If you have a KMart, check the book section. I found lots of neat books that she can push the big buttons and some tell colors, some tell letters and the books have big, bright pretty colors. My Greats love them. Also they like the toy telephones they can push the buttons and it talks back. Not into dolls yet--just pushing buttons. Love animals especially those when you open the page and you can "feel" something--furry, rough, smooth etc Good luck

You said she wants a bigger desk, you need more information from her about what she wants to do on the desk and store there. Does she need space for filing? Will she be drawing or drafting? Does she need space to put a laptop or does she have a regular computer monitor and screen? Two screens? Does she have a printer too? Other computer paraphernalia? How many feet of bookshelves does she need? Approximately how many feet of drawer space does she need for inside the desk? Will it be for general office supplies, or does she have art supplies too? Approximately how many feet of drawer space does she need for clothing? Does she study and do homework in her bedroom or somewhere else in the house? Does she have friends sleep over so that you really need place for two to sleep in that room? How old is she, what grade is she in, and when she starts college, do you think she will stay living with you, or do you think she will go away? Of course one never can predict the future, but I ask to get an idea how much $$ you might want to sink into this. Firstly I want to tell you that it is marvelous that you are thinking about re-decorating to suit your teenage daughter's preferences and needs. Back to the subject at hand. Bed They often have sleepovers. I have found (and I had one myself) that trundle beds work very well for this (unless you are fortunate enough to have a guest room. I prefer the type of trundle bed where the extra bed is underneath and rolls out on wheels and pops up so the two beds are on the same level. I especially like it when instead of sticking out from the wall, the long axis of the bed is against the wall. You can get the bed with a wooden or metal daybed type upper portion against which to put large comfy thick dense pillows, and it becomes a "sofa" for your daughter and her friend. Even without that frame, you can purchase or have made two large pillows each 1/2 the length of the bed of thick dense foam covered in batting, then muslin, and then a zippered cover of whatever fabric you choose. Get two sets, and make them machine washable! Desk For serious work, especially with a computer, often an L shaped configuration works well, and this is best done in the corner of a room. Even if your daughter works with a laptop almost all the time, she will appreciate a hookup to a second screen at home as that will facilitate report writing. She can have source material on the second screen while she does the writing on her word program on the first screen. It's also just nice to compare two different things at the same time on nice size screens, instead of a split screen image which is small. And sometimes the second screen is best at an angle. from the first screen. Normal desk height is 30 inches. If the windows come down a bit low, you might be able to remove the lower parts of the window (the stool and apron) without affecting the function of the window to allow placement of a desk length. If she is an artist she may need an easel. Or depending on the type of art, she may prefer a drafting table. She may want the type of storage table with many shallow drawers for art supplies. She may want something like that for all her cosmetics and jewelry! There are inexpensive versions of those as well, and you can get one or two of those to tuck under one of the arms of the L. Storage To use space most efficiently, think vertically! In the space between the windows you can put up shelves, or even mount a properly sized bookshelf, so no space is wasted by the triangular brackets. Above the desk there are so many different ways to store things, systems you can make or buy. Look at the IKEA kitchen wall storage units that have attractive bins and baskets that hang from rods. Only instead of using them for kitchen utensils, your daughter can use them for pens and pencils, rulers, staplers, tapes, paint brushes, etc. You can make something yourself out of peg board. There are a myriad of ideas on the internet. Look up do it yourself (DIY) home office ideas, and DIY home office storage. Decor Of course consider your daughter's preferences. I would try to encourage neutrals (such as shades of white) for the large things and use her favored colors for the smaller things, as her tastes may change. A 12 year old may love pink, and by the time she is 14 she may despise it and want orange and by the time she is 15 she may want black! The other advantage of white is that it is washable and often bleachable. The other advantage of light walls is that she can put up any type of poster or wall decor. There are non-stick wall decals that are lots of fun, too, not in the least childish either, and some marvelous easy to put up and take down wallpaper that won't ruin your walls. Good luck!

Thank you all for your wonderful suggestions. DG is a very talented athlete but i am afraid this injury/ surgery will probably end her gymnastic career. she was operated on her dominate arm and they did take cartilage from the knee. Good news is she will only be in a cast for 2 weeks but cannot lift anything heavier than a glass of milk for 6 weeks then Pt. Nicole thanks for the link great looking baskets. i now have a lot of ideas for dyi basket . maddie i need to check with her mother about the blue tooth speaker she probably already has one ! Funky great idea for a puzzel i think ill get ine here so when she comes to visit we can do it together. cyn unfortunatey she is not a big reader, unlike her twin brother who never without a book . Lake i think a special pillow is great idea. sueb what is it about fuzzy things she loves socks too and beading. yaya i actually have a lily pulitzer top i bought for her and may give it to her i know that will cheer her up. thank you all for your thoughtful ideas an suggestions. i wanted to send her something immediately after her surgery but now will wait untill i see her next weekend .

I have the hardest family to buy for because none of them will tell me what they want. DS has never given me a list, even when he was little. DD did when she was little but now that she is a grown up, she tells me not to buy her anything. Grrrr. So, since they are all now grownups, I resort to mostly gift cards. Daughter, son-in-law, son, niece and her husband each get an AmEx gift card (varying amounts). DSIL loves to cook and is into spices so he gets a gift card to Penzey's spices every year. DD tells me it's his favorite thing to spend long hours on their website deciding what spices to get. DD gets a gift card to Colleen Rothschild for face care products that she will never buy for herself because she feels guilty spending that kind of $$ on herself. I also get them the Swarovski yearly ornament every year for their tree. I started doing that the year they got engaged and have gotten it each year since. They love it. For the grands and my nieces daughter, I get them each a Cuddle+Kind doll each year. They love them and I like that it's a small family run business and they give back by donating meals for each doll purchased. I also got them each a squishmellow. Don't ask me. I'm told it's all the rage this year. Got the grands some clothes (DD told me they can use clothes this year) and shoes. Probably not getting clothes for my niece's baby as we have very different taste. Still on the hunt for some good toys that they'll actually play with for more than 5 minutes! We have a non-aggression pact with my brother and sister-in-law. Thank goodness! We only gift the kids and grandkids.