25 Gifts for Girls Who Hate Girly Things

A set of good woodworking tools in the hands of a skilled craftsperson can turn and ordinary project into a work of art. This set of tools will have her carving camfers, dados, and tongue and groove joints in no time. Don’t know that those are? She’ll be happy to teach you.

Your girl doesn’t want a pastel colored poofy jacket from North Face or a parka from The Gap with a fur-lined hood. She wants something she can wear to help Dad out with the car or something she can wear that won’t fall apart when the going gets tough. Carhartt is not just fro men—and this jacket proves it.

If you’re looking for a gift for girls who hate girly things, ‘Adventure Girls’ is the perfect choice. Aimed at ages 6 – 12, this book is packed with things that she can do both indoors and out, which will increase her confidence, encourage her creativity, and let her get hands-on with practical activities.

We’re always telling our kids to keep striving for what they want to achieve, and this tee is a fun way of getting the message across, while also adding a bit of sass. Available in a range of colors, including tie dye, this tee is fun and funky, and comes in five sizes.

If your girl would rather be a witch than a unicorn, this is the book for her. Introducing the concept of ‘white magic’, using nature, crystals, and the power of words and intention, this beautiful book is divided into three major areas of her life: friendship, family, and personal fulfilment.

Girls who don’t want to be sugar and spice and all things nice will take inspiration from the women in ‘Bad Girls Throughout History’. Telling the stories of 100 of the most rebellious and influential females across the world, this book will show her it’s okay to fight for what she believes in.

She can put her own mark on her water bottle when she has this fun Craft Your Own Water Bottle kit. Using shrink wrap, she will be able to decorate the included bottle up to 18 times, utilizing the heat from a hairdryer to literally shrink the designs onto the side.

Keep her head warm and her ears filled with music with this Bluetooth Beanie Hat. Made from a soft double-knit material, this hat comes fitted with a pair of built-in speakers over the ears so she can listen to her tunes and talk to her friends completely hands- and wire-free.

Forget sparkly colors and pretty patterns; this umbrella is perfect for the girl who loves dogs above all else. Strong and waterproof (of course), this blue umbrella features a yellow silhouette of her favorite breed in a pattern that’s repeated all around the edge.

Let her block out both the light and the noise with one of these innovative sleep masks. Made from a super soft polycotton fabric, this mask will keep her totally in the dark, while also playing her favorite tunes or podcasts through the Bluetooth-enabled built-in wireless speakers.

If she has a thing for the night sky, give her her very own moon so she can look at it even on the cloudiest of nights. This 3D replica emits a gentle glow, and levitates above the walnut board while slowly rotating, giving her a 360 degree view of this magical planet.

Help her to get settled in for the night with this handy Bedside Essentials Pocket. Made to slide under the mattress to hold it in place, this clever organizer comes in two sizes, and is roomy enough to keep remote controls, phones, glasses, tablets, and books close at hand.

Chess has been the purview of men for far too long. From Bobby Fisher to Grand Master Gary Kasparaov, you’d think men are the only ones who play the game. Change all that, and change the game-piece paradigm. Build her this chess set made from common hardware you can find just about anywhere.

This is the perfect gift for a beginning or experienced artist. It comes in a sturdy wooden case and includes got color pencils, oil pastels, watercolors, paintbrushes, and more. Give her the gift of art, which will help them process all those emotions that plague them day in and day out.

She can put her tools and woodworking skills to use by following this tutorial. The finished piece makes a beautiful addition to a porch or garden. If you take it far enough with sanding and staining, it’s a great bench for an entrance way or kitchen.

Your young hipster can learn about all the cool things women have done throughout history with this one book. From the daring adventures of female spies that helped to win World War II to the record shattering athlete Babe Didrikson, this book will both inspire and entertain.

Even girls who aren’t girly like to have more than one pair of kick to choose from. This pair of Chucks is more than tough—it’s the classic Converse high top on steroids. Don’t doubt it: they’re tricked out with suede uppers and a reinforced rubber sole that will speak to her soul.

She can get an early start on her career in architecture with these 60 + piece of solid wood that form medieval castles, walls, and bridges. When the structure is complete, she can be the knight who storms the castle—not the waiting damsel in distress.

Doc Martens boots are cooler than cool. They’re the coolest. They’re blue-collar, they’re fashion forward, they’re comfortable, and they last forever. Your girl can wear these with jeans, skirts, or go full Cindy Lauper and wear them with whatever she can find at the thrift store.

She’s outgrown the Boy Bands and buried all her One Direction fan gear at the back of the closet, never again to see the light of day. She’s ready for some loud, fast, hard-edged music. This compilation of punk hits has everything from The Ramones to The Runaways to The New York Dolls. Earplugs not included.

Explore the wonders of the microscopic world with this handheld microscope. The budding scientist can magnify the object of her attention up to two hundred times and use the accompanying software to subject it to rigorous scientific scrutiny on the family Mac or PC.

Who needs a Swedish outlet to find a crafty gift so she can store her shoes? Not you. This ingenious space saver is made from cardboard and duct tape. That’s right—you don’t even need to paint it and it looks perfect.

Skateboarding is not just for boys. Go down to your local skate park if you need the proof. That’s one of the cool things about skaters: they’ll accept everyone. Put her on this board, and she can practice kick-flips, tail-grabs, grinds, and ollies. Before long she’ll rock a McTwist that’ll blow your mind.

The scientists of the future are going to change the world with new approaches to renewable energy. She can explore the wonders of solar, wind, and geothermal power this versatile kit. Over one-hundred twenty-five projects with put the world at her fingertips.

These rustic crate shelves are a breeze to make and look fantastic. Take an old crate, refurbish it with some sanding and staining, and after a couple of hours of work you’ll have a piece that looks like it comes from an expensive furniture store.

Rosie the Riveter was the marketing tool used by US industry to get women involved in the massive industrial effort that won World War II for the Allies. While the men were off shooting and flying, the women were doing the building. Rosie is the original icon of the working woman.

This beauty from Canon is the 21st century standard in digital photography. It’s tricked out with the best optics for still photos and 1080 p HD video capture. But that’s not what makes it the best. It has an on-board Wi-Fi system that lets you upload images to social networking sites directly from the camera.

Round out her home science lab with this pro-quality home chemistry lab. It comes with a full set of test-tubes, beakers, funnels and droppers, and an instruction manual for one-hundred twenty five experiments to introduce her to the wonderful world of chemistry.

What set Katniss apart was her skill with the bow and arrow. Your girl can learn those same skills for real with her won archery kit. Set up the target in the back yard, string the bow, and she’ll be a hero with the real-world skills to match.

Applied geochemistry, anyone? Unlock the magic of crystals with the fifteen experiments in this kit. She can mold her own geodes, add dyes and create a fabulous rainbow of octahedrons, needle shaped acetates, and more. The four basic building blocks yield unlimited possibilities.

iPas sleeves don’t have to be all polyester and neoprene, and they certainly don’t have to be covered with flowers, pastels, or pictures of bands. This one looks just like an old-school leather wallet. All you’ll need is a quarter yard of leather, a heavy duty sewing needle, and a good pair of scissors.

Shifting gears now to gifts for younger girls who aren’t into Barbie dolls. First up is a set of blocks, but not just any old blocks: the real building blocks of life. The Periodic Table of the elements. Give her an early start on the metals, noble gases, salts, and alloys. She’ll be teaching the AP teacher what’s what.

This salve is for the girl turned grill master and the daughter who pushes the boys out of the way when it’s time for the fire to get built. It’s also for the healer inside: in less than half an hour, this tutorial teaches you how to make a burn sale out of aloe, beeswax, and a couple drops each of lavender and peppermint essential oils.

Don’t mess around. Go straight to the heart of the matter and show her you know she can do anything a man can do. The girl needs a three-hundred watt drill and an impact driver so she can roll up her sleeves and get to work. If she can imagine it, she can build it.

Here’s to non-girly scents, may the world rejoice. No one needs another flowery batch of homemade lavender and rosehips soap. This process yields a two hefty bars of vanilla scented soap. It’s not girly, but it is beautiful. Warning: takes four to six weeks to cure properly.

This full length set of work bibs will give her what she need to really go for it. She can mix it up with the boys on any worksite, anywhere in the world with these. She’ll get instant crew-cred and they’ll last forever.

Girls that hate girly things don’t want a pink “Dear Diary” notebook with frilly bows and a cute little lock. They want something with gravitas. They want a journal that looks like it might have been used by the great writers of days gone by: something like this timeless, leather-bound work of journal art.

Experience is the greatest gift we can give the young women in our lives, bar none. Give her a whitewater rafting trip, an ice-climbing adventure, or a mountaineering excursion that teaches her that there is simply no limit on where she can go or what she can do. If she loves adventure, the people at REI have a trip for her.

Put her on a fixed gear bike with a steel frame, one gear, and no brakes. Whatever you do, don’t buy on that’s purple or pink. Lose the frills on the end of the handlebars, let her put her favorite band stickers on the tubes so she can roll in the style that suits her.

The well-rounded human needs a solid grounding in math, science, reading, and of course—music. Get your girl a drum kit and she can rock out like a 21st century Josie and the Pussycats. This three piece kit is all she’ll need to get keep the beat for the whole block.