5Th Birthday

How about those American dolls that are made to look like you. They come in characters from stories of history. I think you can find it on americangirl.com or something like that. My sister had a samantha doll and personally I used to like the stories. I think they are still available, because I was looking for one for my daughter.

A.,

I have all boys, but I have found that Disney movies are a really big hit. Cars, Barnyard and anything that is some sort of creative outlet, like drawing, coloring the aquamats and doodle mats are great.

Good luck.

S.
SAHM of 3 boys

Hi,
At this age role-playing things and things that build a sense of independence or "grown-up" are great!
Play kitchens, play dream houses (by fisher price I think), easels (that can also be used to play teacher, especially considering school is just around the corner, they love that idea!), babydolls with accesories to play mommy.. etc.
As far as movies, Dora and Diego are AWESOME!!!! They teach the kids so much so they are not watching just a cartoon they are learning too!
Hope I was of help! Good luck! Happy Birthday to your little girl!!!!

some ideas straight from my 4 1/2 & 6 1/2 year old little girls: (aside from barbie barbie barbies)

toy trains -- constantly building different patterns
their kitchen/pretend food
(keeps them busy for hours!)

plastic baseball set
costumes (love that)

legos
their art center-easel (they play school -- need alphabet magnets, paper & lots of chalk and crayons too -- blunt scissors -- builds their little hand muscles for better writing!)

Trouble/Sorry games - Princess Monoply

Little Foot (the dinosaur movies)--oh, and the Leap Frog Learning Movie series -- sounds, letters & reading & math
(of course, the Princess (Disney) stories vol. 1, 2 & 3 (they all do teach something positive ideas)

scooters
bikes

sidewalk chalk
oh, and they said "cards"
(we play go fish & rummy)

books & blocks (big blocks, little blocks all kinds of blocks......#1 recommended gift for intelligent/smart little kids:)

Hi!

I'd be willing to bet she's ready to get that imagination going with some creativity in art! Perhaps you could buy her some finger paints, markers, new crayons. These are things she will be using in school anyway, and they will keep her busy. She will delight in making pictures for you, especially if you make a big deal about hanging them on the fridge for everyone to see!

PS- Don't forget to use newspaper to cover the surface where she's working!

Hope this helps!

C.

A new cool backpack for school! Or a new outfit for the first day or new shoes to wear. I taught kindergarten for 8 years and the kids love to have something special to show off in school.

Hi A.,
Aside from the usual Disney movies, my 3 and a half year old loves the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder version, not Johnny Depp), Babe, the old original animated Charlotte's Web, and for some unknown reason, The Sound of Music.

this site has amazing looking items
(I don't work for them nor am I affiliated w/ them in any way, LOL!)
here's the list for age 5:

http://www.oompa.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=search...=

at 5 my daughter loved the idea of dressing up - I bought her a trunk form Target ( they actually had a pink one) and we filled it with dresses, boas, stockings, gloves, hats, sunglasses, shoes with little heels...she played with that for hours on end! Don't forget a pretty full length mirror too.

For her party we rolled out a "red carpet" just red fabric I found for $1 a yard. My son & his friends were the papparazzi & my youngest son was the one to escort the girls to the door from thier cars. We had " champagne", ginger ale in pretty plastic champagne glasses. We did make-overs & they all got thier pictures taken with her. I took the pictures to Walgreens & got copies for a photobook for the girls, which I did have to mail a few.Most I hand delivered to the class when school was back in session.

Happy 5th! So big so fast!

My children LOVE Barnyard... I suggest that as a fun gift. It's pretty cute. Get her some popcorn to go with it and make it a happy birthday date night. My kids like having their own bowl :O)

hello, i found that age really like tea sets. She sees you in the kitchen all the time and she probally wants to do what you do and its fun to have a tea party with your dolls or friends.
And if your looking for a tea party for her 5th birthday I can recommend you Butterfly Dreams, theme parties for kids. All types from a character visit to stuff a bear, butterfly dreams. or a tea party, so much fun. If you want to look her up she is on mamasource or you can look at her info on www.butterflydreamsparty.com
They come to you so its makes it easier and they are so proffesional and you will see lots of great commnents on mamasource about Butterfly Dreans.
Good luck in finding a good gift for her for her special day..

http://www.youngexplorers.com/itemdy00.asp?T1=Y131619

This is pretty cute. I got it for my daughter at Christmas and she loves it. You have to send in the voucher they give you to get the larvae, the first set is free and even after that every time you order it's only 5 bucks. They can watch the ladybugs grow it's super fun. And quite honestly this entire site has some pretty cool stuff.

Play kitchens and baby doll furniture (strollers, beds, highchairs) are always fun for girls. Designate a corner of her room as her "play house" and help her set things up. Also, art supplies are always fun to get and use. Hang a nylon cord up around her room and buy clothespins to hang her artwork on. Another fun idea is to have an "art show" and invite grandma and grandpa, aunts, uncles, older cousins or family members to come and buy artwork for $.10 a piece. This teaches the value of money and also social skills. I don't know many people who couldn't afford $.50 for some pretty good artwork. This way she gets a present (art supplies like crayons, colored pencils, paints, paper, etc) and gets to make something cool, then later she gets a second "present" and learns the value of earning her own money. She can then use the money for anything she would like (ie: more art supplies to make more artwork for sale or a good book). You also might think about buying a gift card with a cool design on it and letting her pick out a few of her own presents. Kids love choices. Makes them feel like they are in charge. Wal-Mart has some pretty cool gift cards usually. An added bonus: Wal-Mart is pretty cheap and she can pick out multiple gifts. Kids are more concerned with quantity...not so much with quality. Teens of course are the exact opposite so enjoy the cheap side of like now lol.

How about educational toys or a game you can play together? Look at my website and let me know if you have any questions.
I can recommend Playful Patterns (my daughter got hers around age 4 and at age 8 she still loves it), Zingo, and Marbleworks
Tammi
www.DiscoveryToysLink.com/Fox