at 21. Write about who she is at 16, seal it, and give her the envelope with strict instructions. It costs nothing.
9. A vintage shopping trip with a budget. Give her a set amount and a Saturday at the thrift and vintage shops. You carry the bags. Usually $50 to $150.
10. Small gold hoops. Her first real gold earrings, or a second piercing if you have agreed to it. Usually $50 to $150.
11. A room refresh. New bedding, string lights and a print for the wall, chosen by her, so her room stops looking like it belongs to a 10-year-old. Usually $60 to $150.
12. Sixteen small gifts, one for each year. A candy she loved at four, a hair clip like the one she wore at nine, a photo from twelve. Wrap each one and number them. Usually $30 to $80 all in.

How to choose for her 16th

At 16, what she wants most is to be taken seriously. Pick something that treats her as a little older, and add one small thing that shows you remember her younger years. Watch what she spends her own money on this year. That tells you more than any wish list.

• If she is social: the dinner with friends, the concert or the instant camera.
• If she is quieter: the headphones, the room refresh or the time capsule letter.
• If she is counting the days to her license: the practice drives and the key ring.

Borrow the sweet 16 candle ceremony

At many sweet 16 parties, 16 people who matter to her each light one candle and say a sentence or two about her. A grandparent goes first, then parents, siblings, a godparent, a coach, her best friends. It works just as well at a family dinner as at a big party. Write the list of 16 names a week ahead and give each person a heads-up so nobody is caught off guard. If you have her song ready, play it right after the last candle is lit.

Make her 16th birthday song

Create a 16th birthday song for her. Tell us about her and it is ready within 24 hours. If the party is tomorrow, express delivery gets it to you in about an hour.

Also in the Journal: sweet 16 songs for the party and milestone birthday song ideas.