I'm still not sure how my first baby just turned 6! But, one of the most fun privileges of my life is watching her grow through all the stages. This school age season is new to us, but really fun. Six year old Abby seems so much older than first day of Kindergarten five year old Abby! :) We love her so much and celebrated lots last week. Turning six is FUN!
All of our birthday celebrating inspired this post! My trusty six year old sidekick (who both loves giving and receiving gifts) and some of her friends have approved these ideas either when I asked or based on the sound of excited little girls as gifts were opened at the party. Some are gifts that Abby got recently for Christmas or her birthday. Some are things she has on her running wishlist. Some are just her current favorites. I just think the best recommendations come from the 6 year old herself! Hope this helps you as you think through making a sweet little girl smile on her special day!
1. Legos:
Our six year old loves loves loves Legos. This year, her birthday party was even Lego themed. Abby really enjoys taking on the new challenge, following the instructions step by step and creating. Then, she and her sister have lots of fun playing with the sets. Her top three favorite sets so far are:
1. Heartlake Hair Salon
2. The Dolphin Cruiser
3. Pop Star Dressing Room
If you are like me and love Legos, but (a) can't keep up with how fast your kids build their new sets and/or (b) don't know what to do with all the accumulated sets (purging the toy overload, anyone?), then you will understand why my life was changed when I learned about the Pley membership. Think Netflix for Legos. You pay a monthly subscription fee and help your kiddos create a list of the sets they want to try. Then, your set arrives in the mail. Your girl (or boy) can take as long as she needs to build. We send it back when we are done building/playing with it and Pley sends us the next set on the list. You guys, it's genius and I'm still wishing I thought of it myself.
Giving someone a few months of a paid subscription or a giftcard makes for a great gift for kids of ALL ages! I'm sure you have some of the same question I did, like what happens if we lose one of those little pieces, but Pley has a great (and realistic) system set up. So, give it a try! I definitely recommend checking it out for your favorite Lego builder!
2. Little Cosmetics:
I read about Little Cosmetics on another blog and saved it to my "gift idea" list last year. Abby loves to play with my makeup and pretend to get ready. There may have even been times when I come around a very quiet corner to find this...
When she packed her purse to go out to dinner a few weeks ago and made sure to include a small water color set that she was pretending was a makeup pallet, I knew I had made the right decision. When she opened her (mess-free pretend) makeup set on birthday morning, her face confirmed it! Abby tells us all the time how she wants to be all grown up and just like mommy, so I wondered if pretend makeup would be slightly disappointing! BUT, when she opened it all up and realized it was pretend, she squealed, "Yay! This is the best. Now, I don't have to ask permission and wait to use it. I can use it whenever I want AND it will never run out." Here's hoping I will now be able to find my favorite lipgloss when I want to use it.
3. Cute new clothes (and accessories):
Abby loves new outfits as much as she loves my makeup. When she started wearing a size six, we moved into a new department in most stores and depending on the store, I found some of the clothes to be disappointing. Clothes went from being cute to having plunging necklines and snarky preteen slogans. No thanks, not for this six year old! I like to say Abby's style is cutesy, with a side of growing up! :) I love this age because she has preferences and her own style. Her current favorites:
- dresses and tights
- maxi skirts
- all things glitter
- shirts with cute animals on them
- her sparkly crossbody bag
- tall brown boots (so she can dress like mommy)
- infinity scarves
- tunic style shirts with funky printed leggings
4. GoldieBlox:
Have you heard of this fun line of construction toys for girls? My girls loved them after playing with them at a friend's house. I love that the company gives girls a space to explore their engineering minds. Check out their mission here. Abby loves this set that she got from friends.
5. Small giftcards to experiences:
With a birthday three weeks after Christmas, we are usually still trying to find places for the new Christmas toys by the time Abby's birthday rolls around. Maybe it's because I'm in full blown purge mode or because I believe it really doesn't have to be expensive ($5 makes any kid's day) or because I LOVE the idea of giving the gift of experiences to enjoy at a later date, but I love the idea of small giftcards.
Abby loves the chance to get herself and her doll all dressed to go on a date to Starbucks or frozen yogurt with a purse filled with her own money (or "card") where she can walk up and pay all by herself. She likes to pretend she is a mommy who goes to Starbucks with her kid and buys a coffee (hot chocolate). In the middle of winter, having little outings like this is the best. Other ideas are a ticket to the movies or a session at the indoor trampoline park.
6. American Girl (or 18" doll) clothes, accessories and crafts:
Abby is loving her new doll, so she is also loving all of the mini things that are made for American Girl (or 18" dolls). I think it's great that so many stores carry 18" doll clothes and accessories. We've found fun things at Target, Walmart, Joann's, Amazon, Michaels and A.C. Moore. If you find things at the craft stores, you can use the weekly store coupons, which makes the items pretty inexpensive. That's what I did for Abby's birthday present this year. I created a Doll Birthday Celebration themed box. Some things I included were:
Abby loves it and my girls have been playing birthday party ever since! :)
7. Dollie and Me Clothes:
If your girl has an 18" doll, she might love a Dollie and Me outfit for her birthday. Abby loves the idea of matching her doll. I've seen these sets at Kohl's (which I'm sure could be great with the right coupon or sale), but for more than half price on Amazon.
8. Board Games and Card Games:
Family Game Night is a favorite in our house, so we have a long list of favorites. Abby is our UNO girl. She is always up for another round and outlasts all of us. We also love Skip-Bo Junior. Some other favorites are Sorry, Trouble and Monopoly Jr. I also think Pie Face would be a fun game at this age.
9. Books:
Books ALWAYS make good gifts. There are too many good ideas in this category, but at this point as she learns to read on her own, Abby loves getting new readers. Two of her more recent picks at the library that she loves are Fly Guy Meets Fly Girl, the Katie Woo series and any book filled with jokes.
10. All Things Crafty!
Abby loves to craft and create! So Abby would say any craft set that says "Make Your Own" is a great gift! Bonus: when a set indicates "6 and up". Abby feels like that means it's made for big girls! :)
Add to the list and share your thoughts or ideas in the comments!
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