Hubby’s niece is turning 5 soon and we’re flying out to Maryland for her bday. Can I please get some recs. on what we could get for her? Up until now, every year we’ve gotten her a gift card. Since she’s a bit older now, we’d really like to take an actual gift.
I know she’s obsessed with pink..lol. Since we’re flying, it needs to be something we can pack or take as carry-on. Budget wise…would like to keep it around $100.
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
Ask her mom what she’s into?
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
I’ve got all boys, can’t help much…but what about those leap frog learning systems…you can get it in pink 
http://media.gdgt.com/img/product/14/bc5/leapfrog-leapster2-learning-system-nik-800.jpg
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
Ak her mom if she is a princess or simple mary?
Princess will like anything with glitter, costumey… The latter u can get a books, crafty things…
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
I have a lot of friends with kids this age. Its really easy to choose gifts for girls. And its really not about budget. You can make a kid happy by giving her stuff that interest her the most. Dolls, story books (origami) and if she’s into drawing and stuff, you can get her the kit that has all those different medium like water color, pastels, crayons, poster paints etc. (no oil paints at this stage) Some DIY kits, a princess dress. I can go on and on 
While we are at it, what gifts can be given to pre-teen boys (8-12) years which is not super expensive either?
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
i can help you wit that! My 9 yr old (soon to be 10) son is all about Lego sets (these days it’s The Hobbit ones) iTunes gift cards, and Legos…oh, and did I mention Legos?
The Lego stores have stuff for all ages and levels. Always a hot with that age group
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
when mine was that age she loved anything that was crafty and let her make stuff…like Niks and TLK got her a bracelet making thing with loads of string and beads…she absolutely loved that!!!
and if she is a girly girl then a ballerina jewellery box filled with trinkets might be a good idea…if you get her a white one she can keep it for a while and use it well into her teenage years…
I was going to suggest a child’s version of a baby grand piano to introduce her to music but then realized that, although miniaturized, this would still be a pretty large box to take on a flight so perhaps a gift certificate for music lessons in her city? The $100 should get her 5 lessons easily. (Our community doesn’t tend to put a great deal of emphasis on music lessons but they have been known to help a child in academia as well, particularly math.)
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
Thank you for the suggestions so far!!! 
I’ve never shopped for a child before and for some reason, this is making me nervous. 
2 Things I want to clarify:
If calling SIL and finding out what her daughter is into was an option, I would’ve done so already. In the past when hubby tried this, the answer he always got was “Oh don’t worry about it…you guys don’t need to get her anything”. 
That’s why we always got a GC b/c we certainly aren’t going to show up empty handed.
Although I know kids don’t care about $$…people like my BIL does. He’s a snob and has been known to make nasty comments and even throw out items given to the little girl b/c he thought they were “cheap” (I found this out from hubby) :hinna:
Anyway, I don’t want this thread de-railed into my family drama. I want to stay focused on the little girl. From what I’ve seen/heard…she’s more of a princess. I know she loves pink and I saw princess type stuff in her play room last year along with a kitchen play set and giagantic barbie doll house.
I will def. look into the Leap Frog items. I like the idea of the drawing stuff too. Maybe make a nice gift basket out of a few items. Is Toys R Us the best place to look for this kinda stuff? I also plan on getting her that flower candle thing I posted on my blog a few days ago.
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
how would BIL feel about an “experience” gift rather than a tangible item that he could possibly “throw out”? 
perhaps an evening with her parents to the symphony or a theatre production of “The Wizard of Oz”?
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
^ :hinna: To be honest, I think BIL/SIL would love something like that. But b/c of their work schedule, it would be almost impossible for us to select something for a specific time/day for them.
Besides, I want to make the little girl happy WITHOUT giving BIL a chance to talk sh*t about me…But I don’t actually want to do something nice for adults who act like children (to put it politely). 
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
If he’s snobby/label conscious, then what about one of those American Girl dolls? I hear those are the height of status, lol, apparently all the cool girls have them. They’ll set you back a pretty penny…I hear the dolls go for about $125 and then all the clothes and doodads…I’m seeing all these pics on FB of friends daughters that are wearing matching outfits as the dolls lol
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
my friend’s daughter is turning 5 in couple of weeks.. she is in that princess phase. I had ordered bunch of lil things for her on zulily.com like glitter shoes, a princess dress up costume, pink n purple jewelry, etc etc
in your case.. what about something like this:
LeapFrog LeapPad2 Explorer Disney Princess Bundle - LeapFrog - Toys “R” Us
check out the dimenstions, you might be able to carry it..
Disney Princess Royal Talking Princess Kitchen (Colors vary) - Creative Designs - Toys “R” Us
skates as spring is just around the corner..
Disney Princess Adjustable Quad Skates - Size 10-13 - Bravo Sports - Toys “R” Us
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
^ American dolls are really popular, she might even have one already.
If she doesn’t, it would be nice to have her “build/choose” her own with you and then have it delivered to her home. It’ll give you a aunty/niece bonding moment, if you help her choose one that looks like her and is wearing pretty clothes of her choice.
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
You can do a lot for $100.
How about putting together a bunch of arts and craft stuff from Michaels. It will keep her busy too when she’s visiting.
Crayola digital light designer. My kids loved that.
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
Thanks again! I’m gonna have hubby find out if she has any American Girl dolls already. I’ll also go through the links.
You ladies are awesome!
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
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Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
Maybe a little box of dress up items? They come with satiny dresses that can easily go over clothes, fake jewelry, etc. Nice for play and imagination.
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
Also, not sure where they are in Maryland, but Strathmore Mansion does some “tea-times” for kids. They can bring dolls/stuffed animals and have a fun play afternoon with yummy snacks. Strathmore - Events & Tickets - Calendar
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
I’m not a fan of the LeapFrog products…particularly since the iPad or even the PlayBook offer so much more to grow into. The kids I know that had the LeapFrog stuff grew out of it very, very quickly.
If there is a “status” issue then definitely consider the American Dolls. Will be a great opportunity to get the BIL stuck with buying all the accessories later on.
Re: Gift Ideas for 5-year-old girl
LEGOS! She’s just the right age to start her collection of Legos. They have a new line called Lego friends that’s geared towards girls. It has some decent sets:
LEGO Friends Heartlake Vet (3188) : Target
Amazon.com: LEGO Friends Olivia’s Inventor’s Workshop 3933: Toys & Games
Forget the electronic toys. They’re loud and annoying and kids want their parent’s gadgets anyway.