My dd5.5 has asked for a harmonica for Christmas and that’s it. That’s pretty simple to come by, so no problem there. I’m trying to come up with a special gift for her.Other than the harmonica, I’ve bought her a ream of paper (she loves to draw). We’ve picked gifts for our other three kids – dd11, ds8, and ds3 – without difficulty, but I’m stumped for her.
What kind of gift? Toy? What’s your price range/budget?
My dd about the same age likes Usborne sticker dolly dressing books. She has one on ballet and I got her Fashion Long Ago this year. I see there is also a new ipad app if you are into that.
My dd7 loves to draw too (we’ve done the ream of paper all-her-very-own gift for her a couple of times too!), and for her birthday we got her a nice set of prismacolour colored pencils and some nice fine-tip roller ball black pens to draw with and be her “very own” (and not in the regular stash of colored pencils, crayons, markers, etc that are for anyone to use.) These were a big hit and get used daily around here. So,maybe some drawing supplies in a special case for her to keep them in? Just a thought.
Also, for other special pencil crayons that aren’t quite as expensive, but have the same nice grip, we recently bought a set of the Melissa and Doug Jumbo Triangular Pencil Crayons and are quite happy with them.
Christie – my 4.5 year old is the same way. She said, “Mom, just pick something for me, I know you’ll get what I like.” No pressure!
Did you have the ream of paper spiral bound? I do that for my girls each year and call it their art book. It costs just a few dollars to have it done at Staples/Office Depot and then it keeps all their art work in one place (instead of EVERYwhere).
We’ve gotten one of my daughters a Bounce-U gift card for her birthday and she LOVED that.
One year I got all three of the big ones cute Aprons from flirty aprons – they have great sales for 40% off.
I have no girls so might not be the best help! How about some ‘experience’ coupons? “Good for one date with mom, good for a trip bowling, good for one movie at the movie theater, good for a trip to the museum with just dad,” etc.
A nice case to hold all her art supplies, with her name on it all fancy. Or even a box that holds her paper and art stuff together.
Not sure how she is about cooking (or you….it seriously tries my patience to cook with them), but maybe a cookbook and apron with special days/times set aside to cook with her. You could make your own cookbook with recipes you know she’d like and could make successfully….and that you approve of.
Other than that, I really have no idea. Legos? Blocks? My 6-yr-old son LOVES his wooden castle blocks (with catapult that really fires and knocks them over – we bought them at Bed, Bath & Beyond for $20 last year). Most of my friends are giving their daughters this age a doll (one of the larger kinds) or things like play food (felt or plastic) & kitchens.
We have a few high-quality items (from Toys-R-Us – I don’t remember the brand name) – like Police officer, Fireman, Doctor, Chef.
We also have a few really cheap things from Wal-Mart and even Dollar Stores (The dollar store ones don’t last long) – Pirate hats, Construction vest/hat, Knight Armour (that broke quickly – dollar store) – Fairy Wings/Frilly tutu/wand
Things from Thrift Stores/Used Stores (we have an army vest, and a couple of other things like that…)
And things that are variable (patchwork squares that were perfect for “skull caps” for pirates – we just tie them), and a big long scarf thing that my daughter uses for lots of things (leash for stuffed dog, scarf, “hair”, baby wrap for her dolls, a scarf, etc.)
All my kids from age 2 to age 9 love dressing up…..
You could try Beads for making braclets and necklaces, ect.. My daughter loves dry eraser markers and a white board. She could draw on it all day long. She also was just gettting into legos. I bought her the little girls sets. They are the Friends sets. Cost about $5. I wanted her to learn how to put things together and read instructions by pictures. These are good for development. I love this age. They are so simple. I also bought my daughter some clay in different colors.
I like the coupon book idea a lot! With 4 young kids, one one one time is precious. I also like the girls Lego sets as she’s been playing with her brother’s. I’m thinking a travel art case would be good, too. Hmmm. Decisions.
My girls 4.5 and 5.5 love building and construction sets. We are getting the school set of the “smart max magnetix” for them this year from Amazon. They come with a booklet to help explain magnetism and also include many step by step models to build. I’m excited to play with these, too! (These are basically an oversized version of the Magnetix in brighter colors.) Zoobs are another fun construction option. My older daughter is also an animal lover and requested some model horses with a carriage and a few other things for her farm.
After playing in a homemade playhouse at a friend’s today, I decided dd5.5 would L.O.V.E. a playhouse of her own. Of course, she will share it with her siblings, but I think we will give her a small set of legos, and this beauty which hubby can build in a weekend.
She and her sister will have fun sewing curtains and doing it up nice inside. I’m just giddy over the idea.