I'm sort of in that same boat. My DD turned 9 this past summer (and stilll, as of right now, believes in Santa). I asked her the other day if she had any ideas for Santa yet (usually her list has long been started) and the only thing she told me was a fishing pole! She fished with my brother & dad this summer and LOVED it. I told her that might be a good idea for PapPap and to keep thinking for Santa

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For her birthday, she got an iPod Touch and LOVES it. I wasn't too keen on the idea, but DH talked me in to it and I will tell ya, it's a HUGE HIT! She and her friends love to make videos and chat with each other. I put restrictions on it when it comes to what she can download and what You Tube & Internet stuff she has access too and she doesn't know the password so she can't change it and she can't purchase any Apps without asking me first, but she rarely asks because there is so much free stuff out there.
I am also making her a gift card tree. I have been picking up gift cards here and there to her favorite places....Justice, Aeropostle, the movies, Claire's, Itunes, the nail salon, Gather & Glaze...and I bought a little table top tree that I'm going to tie the gift cards too and leave under the tree.
My DD is still in her AG dolls and has asked for a armoire for the clothes, so I found one on
Amazon that I bought and I found some cute outfits (not AG brand...she's not bothered by the accessories NOT being AG).
I am also making up a Magician kit. She went to a magic themed birthday party recently and now is into that. I found a book of tricks at the 5 Below store and bought a cape & top hat cheap on Amazon, as well as a magic deck of cards and book to go with that. I am going to go through the book from 5 below and gather the "items" she needs to perform tricks (most are just stuff I have around here). I went to Garden Ridge yesterday and found a cute trunk (more like an old style square, hard suitcase) to put all of this stuff in.
Finally, I have a little spa kit started for her. I have picked up some things cheap throughout the year, including a nail dryer machine (from Justice) and am keeping a lookout for a spa wrap & slippers. I got a hair turbie thing (she likes to wrap up her hair after a shower while she primps and a regular towel is so heavy). I am going to get some kind of kaboodle to put some nail polish and other "spa" items in too I think.
Sounds like a ton now that I've written it all out, but it really isn't and I've gotten great deals of most of this stuff. Now I will just wait and see what she actually asks Santa for. I'm hoping the jewelry armoire idea will pop into her head, because that's what I'd like to get her. We redid her rood last spring and she uses 1/2 of my armoire and I know she'd love her own in her room, but I want it to be her idea and that could be her big gift under the tree.
I know my mom is gathering scrapbook stuff her for her. She loves those.
Good luck to you and maybe these gave you some ideas
