• Give a pre-teen girl gifts she can use for a long time.gift image by Photoeyes from Fotolia.com
  
  Pre-teen girls are at an age where they are too old for dolls but not old enough for items a teenage girl may like, such as makeup. The best gifts for a pre-teen girl are those that are fun and also acknowledge her capability to act responsibly, her need for more privacy and her developing maturity.
  
  

Pre-Teen Cookbook

• Once girls are pre-teens, they will begin to spend more time at home alone. This also means they will have to fend for themselves if they get hungry. Help the honoree gain some safe cooking skills with a cookbook written for pre-teens. Many of these types of cookbook feature step-by-step recipes to make food in a microwave oven or on a stovetop. A good pre-teen cookbook will also detail how to be safe in the kitchen, along with do's and don'ts. Complete the gift with a set of mixing bowls, cool-looking measuring cups, measuring spoons, an apron and a kitchen timer.
  
  

Sewing Machine

• A sewing machine is a gift a pre-teen girl can use for life. Give her a simple sewing machine that sews the basic stitches. Sewing machines with computers are not necessary at this age, as those are more useful for advanced sewers who know how to use all the different stitches correctly. Along with the sewing machine, give the pre-teen a book that teaches her how to make her own patterns, as well as fabric and haberdashery items such as buttons, thread, bias tape, ribbons and sewing accessories.
  
  

Camera

• A 35 mm point-and-shoot camera is a good gift for a pre-teen girl that may not be computer savvy. A pre-teen girl can document her life with a simple camera, and the fact that it uses film that needs processing will give the honoree the thrill of seeing her pictures for the first time when she picks them up from the store. Complete the gift with a photo album and/or scrapbook, picture frame and a couple of rolls of film.
  
  

Pre-Paid Cell Phone

• If a pre-teen has been asking for a cell phone, consider giving her a pre-paid cell phone as a gift. When a pre-teen girl has a limited amount of time to talk and text every month, she will learn time management skills because she is responsible for time that passes before her phone is refilled with minutes again. Giving a pre-paid cell phone to a pre-teen girl will not only please her, but also prevents outrageous charges from using a phone for more than the allotted time.