Irishfella’s neice turns 4 soon. I want to bring a gift up with us, nothing too expensive, nothing too tacky, what’s good for little girls?
I got penknives, medical textbooks, chemistry sets and microscopes for my birthdays, so I’m not really sure what to get, never having done the real girlie stuff.
The only things we’ve been told are “Nothing noisy, nothing with batteries, and for the love of God no Barbie!”
I’m thinking a book or board game, but could use some pointers.
A dress-up kit? Go to a thrift store or two and pick up some costumey-type outfits, some low heels (in silver or gold or something else sparkly), and some hats. I LOVED playing dress-up when I was four. Doesn’t matter if everything is too big for her; the idea is that it’s fun to dress up like a grown-up. Just make sure to wash everything before you give it to her. Put it in a cardboard box decorated to look like a trunk. Or, if you’re feeling spendy, put it in an actual trunk!
I also loved books and My Little Ponies when I was four. I’m not sure if My Little Ponies are still around or interesting to kids, but as for books, you could either go the “book she will like now” route or the “nice book she will appreciate later” route. I could probably give some suggestions for each of those.
You might also look into books on tape. That’s how I taught myself to read, with those disney stories with simple words and pictures, where you would listen along to the story, and when the chime rang you’d turn the page.
Art toys can be good (and you avoid getting something too girly) crayola makes lots of things for that age group. The leapfrog educational toys seem to be very big at the moment. At four your neice is likely to be into things, does she like horses, dogs, cats, dressingup? Find out from her parents, and then if you get a present that matches you might get a ‘Best Aunty In the World’ baseball cap from her your next birthday.
P.S. If you ever need revenge against Niece’s parents, buy Niece a minature drum set 
How about a couple of disposable cameras and a small photo album?
She can take pictures to her heart’s content, and then she has an album to put them in after they’re developed.
I’m continuing on with Bippy’s idea - coloring books, with a box of big chunky washable crayons. Maybe a box of the glittery kind - they’re girly without being Barbie. Assorted colors of drawing paper. A couple sheets of Colorform-type stickers (so they’re easily peeled off of random furniture and walls.) And a plastic box to put them all in.
There are also iron-on crayons - you color with them on a regular piece of paper, and then you can get a grownup to iron your picture onto a light shirt (also provided by auntie.) The colors last through a couple of washings.
Washable art supplies are always a hit…
My daughter loves construction materials and crafty stuff. She’s also really into pretend so tea sets, cookery, or any pretend grown up stuff or dress up stuff is great too.
I have a four year old daughter.
Art Supplies…my son would be all over that idea (he is five). My daughter, nah. She could care less.
Dress up…yes. Both my four and five year old love dress up
Age appropriate movies…yes. Kids this age will still watch the same thing over and over and over. Mine like Dora, Disney and Spongbob.
Games…my daughter is just now starting to understand rules based games (and just now starting to understand you don’t throw a tantrum when you loose). The problem with games - mom needs to want to play them too. We do like the memory games, Candyland, and Go Fish - although we need help to play Go Fish. My son has always been a big puzzle kid.
Book…my five year old son could care less, but my daughter loves books. Books on tape, not good. Tape is way fun to pull out of the cassette.
Stuffed animals and dolls…although her mother differs, my daughter believes there is no such thing as too many stuffed animals in a persons life. Particularly really annoying cute ones and baby dolls. She is not yet into Groovy Girls or Barbie (and I’m not pushing it).
Doll stuff…pushing a carriage around is a lot of fun. As is feeding baby.
Sports stuff…four is the age for starting to roller skate (on starter skates), hit a baseball (with a starter bat) and swing a golf club. Both my kids make use of this sort of stuff
Water toys…like sprinkers, slip n slides, etc…big hit.
Music…both my kids love to dance and listen to music.
Tea Set. Her tea set (she has two) is her favorite toy. She pulls it out and the 6,974 stuffed animals and dolls she has join her for tea.
(My real suggestion, buy her something cheap, start a savings account. My kids have WAY to many toys and are just as impressed with the stuff that comes in a Happy Meal. Especially birthday toys just get lost in the mess).
Picture books or books with large letters (to inspire reading urges), sidewalk chalk, paper and crayons, dress-up clothes… all those are good. Do NOT, for the love of all that is holy, get Playdough!! I bought my own almost four year old a set of special markers that only mark on this pad of special paper… it has saved my couch many a time. Perhaps an inexpensive baby doll if the little girl likes playing “mommy” with a small toy stroller. Gifts depend on the child as well as on the wishes of the parents. I have a lot of toys that make noise and I’ve tuned them out unless the batteries are dying (then the toy just sounds so sad, heh heh). Their really not so bad and my kiddo loves the lights and music.
A friend of mine bought her little girl some glow-in-the-dark jewelry and some shapes to put on her walls or in a sticker book. Go to some dollar stores and you can find a lot of goodies for kids. I got my sweetie some plastic animals (large size) that she just loves naming and making the sounds for each. It’s all for the sake of learning while playing. Have fun shopping but do read the packages. Some toys are just not safe.
Best sequential thread thitles!
“Birthday gift for 4 y/o girl. Suggestions?”
“Recommend a small convertible, please”
As to the OP - a pony (or a puppy) is the gift that keeps on giving.
StG
I always leap at the opportunity to buy a kid a chalkboard. Creative, quiet, unisex, not expensive or hard to find, and a whole lot of fun. I spent many hours drawing on mine as a kid. (Some chalk and erasers would be good too!)
You can buy caterpillars in jars with appropriate foodstuffs inside. The idea is that they eat it up, then turn into pupae, then turn into butterflies, then you let them go. A friend of mine just bought a bunch of these for her kid, apparently it’s better than an ant farm because those can lead to infestations if even a few get free.
Here’s what I learned this past Christmas:
With a girl that age, you can’t go wrong with a stuffed animal. The bigger the better.
Every kid should have Legos.
When my kids were about four or so, I asked a student if she could remember getting a good gift at that age.
“A tent!” she said. “That was my best birthday present ever!!”
“A tent?” I said cluelessly, but she explained that it was like a Little Mermaid tent, plastic, about four by six, kind of a miniature Eureka Timberline job. Twenty bucks or so.
Well, I went out and got one, and it was a hit. They used it in the yard, in the basement, in their room, the living room, in the closet–you get the drift. It was their own secret place, and they loved it.
As for the no Barbie rule, well, we had that rule too, but daughter number one somehow, somewhere, got a Barbie and there was no stopping her. I wish your friends luck on that one.
No 4-year old child, whether female or male wouldn’t love getting a:
Only $27.74 @ the oft-maligned and much depised Walmart.
As an added bonus, the child will be able to play outdoors during the upcoming spring & summer season.
[Grumpy old Man]My theory: If more of these kids today got off their fat asses and rode big wheels, we wouldn’t be hearing all this nonsense about childhood obesity![/Grumpy Old Man]
For one of the truly most evil gifts imaginable, may I introduce to the jury as Exhibit A:
**Polly Pockets **
Yes, micro sized Barbie Dolls complete with little teeny tiny outfits made out of farking rubber. Putting a ball gown on Polly or one of her ho friends will made you cry from so much frustration that you would rather attempt to put on your pants from 7th grade and go exercise in them.
The highlight is that Polly Pockets make any sane parent who normally eschewed Barbie and all her Ho-ness actually embrace the skanky slut whore and her easier to put on on clothing.
Also, Polly Pockets are vaccuumably. YMMV.
If all else fails, one thing that is crack to kids are stickers. Loads and loads of stickers. And when you see the prices on a pack, you will suffer from sticker shock. I shat you not.
Things I wanted as a four year old girl:
Rollerskates. The kind that strap to your shoes and barely roll.
A big wheel. I got one. It was He-Man (actually, Skeletor!). I ADORED it.
There can never be too many teddy bears in a girls life, but if you gave me a doll, I’d throw it at you and start crying. Unless it was a cabbage patch… those I was into.
Any ‘unusual’ animals… my brother had a stuffed “peas in a pod” toy. Three peas with cute little faces, about the size of racquetballs in a velcro pod. Coolest toy ever. That same year I got a stuffed platypus that I still have, 13 years later. Sheep, aardvarks, meese, anything odd worked for me.
Art supplies. I’m still a sucker for new art supplies. One of those adjustable easels would have been the coolest when I was a kid.
**Polly Pockets ** are truly the toy of the Devil. Especially when clueless relatives give them to 3 year olds. Some pieces are the size of cereal, great for choking. And if you can actually succeed in getting the clothing on or off, it rips after about 3 times.
Something I haven’t seen mentioned… 3 ftx3ft silk squares, sold as playcloths (Google for silk play coths gives you lots of places to buy them.) These are amazing toys. They get used as capes, tents, ropes, curtains, skirts, you name it. Especially good if parents are trying to keep beeping toys out.
sno cone maker. Cheap, hands on fun, tasty, low calorie.
Pop up books.
Hello Kitty stuff.