Lots of good suggestions here. All the major manufacturers have basic "starter" machines that are all mechanical and not computerized, so that keeps the price down. And, for what they will probably use it for, one of the Brother models (is it Project Runway??) available at Walmart really isn't a bad choice for this purpose. Not expensive, and it doesn't seem like it will get heavy use from what you said. If it turns out either of them like to sew, then you can think about a higher-end machine in the future. But, if they don't, then it's not a lot of money tied up in a machine they don't use.