Gift Guide for Little Girls (12 Days of Christmas Family Fun)

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I may have started out my parenting career with FOUR boys, but we’ve got two girls at the end of the train. I’m learning afresh what makes a little girl smile and what makes a good gift.

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Over the weekend, I shared my gift guide for boys, aged 5 to 15. Experience tells me that a guy of any age, really, would enjoy one of those gifts. So, here we are with the female version.

At first glance, this gift guide may look extremely “feminine.” To be honest, I tried to reduce the amount of pink because I really don’t care for pink. But, my my five year old and three year old daughters? They love pink.

My older girl got absolutely giddy when she saw this picture. All of these items are things that would send her over the moon with joy. I had to remind her that she pretty much already owns something  of each of these items.

That said, each of my two little girls really and truly loves each of these kind of gifts. Here’s the rundown of our FishChick gift guide for little girls.

Dress Up Clothes

My boys always loved to dress up as cowboys, natives, pirates, Romans, and Patriots. It was a very big deal for them. We’ve saved the costumes, and the girls have enjoyed those same costumes, with a few additions, of course.

Princess costumes and a few crowns have entered the mix. Last year, I bought my girls these Cinderella costumes. I’ve been really impressed with the quality of these gowns. They’ve definitely held up to lots of play.

Play Kitchen & Play Food

We have almost always had some kind of play kitchen or BBQ for all our kids. Last year, we invested in a larger wood kitchen for the girls to play with. We got ours at IKEA. It’s been a great addition to our girls’ playtime.

In my efforts to go away from plastics, we’ve invested in some felt and wood toys. My girls have enjoyed playing with their Melissa and Doug Cookies, Haba petit fours, and Green Toys Tea Set. This year, we’re adding a few items to the collection, including some handmade items from The Felted Pear.

Books

My kids are all bookworms, much to their mother’s pleasure. The girls enjoy any books. Some of their favorites include Mashed Potatoes, Fancy Nancy and the Posh Puppy, and Dora’s Potty Book, complete with flushing sound.

While they really do enjoy Dora and Fancy Nancy, I’m looking to add some more classic tomes to their personal collections this year. I’ve already bought each of the boys a book for Christmas, I’d love your recs for the girlies.

Art Supplies

While I’m not quite brave enough to give the girls full reign on independent art, they sure do love it. Talking with a friend recently reminded me how much they would love some time doing art.

When FishChick5 saw the picture above she cried because she wanted all those things. When I told her she had them already, she protested that she didn’t have paint. Well, we have paint, I’m just usually too chicken to pull it out for the girls to do. The boys and I have done painting during their naptime for years. So, it’s time to bust out the paints that we already own.

Kitchen Gear

I’m an apron girl. Since I tend to wipe my hands on my clothes, better to wipe them on my apron! And the girls love to have their own aprons to wear. And there tend to be some squabbles over favorite aprons.

Baby Dolls, etc

Both my girls love to play with baby dolls. We have a number of them. This year instead of adding to the collection of dolls, I’m looking to find some accessories, like clothes and diapers, so that they can continue to play with the babies they already have. I would love to find a doll stroller that wasn’t a piece of junk, but believe it or not, FishChick3 is just as content to use her old umbrella stroller. Works for me!

These are the basics of what my girls are “into.” They love Duplos and blocks and swords and Little People, too. But, I’m guessing since we already own all of those things, they aren’t items they would request. Girlie stuff, however, has thus far been a novelty for them since those are new additions in their lifetimes.

12 Days of Christmas

This week we’re sharing quick and easy ideas for family fun while some friends are sharing tips in different areas.

Want to plan a fabulous holiday? A Simpler Season holds almost everything you need to do just that.

This guide to planning the winter holidays provides creative ideas , time-saving tips, and budget-minded inspiration for making the most of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. With the busy family in mind, I’ve provided recipes, to-do lists, children’s activity sheets, planning pages, gift ideas, and step-by-step tutorials for creating homemade gifts. It’s all in here.

What do YOUR little girls enjoy?

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15 Comments

  1. Love your ideas–they are all the favorites of my girls too. My middle child got that exact same Cinderella dress two years ago for Christmas. Crafty gifts are a big hit for us, especially the new sticker mosaics. Also the knitting/crochet kits. They keep little hands busy in productive ways! We also love our doll–my oldest daughter got a Target brand for Christmas last year but is getting a “friend” this year and we are splurging for the real American Girl because she actually plays with her doll more than any other toy.

  2. I just found the coolest girl’s gift idea… I had really been struggling for what to get my 9 year old niece… then I found this a site called, “Fashion Playtes.” The girls get to design their own clothes (and ones for dolls as well.) I checked it out and the prices are totally reasonable. (I designed a “practice” girls dress and doll’s dress, just to see what the price would be, for $36) Even though the prices are reasonable, they are made even more reasonable with this deal at Plum District. If you’ve never bought anything before through them, you’ll get a $5 credit through this link… then, if you click “Like” for their Facebook page, you’ll get a $5 promo code… making it $10 for a $40 gift certificate (She can make and design at least one dress and one doll dress for that) https://www.plumdistrict.com/?ref=ud649e6fa234

    This is my promo link… feel free not to use it, I’m just not sure if you still get the $5 sign up bonus without a referral.

  3. Jewelry, hair accessories, dolls and doll clothes, fuzzy blanket, camera, craft supplies, books… It’s easy to buy for a girl, right? 🙂

  4. I have 3 girls, and you pretty much got all their favorites in your list! My oldest did odd jobs & saved her money for 2 years to buy an American Girl doll because I told her they were too expensive. She was so proud when she got that doll knowing she’d earned all the money for it herself (she was 6)! The doll has definitely lived up to the hype. She’s 8 now & it’s still her favorite! My second girl is more excited by art supplies. Last year, her aunt included a multi-pack of scotch tape in her gift. Her response: “Best gift ever! Winner!!” Wish I’d had the video rolling 🙂

  5. Thank you for the shout out! I had such fun making things for the Fishchicks!

    As far as books, my daughter (3.5) really likes, Madeline, Little Bear, most things by Kevin Henkes, Tommie de Paolo, and the Yoko books by Rosemary Wells. As far as a doll stroller, we bought the American Girl bitty baby one when she was one. It goes on walks *all*the*time, outside and inside, and more toddlers have sat in it and it is still going strong. It is more expensive than some, but it is a work horse for us.

    Doll baby diapers and bibs are easy to sew, let me know if you need a few links to get you started!

  6. Ramona and Beezus, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, The Magic School Bus , a book entitled Wild About Books, Amelia Bedilia, Junie B. Jones. Not all are just for girls, just books both my girls enjoyed.

    My youngest has enjoyed a Rhyming Bible for many many years, (I believe it was intended for pre-school aged kiddos). Although she just received her 3rd grade bible, she adores her little girl bible. I like it because the stories are put in a way that is easy for a kiddo to learn and master and are in the same order as a regular bible. Great lists! Keep’em coming!

  7. 1) Thanks for the link – so glad to hear that your girls are still enjoying the book! That’s always so nice to hear! 🙂

    2) I finally got MY list of Christmas books up on the blog if you want to check that out for some book ideas: http://www.carriesbusynothings.com/2011/12/of-reading-and-recommendations-final.html

    3) I had one American Girl doll as a child (and I had to pay for her), but my mom always came through with new outfits (that she made – she wouldn’t pay the prices for the “real” clothes) and accessories and kept me going with those for many years. And for the record, I’ve seen pictures of me pushing all of my stuffed animals around in my old stroller. If it works, go with it! 🙂

    Hope you’re having a great Christmas season! Blessings!

      1. My mom did that, too! I have a huge collection of Kirsten clothes, at least half of which was made by Mom. They’re awesome.

        I did have a doll stroller. I abused that sucker, RAN it over the cracks in the sidewalk, stepped on the bar in the back to pretend I had wheel stoppers, wore out one of the belts to hold the dolls, and it’s still being used by my nieces. Great toy. Probably because I broke the umbrella stroller after abusing it too much. I was hard on my toys.

    1. I struggled with the idea of buying an American Girl Doll (they are soooo expensive!) and when my daughter asked for it she was only 4 (almost 5.) But, I must say, it’s 2 years later and it is still her most played with toy. I don’t know what it is that makes it different from other dolls, but for some reason it is… She has another “fake” American girl, but it is always passed over in lieu of the real one… The great thing is that once you have one- the future gift ideas are endless (and the accessories don’t have to be “real.” We have all sorts of Target “fake American Girl stuff.”)