Can you guys help me buy gifts for my niece and my cousin? I would like them to be:
not too girly. By this I mean dolls are fine, but I don’t really want any princess crap. They are awash in that.
Need a toy and a book. I always get them both.
Needs to be no more than $50 for the niece (total) and maybe $40 for the cousin.
In past years I have bought:
nailpolish gifts
Goldiblox (those engineering kits)
puzzles with their pictures on it
All of those have fit into my budget, so I know there are gifts out there. I just don’t know what girls of that age play with anymore. Are Barbies appropriate?
Depends on the kid, really. Do you know your niece and cousin? What do they like? I the 10-year-old likes to play Minecraft she’d love a Minecraft collectible. My youngest is ten and her favourite birthday gift was a foam Minecraft diamondsword.
If they like puzzles and books, do both. A book of optical illusions is wonderfully fun to a kid that age.
Kids that age also tend to like crafts, and craft sets can be had from Toys R Us for $15-$20.
Depends on the kid, but for my friends 11yr old I’ve been doing outing gifts. Last year I took her for a pedicure, we’ve also done movies, a shopping trip to pick out her gift, lunches etc.
This year we’re going back to an actual gift though, her mom is getting her a barre for her room so I’m getting her a spare pair of ballet slippers so she doesn’t have to take her slippers out of her dance bag every time she wants to use it. Since she’s at the forgetful age it might save her from her ballet teachers wrath when she shows up without all her stuff.
The niece, her parents have been fighting for years, to the point where even grandma thinks they should get a divorce, so I haven’t been able to spend as much time with her as I’d like. (The mom almost never lets her out of her sight, so I can’t take her even for a few hours).
The niece is super loud and rambunctious and not too much into sitting down quietly and doing anything for any length of time, which is part of the reason I give a book at all holidays, desperately hoping for some interest. But I don’t really know what nine year olds read.
The cousin is very quiet and shy - nearly the opposite. I know very little about her interests but I like giving her presents anyway. I feel kids can’t have too much love.
Monster High stuff, my kids, 9 and 7, love these things. They are somewhat ‘girly’, but so far there’s been nothing I thought was horrible about them. Some of them come with little books and I think there are even books out there. The best part is you can get them in Target or Toy R Us for 10-15 per doll. Cheaper off of Amazon if you get the old ones.
What I’ve done in the past with my nephew is to go to Toys R Us, or in your case a bookstore, and ask the clerks what’s popular with the kids these days. They usually have a couple of suggestions.
I’ll try the bookstore. Toys R Us has mostly really kiddie books, and the clerks all stare at me like I have seven heads whenever I ask a question, even “Where is the bathroom?”
Minecraft and The Sims 3.
A book series called “Warrior Cats” (she is a cat fanatic and loves anything relating to cats)
Science experiment kits (crystal growing, magic of magnetism, etc)
Magic tricks
Crafting kits (create your own headband/bracelet type things)
Lego (she loves the Lego Friends kits)
God, I just went onto Grand Illusions, which is awesome, and Walmart, and Amazon, and I am completely freaking overwhelmed. I think I need more info. I’ll try to at least call the niece this weekend.
As far as my experience with girls that age goes, they still love stuffed animals. And a lot love My Little Pony. So you can get them a My Little Pony plush. Or, one of those Pillow Pets. That has always been a hit, and my sisters-in-law have kept theirs for a long time (as in, 22 and it’s still on their bed).
Going out to the movies with all the trimmings is fun and I enjoyed that at that age.
I’ve gotten Lego for girls this age too, one of the Creator sets that have houses that could be built 3 different ways looked fun. But I didn’t get feedback in that case, so I’m not sure how well it was really received.
Hello Kitty nail art was a hit. Little stickers you can put on your nails.
I’ve also heard Monster High dolls are popular but haven’t personally bought any of those.
For books, previous years I bought The Black Stallion, Cardcaptor Sakura (a comic), A Wrinkle in Time, and The Chronicles of Narnia box set as books for girls in that age group.
My daughter is 11 so I will offer some hopefully relevant suggestions:
Little girls are really into their hair - so curing irons, hairdryers, etc…(especially the smaller-handled/mini-versions) and stuff to put in their hair such as headbands and colorful clips.
The Dairy of a Wimpy Kid book series is insanely popular with this age group - the newest book in the series is to be released, I believe, next week.
Taylor Swift is their pop music goddess - consider CD’s, t-shirts, or books about her.
Backpacks and matching insulated lunch packs.
Board games. And, yes - arts and crafts supplies and projects are popular with the age group. Cold, hard cash is a hit, too.
I’ll chime in with crafty stuff for the cousin with a how-to book to go along with it. Klutz makes some cool combos of book/craft.
For your niece, an inexpensive keyboard (with headphones) and a how-to book if she isn’t already taking music lessons. You could also find a beginner’s guitar in a pawn shop that fits in the budget. They are good balances between loud and active. Sporting equipment may also be something she likes.
My own great niece liked the Lemony Snickett series at that age (she’s 14 now) along with Harry Potter.
When I was 9, I loved A Series of Unfortunate Events. There’s about 1,000 of them (OK, more like 13, but it felt like a lot at the time), so if you get one of them hooked on the first one, they’ll have reading material for a while.
Last Christmas, I got my 9 year-old niece a Raspberry Pi, which is less than $50. I also loaded Minecraft on it. (Free for Raspberry Pi.) You even add “Raspberry Pi Projects for Kids”, as I did, and still come in pretty close to the $50 limit.
The protagonist of Terry Prachett’s “Wee Free Men” is a 9 year old girl with a bratty younger brother and older sisters and parents who are a bit too busy to pay attention to her. It’s been recommended for grades 5-7 but I laughed aloud at bits of it too.