Ideas for 5-Year-old Christmas

My daughter is 7 but she loves crafts. She recently got this purse that she glued gems, and all kinds of stuff to and they look like jeans.. If you get a Sunday paper Michaels has a coupon in there for 40% off reg price and an additional 15 % off your total purchase. My daughter also learned to make the pot holders on a loom. My aunt showed her once and she is hooked.. She is always looking for a craft and its a great way to spend time together. Also got to Half price books. My child loves this store.. They have all kinds of books and stuff.. Start a collection.. get a her a cute little bookshelf. The have some cute ones that look like doll house at Big Lots.. or find one at a resale shop and paint it.. I can't keep up with my daughter's reading so I asked everyone to get her books. She loves Fancy Nancy by Jane O'Connor..

Hope this helps!

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Webkinz are one of the hot toys of the year. They are a stuffed animal that comes with a code and your child can play games and take care of their pet online. The online "special games" do not start until after school time so that helps keep them from wanting to play before school. I like it b/c there are math and spelling games and my girls(3 of them) get to sleep with their special pet. I can sell you one for $10 for a large one and $8 for a smaller one. Just a thought. I hope this helps.

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I love the little beads/jewels(as shown in the movie,"gameplan" that the little girl used to fancy up the football) that girls use to design pretty much anything. I used them on my cell phone but they can be put on book bags, lunch boxes,dresses,etc. I'm not sure what the age bracket for that kind of stuff is though. You know what might be fun? Perhaps you can look into painting some type of mural on her bedroom wall that you could both do together? Something tasteful. Something girly and "dreamy".

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I recently purchased a plate that she can create. I got it at Toys R Us. It was about $12. Everything was included. After she does the drawing. You mail it in and in a few weeks they mail you a dishwasher safe plate. It is really two gifts. I got it for a neighbor for her birthday. She loves it!

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If you can splurge, an American Girl doll would be ideal: (1) it's girly and they are high quality and beautiful (my 4 year old loves her older sister's doll!); (2) each doll represents an era of history and has a book and DVD that tells her story; (3) there are lots of fun accessories that make good smaller gifts or stocking stuffers and some more expensive accessories allow you to add on something nice for birthday or next Christmas; and (3) the AG store is a great place to spend time together, window shopping or enjoying a special lunch together, and she can bring her doll with her! My oldest got her Samantha doll last Christmas when she was six, and my youngest got the Bitty twins (at age 3). Both girls love to play with all the dolls, and again, we love the quality and the Samantha DVD. Each of the girls' stories will teach values and character that you would want your daughter to learn.

I totally understand what you're saying about Hannah Montana and HS Musical...cute but a little mature for this age. My now 7 year old is VERY interested but I'm not letting her have any of it yet (she does see/hear/play with some of that stuff at friends' homes, but I'm not going to try to control that).

Other ideas for you would be to give her a subscription to Highlights magazine or National Geographic for Kids; plan activities you can do together that teach values, such as going to the library (my daughters love this more than I would have ever dreamed); going to the Dallas Arboretum (another favorite of my girls; my husband gave me a membership last Christmas); going to museums, parks, and zoo; riding bikes together or some other fun physical activity; and doing some kind of volunteer activity together (usually can find something through a church or Google Dallas volunteer, or do something for soldiers, nursing homes, Buckner Homes, etc). Just doing things together conveys a lot about your values - you value her! - and builds relationship and character qualities. Something my girls love to listen to as they go to sleep are a set of two CD's we have that teach a Bible verse through saying the verse, then singing a song with the verse in it (The Memory Bible by Stephen Elkins and Kirk Cameron) or the Odyssey story series from Focus on the Family. Your Story Hour also has great story CDs. You might tape or rent some of the Little House on the Prairie series for her to watch. Plan a gardening project with her - maybe just a small raised bed garden; that would teach some great lessons about growing your own food, taking care of the earth, patience and perseverence, etc! Buy her a small keyboard and learn how to play it with her - again, patience and perseverence! Buy her a child's apron (Sur La Table or Google it) and some baking items, and teach her to bake cookies.

Last, painting nails and putting on make-up are always fun, so some girly items like that and a "girls night out" party for the two of you could be lots of fun. I hope these ideas help and don't overwhelm you! Just remembered: American Girl store and some of the stores like Joann's and Michael's will sometimes have craft days for kids, and she might enjoy that. Also, give her a gift of a gymnastics class or something that promotes physical activity. Good luck, and have fun!

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WEBKINZ!! It's all my 7 year old talks about!
Also: littest pet shops, educational video games, craft supplies. My daughter is very artsy and if I got her nothing but paper, paints, scissors, stickers, crayons, etc., she'd be on cloud 9!
Also, anything from fur-real friends is cool. Thats what my DD is asking santa for.

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My 5 year old loves any and all arts and crafts type stuff, so for sure something in that direction. Also, my girls are getting a new doll (it is a Gotz doll but they are similar to the American Girl dolls) and several pieces of furniture from Targets our generation line. I think they will enjoy that a lot. (They are 5 and 8). Also, what about outdoor play toys. I know it is kinda cold, but we got a soccer set for my 5 year old as a last minute b-day gift, and she loved it! Or, skates, a bigger bike, balls etc. There is a super cute barbie golf set that I am considering too...not sure, but they play golf with their grandfather so it might be great. I agree with the maturing too soon issue, as well as stuff just becoming junk toys that you lose pieces for and they dont play with! Littlest pet shop is a fun one around here too, and though it has little pieces, they do still play with those things. And, for sure if she does not have a leapster, that is a good idea...if she does, grab a new game. Even if she is like my daughter and had not played with it for awhile. There was a new pet shop type game, and she loves it!! Sorry for the rambling...hope it helps a little. Good luck! ~A.~

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We have a 5 yr. old little girl as well and she is getting a Barbie laptop, barbie swimming pool and of course...barbies-can you tell she is into Barbies? She also, wants, and is getting, a Pixos art/coloring thing...sorry I don't remember the exact name of it but they have them at Walmart, Target and Toys R Us. Then she is getting lip gloss(chapstick), coloring boooks, shoes and clothes. HTH

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I have 2 boys, so I don't get to shop in the "pink" aisles ever :( But boys and girls at that age like legos and play dough. I think those are safe toys for any kid. Also, what about a series of chapter books like Magic Treehouse or Junie B. Jones that you two can read together. When I taught first grade, the students LOVED those two series. Also, maybe some board games. Once my son turned 5, it was nice getting games with a little more strategy like Chutes and Ladders (they have a Dora version, but the plain old fashioned one is only $5 at Walmart right now), SOrry, Bingo. . . My son is almost 7 and this year, he's getting Disney Scene It which I've heard is lots of fun. All the Memory games are also on sale for $5 at Target and Walmart last I saw, and that is for all the different ones like Dora or Princess. Also, at that age, my nieces LOVED the game Pretty Pretty Princess, especially when they could get their daddy to play and put on the earrings and stuff. Last Christmas when my son was 5, Santa brought an easel which he loves. He uses it now to practice his spelling words either on the wipe board or with the magnetic letters. In fact, this year, I got him a big pack of wipe board markers since most of his are out now since he's used them so much. Sidewalk chalk would be good too. My sons like the 3D pack with the glasses. Finally, I would think a bike or scooter would be a big hit for a 5 year old, boy or girl.

Just thought of something else. If I ever get to have a girl, I would think it would be fun to make a girl's day out coupon where we'd go out to lunch and a movie of her choosing and go get a manicure together. Something girly like that would be fun and a great way to bond.

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Littlest pet shop toys are fun and inexpensive. My little pony, polly pocket and barbies. There is so much girly stuff out there! There is a cute toy online at toys r us- on clearance right now.. Spotz. Look it up, it is 8.00, regular 20.00. Im thinking about getting it for my 7 year old. It gets great reviews for all ages. As someone else mentioned- Pixos are a hot item right now.

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for my son's 5th bday, he's getting the leapster 2 plus 2 games. he sees big brother with his nintendo ds and wants to play as well. these games are educational but fun! for xmas, he's getting 2 "cars" board games, clothes, and a joint gift with big brother.

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My daughter is 6, but some things that she loves, she was into last year too. Such as; Littlest Pet Shop, Polly Pocket, Barbies, Webkins, Puppy in my Pocket and My Little Pony. All of these things have items that you can get from as low as $5 up to +$50. Also, my daughter is big into arts and crafts so any of the craft kits that you can get at Michaels or Hobby Lobby would work. Last Christmas my daughter got a kit where you could make sticky window art and she also got the Alex spin art thing and those were HUGE hits. She also has a Leapster that she really enjoys and I think it's very educational. Her favorite games are Pet Pals and Creature Create. My daughter really enjoys reading too so books are always a no brainer for us. Board games are fun and cheap too; some of our favorites are Candyland, Operation, Trouble and the Pretty Princess game. HTH!

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My daughter is 5 too, will be six next month. She loves all the things you mentioned and also has too much stuff. She loves anything art related. She has asked for moon sand. They have their own web site and the kits are in most stores. In Plano there is a Construction Play Things store that has a good variety. I am also going to get her an art easel with chalk on one side and marker board on the other with the paper roll at the top. They can also paint on the paper. Maybe she will stop drawing on her wall! She has requested the disney princess dolls and Target had all 7 for 49.99 so I picked that up. She wanted a Barbie or Bratz style doll house and instead I bought her from target a Barbie furniture set for 29.99. She did not need a big house. Again too much stuff so the furniture should do and can be stored away in a container when not used. Pet Shop has stuffed pets ($10 at target; 2 for $15 at Sam's Club) out with a code for the computer to play with the computer pet on their web site. She does not need another stuff animal but she likes Pet Shop stuff and they have mirrored the other pets that have the computer connection. My daughter loves to dance so I am going to check out if they have anything for the WII or one of those Dance videos with the mat. Have fun! This age is pretty easy to please.

I have an online business selling toys and baby items and my number one hot item for kids her age are I Spy Bags. They're fun and educational, and I can add the letters of her name inside the bag for a fun search.

You can check out my online store to see what I have:
http://bumblebeebaby.etsy.com