Your daughter rarely asks for anything for Christmas, but recently she mentioned needing a jewelry box. The cat nudged her old one off the dresser, jewelry splashed everywhere and the box shattered into a million pieces. You’re on the hunt for a new jewelry box, and since you don’t wear jewelry yourself, you could use some pointers.

First, you need to determine what your daughter intends to use the jewelry box for, to hold her entire collection of jewelry or just her watches? Various boxes are available for various needs. If she wants a box for everything and owns a lot of jewelry, then you will need to concentrate on larger boxes.

Regarding the issue of size, you will need to consider the location where your daughter will place the jewelry box. More than likely, she will want to keep it in her bedroom or bathroom. Does she have the space for a large freestanding unit or just enough room for a small square box in the drawer of her vanity? Keep in mind that anything you view online will not look as large as it would in person, so check the dimensions accordingly.

You also need to think about your daughter’s design tastes. What colors does she like? What style does she prefer? Is she looking for something small and sleek or large and intricate? If your daughter plans to put the box in plain sight, it will need to match the décor of the room. A small pewter box might look out of place on top of a mod tabletop in a stark white contemporary bedroom.

Once you’ve got a real feel for what you think your daughter might want in a jewelry box, you can start shopping for one. Make sure you check out the interior of every box and see how it is lined and laid out. Suede-like lining is best. Silk lining will not hold jewelry tight, while velvet will be hard to clean and wear out quickly. The more pieces of jewelry your daughter has to go into the box, the more compartments it will need.

Check out all of compartments as well as any drawers and make sure those will fit your daughter’s storage needs. If she has a lot of necklaces, you will need to find a box with hooks or pouches to prevent tangling. If she has pearls, you will need to find a box with a specific compartment for them. If she has several pairs of earrings, you will need to find a box with several compartments to store them.

Finally, you will want to check out any special features of the box and make sure they will suit your daughter. Some boxes play specific tunes, while others feature special lights or hand-painted exteriors. Boxes for young girls often have dancing ballerinas.

There are hundreds of jewelry boxes out there. Take your time in selecting one and watch your daughter’s face light up during the holidays when she realizes she now owns the perfect jewelry box for the jewelry scattered across the top of her dresser.