Need ideas for 6yo girl

[LaraW]

I am wondering if anyone can give me some Christmas ideas for my 6yo niece. I am having trouble finding a gift for her. It seems like she's at a difficult age - too old for some things, too young for others.

She likes art, but I gave her some art supplies last year. I'm looking to spend in the $15-20 range.

TIA!

[valchemist]

Julia is almost 6. she asked for one of those styling heads for christmas -- the ones where you can do their hair and put on makeup. this will be a big hit. she also is a littlest pet shop fan, but doesn't play with the toys as much as she used to. she did, however, ask for the littlest pet shop diary which I thought would be an ok gift because it will encourage her with her writing skills. it doesn't get great reviews on amazon, but only because the barking guard dog feature is a little touchy. she will still be able to write in it, because it is just plain paper inside. groovy girls are a good gift, if she is into that kind of thing. relatively inexpensive.... maybe get her a doll and an extra outfit.

This has been the most difficult year for me to find good stuff for her... I was just telling my husband that I really don't feel I have anything great for her this year. it just gets harder, though. I have an 8 yo niece and I can't think of a single thing to get her. (she is tough in general though, because she is a bookworm... I could just get her books, but it is hard to choose just the right one and one she hasn't read.)

if you do want to go the crafts route, julia likes this scratch magic stuff.

http://www.misterart.com/search/index.cfm?searchstring=scratch+magic&store=ALL&x=0&y=0

there is also this lightbox thing that you can use to illuminate your work, which julia would love. it comes with some scratch magic papers, too.

http://www.misterart.com/store/view/003/group_id/3739/Scratch-Art-Scratch-Lite-Sketcher-Portable-Light-Box.htm

[Robyncz]

My 6-year-old daughter LOVES that silly Littlest Pet Shop Secret Diary. It is a little bit tricky, but they've built in a "secret trick" so you can get into it even if you can't say your password right twice in a row. But Littlest Pet Shop stuff is a pretty sure bet. My 6-y-o also wants every "Barbie head" she sees. She actually has two of them (long story) and she plays with them fairly often.

Webkinz are hugely hot, too. They're little stuffed animals, along the lines of beany babies, but a little bigger, that come with a label that has a code on it. The code gives them access to WebkinzWorld on the computer, where they have a computer-generated version of their pet that they can feed, dress, and decorate rooms for. I was very, very wary of the whole concept, but I'm able to control the aspects of it that concern me (They can have online "friends" --in my girls' case, they're "friends are all their cousins--but they can't actually "talk" to them outside of a controlled set of statements provided by Webkinz.) And I've actually been impressed with the way the girls have to work (well, play games) to earn "Kinzcash" to "buy" food, clothing, furniture, etc. They have to budget the cash they have to make sure their pet has what it needs to stay healthy, and to buy the goofy stuff they want. Plus, they do a fair amount of reading in some of the games.

Val--
I have an 8-year-old bookworm myself. She's really enjoying origami right now. Your niece might dig an origami a day calendar. My bookworm is also having a ton of fun with a big book full of optical illusions and she loves sudoku puzzles.

Good luck to both of you.

[leightx]

I was just popping in to recommend Littlest Pet Shop and Webkinz, but Robyn and Val beat me to it! :)

Another thing that might be fun is a kids' cookbook and a few utensils.

Is she reading yet? Magic Tree House, Junie B. Jones (not my favorite), Geronimo Stilton, Horrible Harry, Cam Jansen, and A to Z Mysteries are pretty popular with that age. My son also loved Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes (and still does - the books are barely still all in one piece). Reading levels vary pretty widely at that age though, so if she's still learning, you might want to go a different route. Picture books are always a welcome addition - Skippyjon Jones, Dr. Seuss, David Shannon's books (How I became a pirate), and all of the Jon Scieszka books (Stinky Cheese Man, Math Curse, and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs are our faves). Oh - and the I Spy books (not the board books - the big ones) are always a hit.

Crafts are always a hit with my daughter - give her a big bag of pony beads and some pipe cleaners and pom poms, and she'll amuse herself for hours!

[Beth]

My niece is 7 now and last year I was stumped. I saw some fancy, girly bath sets -- I think they were fruit scented bath gels, maybe a body lotion too and got that figuring it was something she could use even if she already had something. She opened it and said "Just what I wanted!" :cool:

I'm thinking music or art this year. I saw a set of handbells that I thought might be fun for her, but I will need to hunt down some music to go with them. Moon Sand might be another possibility. I do have a tea party type set in a picnic basket that I bought because I loved it when she was not quite old enough. Now I'm not sure it's right for her. I've been out of the Webkins loop, but saw some recently. I may look into that myself.

For the budding bookworm, you could get a booklight or bookmarker and a gift card to let her pick out her own book. I saw a little lap desk there that was about $10-12, and a $10 gift card would buy many children's books. My kids have always liked the Barnes & Noble cards, but I like to give them something to go with them.

I like the oragami idea too. If she's goo with her hands, that might be a good idea. They have sets with flowers and animals, depending on her interests. Look for one that doesn't get too intricate and isn't too small.

She's probably about the age that I got my Easy Bake oven. Does her mom cook and/or bake enough to be likely to help her get started? There is a toy store here that had giant cookie sets with large cutters, recipe and decorations and one the more boy oriented theme came with instructions for pancakes and pizza. You could even put together a little basket of things for her if that appeals. Layer a cookie mix in a jar, bagging the chips or M&M's so she can have fun pouring them in separatley but won't have too many things to measure. Add a holiday silicon spatula and an appron. If mom doesn't bake and she's near by, add a coupon for Aunt Lara to give a baking lesson (which opens a broader range of possibilities).

My sons love to curl up with a throw to watch TV or read -- maybe a fleece or other soft throw that is just hers.

Good luck -- have fun.

[Robyncz]

Crafts are always a hit with my daughter - give her a big bag of pony beads and some pipe cleaners and pom poms, and she'll amuse herself for hours!


Haahahahah! I read that as "pony heads" and was replying to find out where you get them, because I thought my DD would like to craft with pony heads, too. But as I quoted the passage, I realized it was pony Beads! What a goofball.

But the pom poms reminded me of something else that my girls love. American Girl has a series of craft book/kits and we have a couple of them. They love the Pom Pom Pets kit. It has little plastic rings to make pom poms out of yarn, and directions for making a variety of little animals out them. This is the kind of kit that's good after the "stuff" that comes with it runs out. http://www.amazon.com/Pom-pom-Pets-American-Girl-Library/dp/1593691513/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196866690&sr=8-1

Another popular craft at our house is tissue paper flowers. We started with this book: http://www.amazon.com/Tissue-Paper-Flowers-Inc-Klutz/dp/1570544972/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196866808&sr=1-1

[LaraW]

I have an 8 yo niece and I can't think of a single thing to get her. (she is tough in general though, because she is a bookworm... I could just get her books, but it is hard to choose just the right one and one she hasn't read.)

THanks for the ideas, everyone. She is in kindergarten this year (she actually turns 6 about a month after Christmas). I like the Littlest Pet Shop diary idea.

Val, I have an 8yo niece as well. I got her Connect 4 last year and she really liked it. This year, I went the book route. I got "Little House in the Big Woods" and "Ramona Quimby, Age 8". Those are both books I remember reading at that age, and enjoying.

ETA: Beth, unfortunately she lives in Kansas and I live in Colorado, so doing a baking lesson isn't really in the cards. If we lived closer to each other and I saw her more often, I probably would have a better idea of things she's into.

[Beth]

I like the tissue paper flowers idea too! I just ordered from Amazon last night and it's too late to add to the order. I think I'll look at the bookstore or the crafts stores.

I still like the handbells, but I don't know if I can find music that is written for 1-8 and limited to one octave.

Lara, it can be hard to kow what a niece in the same state or town is into. Mine is in the same area, but a 45-60 min drive and they are so totally into my nephew's sports and such that we hardly see them anyway. ANd she hardly says a word to us when we do see her.

[MrsReber]

We have a Bratz head that DD (6) bought with a gift card last year. I have to say, though, she doesn't play with it all that often, though she does really like it when she plays with it.

Here's some things she's asked for:
Horse computer game
2 wheeled scooter
Junie B. Jones books

She wants a Leapster, which I got for her already. If your neice has one of those, I occasionally see the game cartridges for around $20.

She also LOVES anything Hello Kitty. I understand Target has a bunch of Hello Kitty stuff. In particular, she asked for Hello Kitty jewelery.

She has asked for a diary, too. She has one that she frequently writes in and carries around with her.

Bath stuff is always a hit with DD. She has a few sets- Strawberry Shortcake and another strawberry scented one with body spray, lotion and shower gel. Anything girly.

We have a couple of Webkinz, which the kids love, but make sure she's got high speed internet!

DD also loves her Easy Bake oven. My mom found a baking set at Marshalls one year. They also had them at B&N. There were different ones. They come with little baking pans and 4 or 5 recipe cards. DD really likes that- we make the brownie bites recipe a lot.

[Julia1Pin]

I second the Leapster idea. Amazon.com has them at the best price I've seen and if you go on leapfrog.com, the cartridges are in the $15 range right now (free shipping over $50).

[jmarie]

How about a beading kit where she can make jewelry?

I purchased my nieces a dancer ribbon. you hold onto a wand and the ribbon blows in the breeze behing you as you run, or you can twirkl your arm and make the ribbon do all kinds of motions. I try to think of things that will get them away from the tv. I purchased it on Amazon.

[leightx]

My daughter loves those ribbon things that Joyce mentioned! Target has them in the $2 toy section on one of the endcaps - they are all different colors (rainbow).