Gift Ideas for the 8 Year Old Girl

I am always asking my grandchildren what their favorite gift might be or have they seen any new toys that look like a hot seller this year. And, they can always give me a list three miles long. If you sit down and watch television with them you will know what I mean. Every commercial has fifteen different toys and they want fourteen of them.I've always had more fun shopping for girl gifts than I have for the boy stuff. For boys it has always been cars and trucks, race tracks and building toys. But, for girls...the shopping list is endless. There is so much to choose from. I'm hoping this lens gives you some great ideas for your little girl. No matter if she is a princess or tomboy here are some gifts she will love.

Remember, you have to know your little girl. Is she a tomboy and into sports? Or, is she a little princess and loves all the bling. Maybe she loves being outside getting dirty but when it comes to the Christmas party at church or school she wants all the bling. I have purposely left out clothing as a gift idea but it should never be eliminated from your list. For instance, when I asked my grand-daughter what she wanted for her birthday this year she said, with no hesitation, shoes! Now remind you this little one will be 8 years old and all ready knows how important shoes are to a woman.

For girls who love syle and design

This is this years HOT ITEM for the young girl ages 7 and up. Some of the younger girls might be able to play with this toy, and it is a toy, but it might also cause some frustration. I would recommend ages 7 through 10.

The Harumika is a designer dress form in which you use material to make your own clothing line. It is a small mannequin type form that you wrap material around and the form has a small slit in the back where you push the excess material and Voila....you have a dress or whatever her little imagination will come up with. The set includes the material to get you started and also some acessories.

If you have a young girl that loves fashion and has a great imagination this gift would be perfect. It provides hours of entertainment for one or two young girls. I've heard that even some of the older girls have fun designing clothes.

I think that this will be a hot item on the Christmas list of young girls.

Every little girl loves to be in the kitchen with mom or grandma while there is baking going on. What little girl doesn't love to bake cookies or a batch of brownies?

There are so many different cooking sets for the 7 and 8 year old little girls. They make great gifts for that little baker of yours. Some can be used in the kitchen and some are for pretend. I can remember all of my older grandaughters having fun at their pretend tea parties. We still have some of the tea sets.

As for the baking well you can go all out crazy and buy the kid size appliances for pretend or you can buy the kid size real deal. These actually work and with a little supervision can produce some fun food.

These toys are classics and every Christmas you will find a lot of choices and of course every year they come out with something new.

I've got to tell you, that one year we were the "favorite" grandpa and grandma. One summer we went out and bought Wii games for all of our children. Well not all....one game per household. It was the year that Wii was just hitting the market and they were hard to find. We just happened into Walmart one evening when they had just received around 10 new Wii games and we bought 3 of them. Big Hit at Christmas time.

Can you remember a gift that went over big?

Do you know of a little girl that doesn't like to talk? Especially on the phone.

If you have a daughter or a granddaughter who is around 7 or 8 years old and she has an older sibling that has a "real" phone you will be able to relate to this. My granddaughter envies her older sisters phone and she wants one really, really bad. But, her mom and dad have said no, not until you are in junior high school. This granddaughter would sell her own blood to get a phone!

Here is the perfect gift for her. The walkie talkie. They really work and they can talk with their family or friends. They even have them that are flip phone walkie talkies. That is just about perfect.

Playing make believe

Little girls love makeup. All kinds of makeup. I've purchased little makeup kits for all of my grandaughters and they loved them.

You can find things that are all inclusive in a makeup case or you can be creative and buy a pretty little box and fill it with lip gloss, nail polish and cologne.

We use to have a store in the mall near our home called Libby Lou. It was filled with glitter and glam. Everything from t-shirts with sequins, tennis shoes with colorful laces and sequins, makeup cases, fairy dust and feathered boas. It was always packed with moms and their young daughters. If you wanted a diamond tiara this is the store you went to first. I don't know what happened but it closed about two years ago. But, this I do know. The girls, ages 5 to 10, loved this store.

So, if you want to make a hit with your little girl you can't go wrong with fairy dust and make up.

So many great things out there for little girls. Let your imagination run wild. Think of bling, think of something fun and remember that you are the one who knows your child and her interest. Here are some other ideas.

Child's Sewing Machine - great for the child with her own style or the child who is still into dolls and wants to make her own clothes.

Anti Gravity Jump Boot - If you have an active daughter she will love these

Piano Mat - Like the one seen in the movie Big. Boys and girls love to jump on this thing and it is great for more than one child.

Huffy Green Machine - This is the first thing my grandchildren go for when coming to visit. Children of all ages love this bike.

Digital Cam Corder - Children are very electonic smart these days. The digital cam corder is great for your little girl especially if she is into sports, cheerleading or gymnastics. They are easy to use and connect easily with the computer.

Girls Quad Roller Skates - They can be used inside or out and you can even find some with pink wheels.

Craft Sets - There are many, many craft sets to choose from including crayons, paints, jewelry and colognes.

If you want to know what every little girl wants this year....it is Squinkies. Parents Magazine voted this one of the Best Toys of the Year. That is quite an accomplishment.

Don't know what a Squinkie is? Well, you can ask just about any child and they will tell you. Squinkies are little tiny toys that come inside a bubble. You know the "gumball" type machines that are found in restaurants, movie theaters and grocery stores and they hold little toys inside a bubble. The Squinkies are based on this concept but much more.

They are soft and squishy. Each one comes inside a bubble. They come in all different styles from different animals to babies. Currently there are 6 different series with more to come. You can get them as bracelets, rings and pencil toppers. But the main idea is to collect them. As many of them as you can.

If you find them, snatch them up because they are selling like hotcakes and sometimes are hard to find. But all girls from age 5 to 12 or 13 will adore collecting these tiny little Squinkies.

Want to see a happy little girl? Give her a box full of crayons, scissors, tape, glue and markers and she will stay busy for hours.

This is one of my favorite gifts. I filled a pretty box full of art supplies. Crayons, all kinds of markers, different types of scissors, a punch, some stamps, glue and rulers along with tape. Little tins of glitter and lots of paper. All kinds of paper. Construction paper, white copy paper and little notebook paper. I wish I had a picture of her face when she opened that box. Well, that was 2 years ago and she still has that box.

The latest craze

This adorabel mini robot is the latest thing for little girls. What a great birthday gift or Christmas present.

These adorable little creatures interact with your child by dancing and speaking. They will dance when you poke or squeeze them and they will dance to your music when you play it for them. These little robots say key phrases which will delight your child.

There are several to choose from.....Sage, Willa, Serafina and Logan. It will be hard to make a choice but maybe your little girl will have a favorite color.

Barbie was invented in 1959 by Ruth Handler, co-founder of Mattel Toys, and introduced to the public at The American Toy Fair in New York City.

The first Barbie Doll sported a ponytail hair-do, black and white zebra striped swim suit, open toed shoes, sunglasses and earrings. You could also purchase a long line of fashion clothing, shoes and accessories. Today the skies the limit on what you can buy "Barbie".

In 1961 emerged the Ken doll with Midge following in 1963. Skipper joined the family in 1964 and was the first Barbie doll to open and close her eyes. Then Christie appeared in 1968, and she was the first African American Barbie Doll. Many other Barbie Doll friends were to follow.

The Barbie Doll has long been a favorite of many little girls and is as popular today as it was back in 1961. Look for the pink aisle in the store and you are sure to find Barbie and all of her accessories. Doll houses, cars, furniture and much more.

Over the years the Barbie Doll has achieved the title of "Most Popular fashion doll". You can't go wrong with a Barbie Doll.

Do you know someone who plays or played with Barbie Dolls?

Appearing like any other stuffed animal with big eyes looking at you from the store shelf, soft and cuddly to hold the Webkinz is a "web play" toy.

These cute little animal critters are all the rage. Each year new Webkinz appear so your child will certainly want to start a collection. With each Webkinz comes a little plastic pocket and inside each pocket is a secret code. You go to the Webkinz website ( www.webkinz.com) put in the code and there appears Mrs.Plumpy, the animated bird, that takes you step by step to adopt your new Webkinz on line.

Now your Webkinz can live in the virtual world on line. You can build your Webkinz a house, decorate the house and even dress your Webkinz in different outfits. You play games and answer trivia questions to earn KinzCash which is how you purchase things for your house. Isn't it amazing what our children can do.

What gift would be on your little girl's list?