My church always has a Christmas Gift program for the poor kids in the parish-this year I need to buy a gift for an 8 year old girl. My daughter is an adult, so I don’t know what is appropriate-can you please give me some suggestions? I’d like something practical-maybe some article of clothing?
Thanks
I’d suggest a Make-A-Blanket craft kit. It’s basically two pieces of fleece fabric which have cuts along each edge. The little girl can lay the pieces together and tie the flaps to “make” a blanket.
It’s something to do, it’s creative (for a certain sense of the word), it doesn’t require adult supervision. If she needs a blanket, she now has a blanket. If she’d like to give a gift to someone else, now she has a blanket she “made” to give as a gift.
http://www.amazon.com/Horses-Squares-Design-Brown-Fleece/dp/B0092DSBHK/ref=sr_1_6?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1353864523&sr=1-6&keywords=No+Sew+Throw+Kit
Did they give you her size? If not, I’d recommend against trying to give clothing. The variation in size and height at that age is amazing.
I always like to give them an outlet of some sort. Like a “How to Draw” type book with some pads and colored pencils (please don’t forget the sharpener!) Or a harmonica and a book on how to play. Or a cheap CD player and a selection of music from classical to Blues to Jazz to Country to Hip Hop.
IOW, try to open her horizons with something that may bring peace to a difficult life.
Moved Cafe Society --> IMHO.
As a former poor kid, I am going to warn against clothing. Clothing can be had by the pile from thrift stores for pennies and hand me downs are free, so she’s probably not actually suffering a lack of clothing. And unless it is something that just happens to be very trendy in their peer group, young children are not likely to perceive clothing as a gift.
In American poverty, the basics are often there, but kids don’t have many of the extras that add richness and wonder to a young life. Growing up, a lot of my friends got gifts from charity, and these things were often junky, bizarre, off-brand items that were clearly from the discount shelf. Please don’t do that- that makes a kid feel ashamed, unwanted and deeply “different.”. Don’t give a poor kid something you wouldn’t give your own child. And if you can scrape up enough cash to give a “good” name brand gift that is currently popular among that age group, know that it will be very much valued. Poor kids are just kids, and they want the same things any other kid that age wants.
At that age I loved art supplies, craft kits (nothing too messy or mom won’t want to do it!), science project kits, make-believe items, branded school supplies (Lisa Frank and Trapper Keepers FTW), Outdoor items like Nerf products and Super Soakers, movies (can alleviate the boredom of being a latchkey kid), and books. If the kid may not be a big reader, it’s a great age for “pick it up and flip through” books such as children’s almanacs, the Guinness Book of World Records, and the many books available not along the lines of the “Daring Book for Girls” or “Encyclopedia of Immaturity” that give a lot of activities and encourage informed active play.
Oh yeah, this is a great age to start with some of the Klutz Press activity books- lots and lots of really good stuff- especially the ones that don’t require exotic materials to continue the fun (friendship bracelets, face paint, drawing, some of the home science experiment ones, etc. are good.)
Finally, this is kind of random, but I loved these and if I still had my set I’d probably still play with them now:
At 8, I enjoyed playing with my model horses. They were the fairly cheap plastic horses that were readily available at the time, fairly realistic. One of them had a plastic saddle and bridle, but I made tack for the other horses myself (out of grocery bags that I fatigued to look like leather).
I wouldn’t have wanted a My Little Pony or other fantasy horse. But I did love my horses very much indeed. Also, I would not have enjoyed clothes.
I seem to recall thinking that Barbies were pretty awesome when I was 8. I don’t know what your budget is but you can get a pretty awesome Barbie for $20.
Actually, last year I got a little girl a Disney Princess set for about $20 as well that I think was well recieved.
And clothes are probably not a great choice.
Art & Craft supplies. The gift that lasts a long time and can lead to other imaginative things.
8? Good chance she’s into Monster High. That seems to be a big thing with my nieces who are about that age. But I’d agree, crafts might be a better long term solution. There’s some pretty neat bead kits at Walmart for reasonable prices.
This is a thing I always wonder. I tend to do both a little Toys for Tots and at work we have one of those really specific Salvation Army trees. I do the T4T because you can be frivolous (Disney/Toy Story/Cars/One Direction/Lego/Star Wars/whatever) and then sometimes the SA people say “I need basic clothing for a 6 month old” or whatever. See if your workplace or mall does that because it’s very important.
I don’t know how it is for girls, but I know with out a doubt, there has never been in the history of the world, an 8yo boy who opened up his Christmas present and said: “Oh, Cool! a sweater!”
I can guaranfuckingtee: There has been that moment when you wanted the Alligator and not The Fox.
Oh, ugh. Yes. Or the Polo player.
OP, I have an 8-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl. I would echo the recommendations for craft kits/activity kits like the Klutz books that **even sven **mentioned or Alex brand. Or a notebook/journal pad and nice pencils/pens.
One thing my kids absolutely love is gift cards (to Toys-R-Us and Target, mostly, although my daughter likes clothing stores, too). This allows them to go to a stopre and pick out something of their own, which is a huge thrill. For a kid, it carries far more excitement and possibility than it seems to for an adult (although I really like getting gift cards, too). When I do the Giving Tree in our community, a lot of the time the kids will have specifically asked for gift cards.
DO you have a suggested dollar amount you can tell us?
I got all tangled up with your User Name and took a hella long time to figure out what you meant by this. LOL!
The fact remains though, that too big or too small clothes are a horror to receive.
I’m sorry to say that gift cards can be much too easily used/traded by adults and often do not end up benefitting the child. Much better to pick something only the child would really enjoy.
My daughter is 8.
Here are things she likes:
Monster High dolls
My little pony (but this is a SECRET! She would die if her classmates knew).
Art and craft supplies.
A “grown up purse” with “grown up things” (a wallet, lip balm, etc).
Barbies are great - you can get a 5 dollar one and buy extra clothes or give a mini sewing kit with fabric remnants. The clothes are the best part about Barbie!
Don’t buy anything that requires refills or batteries.
OK, I’m gonna go against the conventional wisdom here.
I hated Barbie. I got various Barbies, and while I would play with them if the other little girls wanted to play Barbies, I hated them. I liked my horses, and I liked other toy animals, but I didn’t like baby dolls, and I hated fashion dolls.
My daughter, however, absolutely loved Barbies, and would usually ask for a Barbie or some Barbie accessories.
I did like arts and crafts kits, and I still do.
My goddaughter is 8, and absolutely thinks that she’s waay too old for Barbies! Definitely keen on seeming more “grown up”, and wants things like nail polish and makeup (though her “makeup” is pretty much just tinted lip balm). Craft kits generally do really well with her too.
I agree with a few of the other posters; many 8 yos consider themselves far too mature & sophisticated to play with Barbies. Or, at least, mine does! I also agree with the posters who suggest art supplies. An art kit with markers, colored pencils, glittery notebooks, stickers, etc. would likely be a hit. It’s kind of you to help make the holiday season special for a child in need.
My 8 year old daughter has asked for Monster High dolls, and nothing else. You do still run the risk of it going to girl who doesn’t give a damn about dolls, but you run that risk with anything.
My (almost) eight year old wanted monster high dolls last year but this year it’s Winx dolls and My Little Pony. But more than anything she loves art supplies, especially the girly kind. I got her a Monster High fashion design kit last year and I think she’s gotten more use out of it than any other toy-ever.