Xmas - I have no clue what to get my dd

[SalandJeff]

I have absolutely no clue what to get my dd, turning 5 today.

She is an only child and not exposed to a lot of different toys (like video games, american girl, etc.). She is not at all aware of "brands" yet. All her TV watching is Noggin, Playhouse Disney, Nick or dvds, so she doesn't see ads for toys. So consequently, she doesn't ask for particular things because she is just not aware of them. Of course, if we go in a store she wants every single thing she sees.

The thing she plays with most are her stuffed animals...she LOVES animals. But how many can we have! She has some sensory issues and motor skill delays, so I am thinking of things like DS or Leapster, but am not sure if she would be able to "play" them. She also has a short attention span.

Any ideas? I'm at a loss. (and my brain is not working well lately!)

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

our daughter (youngest daughter) turns 5 in march and for her main gift this year we're making her a puppet theatre, I've been buying little finger puppets like these for a while and some glove puppets too and her dad is making the theatre.

We decided on this as all the family buy TV & media orientated toys and sowe decided to go a bit less commercial, she has a few speech issues and we've found she loves puppet play at school and making the characters talk to each other is a good way to improve her speech.

 

[scottish mum]

My DD4 got a beautiful wooden dolls house full of furniture and dolls for her birthday. She loves setiing out the rooms and plays with it lots

 

[mom2aredhead]

I have absolutely no clue what to get my dd, turning 5 today.

She is an only child and not exposed to a lot of different toys (like video games, american girl, etc.). She is not at all aware of "brands" yet. All her TV watching is Noggin, Playhouse Disney, Nick or dvds, so she doesn't see ads for toys. So consequently, she doesn't ask for particular things because she is just not aware of them. Of course, if we go in a store she wants every single thing she sees.

The thing she plays with most are her stuffed animals...she LOVES animals. But how many can we have! She has some sensory issues and motor skill delays, so I am thinking of things like DS or Leapster, but am not sure if she would be able to "play" them. She also has a short attention span.

Any ideas? I'm at a loss. (and my brain is not working well lately!)

OMG - I could have written this myself, except my only-child who is turning 5 next week is a boy not a girl.
He also pretty much watches only Noggin and Playhouse Disney, not into the super heros, transformers or power rangers at all, which are generally what fill the "boy toy" aisle. He LOVES any kind of animals - stuffed, plastic, zoo, farm - but we already have just about any animal you can think of. Honestly - name 3 kids that would come home from Disney with a Schliegh Meerkat and Okapi from WDW - cause they were about the only animals he didn't have.
He also had sensory issues (oral sensory and fine motor delays), similar to OP's daughter...he has a Leapster, (Santa brought it for Christmas last year) and if has played with it 6 times since he got it, I would say that's a lot. He gets completely bored with the games - each one just seems like a different character running around to collect things...I don't get it either. His favorite thing to do is line up his animals, build fences and stables for them out of blocks and just play with them. We already have so many toys that are untouched, and the thought of any more - UGH!
With his b-day coming up, and Christmas around the corner, so many people are asking me what to get him - and I'm honestly at a loss too.
The only thing I was thinking is a few new games to play on the computer, (yawn!) or some trains, but since he doesn't touch his cars/trucks, I don't think the train would get much use either.
So I have no help for you OP, just empathy!

 

[Benducci]

My dd is 5 & has a leapster & ds & loves both! They are both good for eye-hand coordination & help with math, spelling, reading all in a fun way. Either one would not be bad to get for her.
Webkinz is also fun- they are stuffed animals but have an on-line world- again my dd loves going on & playing the games & it does not require reading yet.

 

[mickeymaker2003]

You could consider buying memberships to different local places if they are available in your area. A family zoo membership or to the Children's Museum would be fun, educational, and not take up any space in your house

 

[mom2aredhead]

You could consider buying memberships to different local places if they are available in your area. A family zoo membership or to the Children's Museum would be fun, educational, and not take up any space in your house

We have the zoo membership. Now that he's in kindergarten (full days) has homework and is and playing a sport, I'm unfortunately finding we have less and less time for outings.

But I got your PM about the Leapster game - thanks again!

 

[joyfulscrapper]

You could consider buying memberships to different local places if they are available in your area. A family zoo membership or to the Children's Museum would be fun, educational, and not take up any space in your house

That is wonderful idea!!! (If you have things local and can make the time to go enough to make it worth it.)

My DD is only 4 and she has a DS and loves it. In fact, her grandparents just got her a new game for it and she figured it out by herself and was playing it and loving it right away. We have been amazed at how easily she can use it and figure out what to do. There are some educational games available for them, too. And she has a couple of Gameboy Advance games for it, they are compatible with it too. She has Build a bear, Dora, Little Einsteins, My Little Pony, and SmartKids for her DS.

If she loves animals, have you looked into the Fur Real Pets? The grandparents just got DD a kitten that purrs, meows, and paws at your lap when pet. She loves that! A little more than just a stuffed animal. And other animals are available.

 

[mommytobug]

I would recommend the Fisher Price Loving Family Dollhouse and some accesories. My dd got hers on her first christmas and still plays with it at 9. Hers is the old version of course but it will last and she can "play" like she does with her animals. Another reccomendation would be the Little People sets. My dd played with those a long time!

 

[kt_mom]

DD5 got the handheld leapster game last year for Christmas and she loves it. SHe has about five games but her favorite is the petshop game. And its nice becuase she takes it with us when we go on road trips.

This year she really doesn't need any more toys. There are toys in her closet from her birthday in March that we haven't even gotten out yet. We are probably going to Disney in the beginning of December and that is going to be our Christmas to her.

From Santa she will probalby get a hamster. She's been wanting a pet and I just can't handle a dog right now. And maybe a nice new jewelry box. She has about 6 or 7 nicer necklaces and they get tangled up in her little wooden musical box. Then there will probably be some more coloring books and reading books and maybe a couple barbies and a few small things. DH and I dont' exchange gifts and I don't it to seem really bare. But she will get plenty of stuff from her grandparents. Maybe I'll wrap up that stuff in her closet. She would never even know the difference.

 

[Subrbnmommy]

Last year, Santa brought my DD4 (at the time) Calico Critters. She loves them. Santa brought the house and Grandma bought the Hamster family & some furniture. The easter bunny also brought accessories. She has so much fun with it, she makes up stories, rearanges furniture, makes extra furniture and accessories with her craft supplies...

Good Luck!

 

[mom2princessj]

If she likes animals have you considered littlest pet shop? I don't know too many girls that aren't into pet shop. My dd is into that and she's 5. She also likes my little pony (although she's outgrowing it a little), barbie, american girl (which you said she didn't know about), disney princess, and she is getting a leapster this year.

I know you said she liked animals and she hasn't been introduced to much else...would you consider this the time to start introducing dolls or barbies? Someone mentioned a doll house...that's a great idea! My dd has a barbie house and she loves it. How about crafts...coloring, finger painting, etc? I know you said she had motor/sensory issues so I'm not sure if she likes these things or would take an interest but my dd loves crafts...she colors and writes all the time. As a matter of fact she is asking santa for a bigger doodle to write on. There is also webkinz.

My daughter gets ideas from going to other kids houses to play and ofcourse tv. But I've introduced her to alot. American Girl came from me introducing her and now she's hooked (yay for me )
Good luck...I have a son too and I find that I could spend all day buying for her but for him...not so much...he's finally into action figures which has been great!

 

[Wild Rider]

We got our youngest a cardboard trunk of dress-up clothes at about that age. She's had a lot of fun with that.

A Disney-related toy that she has loved for years is a Disney Princess sing-along microphone. It plays lots of songs, not just Disney ones, and messages from some of the princesses--she even took it to kindergarten for sharing this year, and the kids had fun singing along to the songs.

 

[kt_mom]

My dd is really into the littlest pet shop. I almost forgot about that. She loves those little things.

 

[Perditamarie]

For the animal lovers, check out the computer game Zoo Tycoon. It is great fun : you build a zoo, make habitats and select animals and run the zoo as a business. There are a bunch of animals and marine creatures to select, even animals like big foot, yeti and dinos. We are always tycoonin' it at our house!!

Also, I found a great wooden treehouse playset on amazon that was really different, and I love that it is not plastic, needs no batteries and will really inspire creative play.

http://www.amazon.com/Maxim-Deluxe-Tree-House-Accessories/dp/B00078ANI4/ref=pd_sbs_t_1

also check out these great sites to be inspired:

http://magiccabin.com/magiccabin/welcome.asp?sc=1004&body_sc=1004&occ=1004&firstEntry=Y

http://hearthsong.com/hearthsong/welcome.asp?sc=1005&body_sc=1005&occ=1005&firstEntry=Y

Also, how about a nice kit w/beads to make necklaces/bracelets ... Melissa and Doug have some nice ones.

 

[disneymomof1]

I was going to say check out Hearth Songs catalog or website. They have great toys that are not geared toward commercialism. We purchase from them all the time and have never been disappointed. My daughter is 5 and loves baby dolls. Last christmas we purchased from the Fisher Price catalog some baby animals (she got monkey and lion), they make sounds but also have a stroller and baby swing/crib. She has played with these all year !!!

 

[mom2princessj]

We got our youngest a cardboard trunk of dress-up clothes at about that age. She's had a lot of fun with that.

A Disney-related toy that she has loved for years is a Disney Princess sing-along microphone. It plays lots of songs, not just Disney ones, and messages from some of the princesses--she even took it to kindergarten for sharing this year, and the kids had fun singing along to the songs.

I totally forgot about dress up...and there is NO WAY I should...my daughter dresses up in dresses, skirts, hats, shoes EVERY DAY! That is probably her favorite thing to do. She wants for christmas some new dresses (she's getting a cinderella dress for our trip to disney for CRT) and some new dress up shoes. That's an EXCELLENT gift for this age group. My dd heads straight for the dress up at any of our friends house. She loves to feel beautiful

 

[eeyorefan74]

My DD7 has been an animal lover since birth. She was never into dolls, but loves stuffed animals, Schleich animals, basically anything animal oriented. One thing we've been buying her for several years is Playmobil. I didn't know much about them, but they're very detailed, intricate playsets, and she loves pretending with them. They have dollhouses, a zoo, Noah's Ark, pirates, gladiators, you name it. She has the zoo and many of the accessory sets and plays with them all the time. They can be hard to find, and sometimes expensive, but I think they're worth it. Target has a few sets, but most of ours have come from smaller specialty toy stores in our area, or online. Ridgeroadstation.com is a good website for them, and they're offering free shipping right now with a certain amount purchased.

Littlest Pet Shop and Webkins are also great. Craft sets, magazine subscriptions- Ranger Rick, National Geographic Kids, might go over well, too.

 

[ChristusG]

Sounds like I'm in the same boat as you!!! My DD is 4.5 right now. She knows nothing of things like High School Musical, Hannah Montana, etc. She still watches only cartoons on TV. She LOVES LOVES LOVES stuffed animals and buys one every time she gets any money. We're going to Disney next week and I'm sure she'll come home with a few new ones. But like you said, how many can we get??? Seriously, we have so many that they are going to need their own room pretty soon!

I'm making a rule this Christmas that if anyone asks what my kids want for Christmas, I'm going to tell them no Barbies, no hot wheels, no trains, no littlest pet shop, no my little ponies, no animal type figures of any kind, no dinosaurs, no doll house sets, and no little people sets. We have bins FULL of those things. And yes, my kids ask for those bins regularly and they play with them.....but we dont need any more! They have hundreds of cars/trains, about 20 ponies, 50 pet shop animals....there's only so many they can play with at one time.

Here's a few things I've come up with that I think that my DD will like.....Playmobil sets. She has two of the tiny sets and loves those things. I think that I'll tell the grandparents to get a few of the larger sets if they ask what she would like. Also, a few new Leapster games.....I know she wants the Disney Princess one and the Clifford one. Another thing is one of those fold out couches that turn into a bed. They are like $30 and have some sort of character on them. She already has one but that thing has had it....she got it at 18 months old and gets used nearly daily. It's one of the best gifts she's ever gotten. So she'll probably get a new one, as well as younger DD (20 months old). She wants a few games that she has seen in the stores. That's a good gift because it gives us time to spend together while playing them. Also maybe a computer game or two. She plays those occasionally and needs some new ones.

I saw something interesting at the store the other day. It's called the V-Tech Kidi Art Studio. My daughter is really into cameras and photography right now. This comes with a camera and it hooks into your TV. You sit as the desk, facing the TV, and you can play around with the photos that you took. You can add faces, whiskers, hats, text, etc. It looks kinda neat. But I'm wondering if it is one of those things that looks better than it actually works.

 

[Survivor:Disney]

Is Playdough too young at this age? My nephew just got a set that comes with a lap desk box with tons of molds, scissors, playdough, etc. and it all fits in the box. Because it is a lap desk type storage, it might be easier to use outside or in the floor so that it doesn't make a mess.

Here's a link:
http://www.target.com/Hasbro-Play-D...e=UTF8&node=382483011&frombrowse=1&rh=&page=1