Trying to think of budget Christmas gifts for DD

[ktrask]

So we are really starting to put together Christmas gift ideas for our 7 year old daughter this year. We still have Santa belief (yay), so I'd really like to make the most of it while we can.

Our issue is finding a decent variety! It seems most everything is "doll" related. Today I used the daily toy deal on Cartwheel with Target (50% off a toy each day shown on the app) to get a Monster High 5 doll set. Husband's immediate reaction was "does she need more dolls?" I understand his thoughts as it was something I considered pre-purchase. She has a lot of Barbie sized dolls and plays with them.

So what other ideas are out there for 7 year old girls. Most everything she asks for is doll related, but we'd like to have more variety than just that.

 

[MomToOne]

When DD was that age, arts&crafts supplies were always a hit. In DDs case, the more "unstructured" arts and crafts stuff were bigger hits - by that I mean paints/markers/paper/etc. that she could then do what she wanted with, as opposed to a craft kit that makes a specific bracelet or something. But really anything was fine - it's just the unstructured stuff seemed to give longer enjoyment. DD is now 15 and she still has paints, canvas, "good" colored pencils and drawing pads on her list!

I also got a lot of board games, puzzles, etc to do together as a family.

Legos are good for girls too DD has enjoyed the Christmas-themed sets for years, although I admit they aren't very "budget". When she was younger, we'd do them together then she took over doing them fully herself as she got older. The Christmas sets were better than some of the female-themed sets that were available at the time - they were all too simple. It seems like what I see in the stores these days is better though. And there is a lot more stuff in the "Creator" line that is more gender-neutral. (Now you have me thinking...hmmm...I saw the new Santa's Workshop set the other day, and loved it but said to myself "DD is too old now for that". Maybe I'll get it anyway and we can do it together one afternoon before Christmas. Then we can display it as part of our decorations. And add all the other sets she's gotten over the years. DD would probably really like spending the afternoon building it with me - yeah, I have a weird 15 year old who actually bugs to spend more time with her Mom! LOL)

Things like purses and wallets were also usually a hit, but DD has always been fascinated by that type of stuff so your daughter may not feel the same.

 

[leahgoogle]

Lego Friends, Disney Lego and Lego Elves Series are big for my daughter and they were last year too (she is 8). They are not very budget-friendly although I have found some good deals on Amazon in the past. Also, pretend-play items. She is very much into anything veterinarian related so we focused on pretend vet sets and animatronic animals. American Girl is a hit and now Target and Toys R Us have their own doll line for a fraction of the cost and the accessories can be used with the American Girl doll.

 

[barkley]

So we are really starting to put together Christmas gift ideas for our 7 year old daughter this year. We still have Santa belief (yay), so I'd really like to make the most of it while we can.

Our issue is finding a decent variety! It seems most everything is "doll" related. Today I used the daily toy deal on Cartwheel with Target (50% off a toy each day shown on the app) to get a Monster High 5 doll set. Husband's immediate reaction was "does she need more dolls?" I understand his thoughts as it was something I considered pre-purchase. She has a lot of Barbie sized dolls and plays with them.

So what other ideas are out there for 7 year old girls. Most everything she asks for is doll related, but we'd like to have more variety than just that.

I get what you're saying and I remember dealing with it when my kids were that age too but in hindsight I think about what my kids played with and what they didn't-and it was the stuff they enjoyed and were interested in at a given time vs. the stuff I got for 'variety'. they ended up with so much stuff that barely got touched in favor of the stuff they were interested in that I wonder cost wise if it's not a waste of money to get things you know she's not interested in.

as far as dolls go-if she's got lots are there inexpensive items you could get for her to use with them? additional outfits, smaller accessories, does she have one of the carrying cases (I still have mine from over 45 years ago-along w/the dolls and outfits which dd played w/and are now packed away in the event there are ever grandkids)? I'm not familiar w/monster high but it seems like they have lots of non doll tie-in items like art sets and such.

if she's into Barbie then a gift that would continue through the year could be a subscription to Barbie magazine. actually, w/my dd who enjoyed reading getting magazine subscriptions around her interests was great fun for her-she loved looking forward to getting them each month.


enjoy the doll years-I miss shopping for this kind of stuff, now it's all video games, anime and gift cards on my 'kids' letters to santa.

 

[Pesky]

I get the "does she need more" but if she actually plays with them, I don't see a huge issue in indulging her passion. I have the opposite problem -- DD doesn't really play with dolls and that kind of limits our options. Consider arts & crafts stuff (even just a supply of glue, puff balls, pipe cleaners, etc.), books, movies, CDs/music, clothes (last year I got DD some fancy shoes and faux fur capelet from Santa), boogie board writing tablet, games (DD has now decided she wants Simon Says), scooter, spooner board, doinkit darts, puppets, stomp rocket.

 

[StitchBuddy]

I totally get what your husband is saying. How about giving her some activity presents, movie tickets, some mittens or gloves with a day of ice skating, bowling with a friend or as a family, you could make a calendar with a coupon for one fun event each month. My DD always loved soft blankets, cute slippers, and like someone else mentioned any kind of doll accessory. Inexpensive jewelry, fingernail polish, fuzzy socks. My DD also loved cute clothes at that age. I use to take her to the store and let her write down any and everything that caught her eye. It alwaays amazed me the things she would pick out that I would have never guessed. If she enjoys baking/cooking with you a cute apron could be cute. At that age they don't really yet fully understadn the cost of things so you can buy a lot with just a little money if you want. Get an inexpensive movie, my DD went through a stage where she loved horses, so I bought a bunch of cheap horse movies. Good luck!!!

 

[McKelly]

How about those perler beads you put on a plastic shapes and heat with an iron? Or some fun activity books....mazes, hidden pictures, etc. American Girl makes some fun activity books my daughter liked. Logic puzzle games are fun like Perplexus or any of the ThinkFun games. Chocolate Fix is a fun game. Most of these ideas are around $10.00, except Perplexus which I have seen for $20.00.

 

[dalmatian7]

If she likes Barbie, have you shopped on ebay? I got both my nieces some cool vintage clothes and accessories, and furniture for very little money. The 70s blow up furniture is the best. something unique and for the dolls, but not another doll.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

I always loved to get something physically large when my kiddo was younger - something that inspires a "wow" at a glance. Around that age, a pop-up play tent or a doll house would have gone over especially well. Something like this tent would have been right up my alley: http://www.amazon.com/Knights-Castl...=1446668095&sr=8-14&keywords=pop-up+play+tent

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

So we are really starting to put together Christmas gift ideas for our 7 year old daughter this year. We still have Santa belief (yay), so I'd really like to make the most of it while we can.

Our issue is finding a decent variety! It seems most everything is "doll" related. Today I used the daily toy deal on Cartwheel with Target (50% off a toy each day shown on the app) to get a Monster High 5 doll set. Husband's immediate reaction was "does she need more dolls?" I understand his thoughts as it was something I considered pre-purchase. She has a lot of Barbie sized dolls and plays with them.

So what other ideas are out there for 7 year old girls. Most everything she asks for is doll related, but we'd like to have more variety than just that.

When the girls were that age, we bought them each a real tea set. Each came with the teapot, 4 cups/saucers, creamer and sugar bowl. As they were real, as in china, they had to keep them up on a shelf in their room, but were used almost every day for tea parties with their friends/toys.
Both girls still have them (although DD2 is down to 2 cups and 1 saucer), but they talk about the fun they had with them.

Also, I took them to see the Nutcracker. Bought new dresses and shoes, did their hair. Told them we (the girls and I) had a lunch date, but not about the ballet. We went downtown, ate a nice restaurant, then went to the arts center. Their eyes lit up.

 

[Patience]

I decided not to buy any dolls for my 8 year old daughter this year. She likes her American Girl dolls well enough but plays with those mostly when she has friends over. What she really likes is arts and crafts type things, cooking things, and games. So here's what she's getting: 3 Yummy Nummies kits (she's asking for those), a cupcake decorating kit, a duct tape craft kit, Doh Vinci kit, An American Girl craft kit, a chemistry type science kit with test tube activities, Googly eyes game, a Shopkins set (she likes Shopkins), Family Feud game, and a new book bag and lunchbox from Justice purchased on clearance. Edited to add that I forgot that I also have the Legos Friends juice bar set that I found at Walmart on clearance. That was the first time I have ever found one of the Friends sets on clearance and I know she will like it.

None of these items was expensive and I'm done shopping for her.

 

[worm761]

DD will be 6 at Christmas so slightly younger. We are getting her a bow and arrows w/ a target. She is interested in archery since she is currently Merida obsessed. That's her big gift. We're getting her a subscription to Little Passports because she loves getting mail. I looked at a board game of the month club but decided to just create my own. She'll get a new board game for Christmas and then I'll order a new one every month. We have few games that she can play since DS is 19. I grabbed a Big Hero 6 figurine set while at Disney. I found one of her favorite movies on clearance so grabbed that. DH was wandering around at the mall the other day and saw a Frozen tent to put on her bed and suggested we get her one of those. I'm not really sure what else to get her. I like the craft suggestions. She likes doing stuff like that.

 

[E-P-C-O-T]

DD just turned 7, she asked for Shopkins Mystery Edition (found on target.com), regular shopkins, board games (got her Connect 4, the Inside Out Life game) 2 Yummy Nummies (cookies and donuts) and Equestria Girls Friendship Games dolls, got her 3 and the scooter (found on Amazon). She has soo many of the Equestria Girls already, but, she plays with them everyday, so, I got her 3 dolls, but, I really do think she has enough already. Im going to ask my Mom to get her a Battleship game and my inlaws to get her another board game. She is really into board games now and theres a large variety for their ages. It also gets us off our tablets, phones and the TV and we get to spend some quality time with her.

 

[Madteaparty001]

Have you tried taking her to a store like Target and have her 'help' you get gifts for other family members? Then you can pay attention to what she picks up, that's how I figure out what movies, books, and toys catch my kid's eye. Costco had this Dinosaur/helicopter set for the past few weeks and every time we passed it my kid would stop and play with it, so when it went on sale I picked it up. The only person who can tell you what your DD wants is your DD. If your DH thinks she has to many dolls how about purging some of the older ones or the less played with ones?

 

[andiraye]

I agree with the PP's who suggested craft supplies. I find that they have a much longer run in our house than most toys, which my kids simply tire of. I try to get gifts that they will enjoy but which are also a bit useful or which we would otherwise end up buying anyway.

My best gift ever to my kids was a homemade art box - a big plastic shoebox I decorated with their names and filled with paint, brushes, palettes, paper, pipe cleaners, fuzzy cotton balls. You could also get a big bag of beads, string and lanyards. We've also done a gift certificate to the movies, ice skating, etc (frankly stuff we'd take them to during the winter anyway). Fun hats and gloves (they sell them on the street). Ingredients for a favorite baking project.

 

[Ava]

My DD is 6.5, but not really into dolls. She loves art supplies/craft kits; lately she is into sewing thanks to my mom and wants to learn. (Unfortunately I do not sew, so I need to get my mom to give me a crash course in the basics over the holidays so I can help DD with projects.) She also asked for a science kit to do experiments, and a marble run. Other things we'll probably get her: My Little Pony (she has a ton already but does play with it & it can be shared with her 2-year-old sister), board games, possibly a smaller Lego set, books, Star Wars on DVD (the original 3).

I'm actually having a harder time coming up with ideas for my 2.5yo. She has all the toddler/preschool toys handed down from her sister, and she really just wants to play with her big sister's toys anyway.

 

[ktlm]

My DD (now 9) has always been a doll fanatic too. At age 7 she played with them all the time. At age 9, she still wants all the Ever After High and Monster High dolls, and some limited American Girl stuff, but she does not play with the dolls nearly as much as she did when she was your DD's age. She has pretty much outgrown her American Girl dolls (and I am torn with whether to get the couple of items on her list which are expensive and which I wonder if she will play with), and has definitely outgrown and gotten rid of most of the Barbie stuff. A Christmas full of mostly dolls or doll related items was perfect for her at age 7. I wouldn't worry that much about variety. She will likely be thrilled even without any variety. What we would do would be throw in some board games I knew we could all play together, some puzzles, or some craft items or science kits, or some legos. The board games have always been a big hit, and make for some fun things to do with the family on Christmas day too. There are usually lots of sales on those as the holidays get closer. Plus, it also helps with the Santa magic, because it was stuff she didn't ask us or Santa for- just stuff he picked that he thought she might like, right or wrong.

 

[Maricia]

Agree with moms - we love the artsy/craftsy kits and board games. DD (7) also loves outdoor things - archery set, scooter, bike, basketball goal. (We're in the south so outdoor activities on Christmas day aren't out of the question.) For indoor activities I'll add books, dress up items, an easy bake oven and a karaoke machine. And earplugs!

 

[neatokimmo]

How about those perler beads you put on a plastic shapes and heat with an iron? Or some fun activity books....mazes, hidden pictures, etc. American Girl makes some fun activity books my daughter liked. Logic puzzle games are fun like Perplexus or any of the ThinkFun games. Chocolate Fix is a fun game. Most of these ideas are around $10.00, except Perplexus which I have seen for $20.00.

My kid loved perler stuff, so I second that!

Natalie is 8. She is getting science kits. I am picking them up one at a time at michaels when I have 50% off coupons.

Last year she was all over justice trinkets. The journals, a light globe and the safe.

 

[neatokimmo]

Oh and she loves balloon animals. You can get a book, a pump and a bag of balloons cheap on amazon. She likes it so much, she sells them at festivals.