My oldest neice got a giant stuffed Nemo fish for Christmas. She must really like it because she keeps it hidden in her mother’s closet so her little sister won’t get it.
She will be four very soon herself so I appreciate this thread. Her parents and my sister are going to buy her a bike with training wheels. Not cheap, but maybe you can get a relative to go in with you on one. I, mayself, am thinking about some sore of bicycle accessory. Maybe.
Or something arty. I wonder if she’s old enough for one of those little looms that you weave those loops of fabric on? That’s one of the things I loved as a kid.
My nieces already have a tent in the playroom. They have it full of all sorts of balls and they like to go in there and toss them around.
I have a son, not a daughter, but I think those “Groovy Girl” dolls are neat. They’re soft-bodied dolls with fun fashionable clothes. They are sort of a feel-good alternative to barbie dolls. She can get more clothes, and friends, for it as she gets older if she ends up being into dolls. If not, well, no biggie; this can be a nice doll to carry around and sleep with for a while.
This mama thinks that of previous ideas, the tent idea has been the winner of the thread. For every “sure bet” I’ve known a four-year old who was indifferent, and several people have said “no way” to things my child truly enjoyed at that age.
A ‘fort’ made out of PVC piping. For about $15 in piping and the U-bends or whatever the corner peices/joints are called ( sorry, this is Mr. Ujest’s department) and with the use of a saw, or a ginsu you can cut the piping to size and make a nice large square that can be used to toss a blanket over in a corner of a room or a basement or outside.
It can be made to order for a spare corner and turn it into a magical little hideaway.
Add about $6 a shot for those extra heavy duty clamps to keep the blanket in place, which, I guarantee you , you will use for a few other things once you buy them.
They are easy to store, can be left outside in the rain and only the blanket/sheet will get wet. Comes apart easily and can be strapped together with some velco thingies for storage.
Also, as a bonus, rude noises can be made down the pipes and be used to dry towels or help air out blankets.
I love PVC piping.
( My pvc square thingie that I had Mr. Ujest make for me to dry clothes that Ihung on hangers lasted nearly 6 years of constant Michigan outdoor weather.)
Other things already mentioned that my 4 yo likes:
Dress up stuff (best present ever was a bilbo baggins costume (with mithril vest, no less) given by my sister – oddly, my daughter is absolutely wild about the Hobbit).
All manner of art supplies
Stickers
Anything Scooby-Doo
Not yet mentioned:
A 4 yo is probably ready for a computer game if they don’t already have one (or several). Finding Nemo has been a real hit here for some time.
A magazine subscription. My daughter LOVESLOVES LOVES getting something in the mail. She gets “in my Backyard” from the national wildlife foundation once a month and makes us read it twive a day for the next, oh, 30 days or so.
That was one of my very favorite books when I was little. Then they went and remade it and stuck elmo in it! aarrgghh I finally found a copy sans elmo for the munchkins
I also am happy to see some of my favorite little golden books making a comeback like the 7 little postmen and the little red hen. Now if I could just find four puppies and the 123 counting book.
My daughter is 5 so I recently went through this same problem. The things she really loved? My sister bought her a huge bucket of sidewalk chalk, she still has some pieces from that bucket. My in-laws sent her some of those punch balloons. She had a blast with them. And I bought her an umbrella stroller for her dolls. She just loved it. You can get them for about $15 or less. Good luck and have fun shopping.
I’ve got an easy, cheap, and fun gift that I’ve given several kids, and they’ve all loved it. Their parents liked it, too, because their kids could sit for hours and draw and color and leave them in peace.
Go to an office-supply store, preferably a large one like Staples or Office Depot. Pick up a package or two of really cool paper. I’ve used pastel ledger-size (11x17) and card stock, but any sort of cool paper will work. (Some kids especially like the fluorescent stuff.)
Then you get a box of nice, chunky crayons so she can draw on her cool new paper.
