Nova

I'm not sure what to get Nova for Christmas. So, I guess I'm writing out what gifts I might give because why not?

Possible gifts for Nova:

1. Scrapbook: I already filled up half of the book (I bought it at the dollar store) it’s about 40-something-pages long in total. Christmas is literally in two days. How am I supposed to fill out the rest? But, Nova would definitely appreciate this the most since it has our baby pictures and some letters I wrote about our time together. I can probably finish the rest tomorrow, but it’ll drain a lot of my energy :/ 
2. A sweater I made: I made a sweater about two weeks ago. It’s fuzzy but not itchy; the perfect combo for Nova. I’m not sure if the size fits her though. I haven’t seen her since elementary school, I've only seen her face from facetime calls and communicate mainly through emails. I made it slightly bigger than my own size. It’s navy blue and off-white, her favorite color combo. I’m sure she’d like it. It’s one of the first major projects I did since I mainly sew plushes and small badges. But I bought fabric from the store and was able to stitch the fabric together. Nova appreciates it when people make their own things. I just know that she’ll love it. I hope. It doesn’t look that bad, but looking at it now I’m worried that she might think it’s too simple since there’s no fancy design. Will she be disappointed when she sees how I’ve spent weeks on this and it’s blander than expected? Maybe I shouldn’t gift this after all. 
3. Copic markers: Nova loves to sketch stuff, but she doesn’t have any good resources for coloring anything since it’s not a necessity. It’s a shame, I might gift some Copic markers to her since I heard they’re good quality. I’m not sure though, since I haven’t done a lot of research on them. They’re quite expensive. Ack, I’m not sure if she’d really like it though since it’s not a priority, but if she does it’ll be beneficial to her? I emailed her asking about any updates on her drawings; she sent me a few pictures. She was disappointed about how her colored pencils weren’t that good quality.
4. Sketchbook: She likes drawing and writing. Since first grade, during recess she would always have a notebook and pencil out, writing poems or short stories, and sketching little characters at the corners of the pages when she ran out of ideas. She always complained about how the paper was lined so her illustrations weren’t clear. If I got her a sketchbook, she would be able to write and draw without the lined paper. If I do get this for her, it’ll be one of those small ones you can fit in your pocket. She always comes up with things out of the blue and would sigh in disappointment when she forgot them and missed the opportunity to jot them down. With a small sketchbook, she’d be able to just have it on hand (though I’m not sure if she’d actually bring it with her everywhere).
5. Annotations on Inside Out and Back Again: I’m not so sure about this one, but in third grade, Nova ranted about how she loved reading books with annotations on it more than brand new ones. She said that it was fun seeing what other people thought about the books and what stood out to them. She also said that it was cheaper and that the thought of a new book made her uneasy. I’m still not sure why that is. Something about the fear of ruining it by creasing the pages and stuff? Well, I chose Inside Out and Back Again because I already have it on me and have already annotated part of the book. If I decide to gift this to her, I’ll go back and annotate it more thoroughly. Nova likes poetry (obviously) so that’s a plus?
6. Cookbook by mom: In second grade, we’d sit next to each other during lunchtime and trade snacks. Nova loved the omelets that mom made, she asked for the recipe. I gave it to her, and the next day Nova whined about how it didn’t taste the same but appreciated the recipe given. She usually enjoys the meals mom cooks when she comes over to my house, so I might give her a copy of the cookbook she owns. But it probably won’t taste like an exact replica, which makes me worried about gifting this to her.
7. Fundamentals of Art: As I’ve said, like three times now, Nova is an artist. She mainly enjoys drawing objects and crafting some ideas while quickly scribbling them down. Nova envied those who could draw with much more skill and precision. I told her that she just needed practice, but she said that there was something else with it. They knew basic knowledge of how to draw, and she didn’t. So, this makes it on the list, I found a book titled Fundamentals of Art and this will help improve her skill if she reads it and gains knowledge?? I think? I dunno, I’m not into this kind of stuff like she is, so I don’t really know what I’m doing.
8. Chemistry kit: She loves experimentation. This might be good since she’ll gain a vaster knowledge of how objects around her works (which Nova is fascinated by). But she isn’t aiming to be a major in science, so I’m not too sure about this one. It seems fun to do, based on the reviews and the description of the item. I haven’t bought it yet, so it’ll take a while before it gets to her.
9. A personalized gift box with cosmetic items and stickers: It doesn’t feel like it’s personal, even though it is? I’m not sure if that makes sense, but anyone can gift a box with small items and jewelry inside of it. It doesn’t symbolize anything, or maybe I’m just overthinking. Well, anyway, it saves a lot of time and more money than the other gifts, but I’m not too keen on giving this.
10. Money? Nova doesn’t like receiving money because it feels fake. If I give her money then we’re not really close friends, are we? I don’t like giving out money either, so :/ I wouldn’t want her thinking that I’m looking down on her either. Since she’s from the lower class and it might seem like pity. I’ll send this to her as a last resort if I have to.

After like two hours of thinking, I’m going to give her the scrapbook, sweater, book, and sketchbook. I’ve narrowed it down, and I can’t decide between the four of them. I’ve already have all the items on me, and I’m going to mail them to her. I also sent a letter saying some cheesy stuff. She's probably cringing. Maybe she's overwhelmed with the number of things I sent, it's only four items. Ah geez, I'm getting nervous for no reason.