Great Christmas gifts for girls 5 to 8 in 2012

Christmas is only a few paychecks away yet again. Time to find the best Christmas gifts now, before they fly off the store shelves. As with any gifts, what is the right gift will depend on the girl. However, the popular gifts listed are considered popular because a large number of girls want them.

There is no question about what the top toy for most girls between the ages of 5 and 8 is this year. Anything Lalaloopsy is flying off the shelves already. The large dolls are extremely popular, and there is a nice variety of them to choose from. However, some people are buying many different Lalaloopsy dolls, not just one. I have found them around $30, but there are some around $50. The mini Lalaloopsy dolls are also very popular. They make great small gifts or stocking stuffers.

Monster High dolls are also still popular. They just came out with a new line that seems to be popular. The one hour TV special is only going to increase the popularity of the Monster High dolls. I suspect that Abby Bominable is going to be a popular doll. Though I think Clawdeen Wolf, Draculaura and Franki Stein are going to continue to be very popular as well. I know my daughter would love to receive more Monster High dolls for Christmas. However I found a Monster High video game, which is a great gift. Monster High Ghoul Spirit was released on October 11, 2011. It is available for Nintendo DS and the Wii. The Monster High books, written by Lisi Harrison, may also be a good gift option.

Fijit Friends is another top requested Christmas gift. It is interactive, dances and tells jokes. The kids seem to all respond to the commercials. However, I am not sure how sustainable this toy will be once the first thrill of playing with it passes. The kids seem to love it and ask for it every time they see the commercial, but as a parent I am not drawn to it at all. But then I am not the one who would be playing with it. Who knows, maybe the Fijit Friends will entertain the kids longer then a day or two. As always though it is about what the kids want, not how long they will play with the toy and they seem to love Fijit Friends.

Furreal Friends toys are consistently popular. The small Furreal Friends animals are wonderful for small gifts and stocking stuffers. They even seem to maintain children’s interest. My daughter still plays with the ones she received last Christmas and the last two birthdays. However, she treats them more like dolls then moving toys. The larger Furreal Friends are always popular Christmas gifts. This year Cookie my playful pup is getting a lot of attention. So are the Furreal Friends Newborns, Walking Kitty and Go-Go Playful Pup.

The Teacup Piggy Basic and other Teacup Piggies are cute and little girls seem to like them. They combine the appeal of baby dolls and animals.

Swquinkies and Zoobles are also great Christmas gifts. There are Swquinkies and Zoobles gift for every budget. There are large items – play areas for the Swquinkies and Zoobles and there are small individual Swquinkies and Zoobles for small gifts or stocking stuffers. The Zoobles are like a colourful variation on bakugan. They role, pop open and can be played with. Swquinkies are little dolls, animals and other characters to play with. Swquinkies and Zoobles look cool and they actually get played with. Mind you, they can get lost quickly.

The Wii or Nintendo 3DS can get a great reaction on Christmas morning. More importantly there are always new games coming out that will also get great reactions. For example last year Zu Zu pets where big last year, we found a Zu Zu pets Wii game, which actually got more play time then the actual Zu Zu pets the kids received at Christmas. I found a wonderful Monster High Doll Wii game that I expect will be popular with my daughter for a long time. There is even a Lalaloopsy DS game out this year.

Littlest Pet Shop and Polly Pocket always have new toys that are popular. This year both the Littlest Pet Shop and Polly Pocket have jets out this year. The joy of the Littlest Pet Shop and Polly Pocket is that there is always something new. The toys will range from the very small, and inexpensive, to large and expensive.

Barbie, the always popular theme gift. There are more Barbie gift ideas than ever. There are always new Barbie’s out. Then there are the accessories, cars, pools, planes and even castles. Barbie has more clothing options then most fashion lines. There are movies, video and board games, books and more. You can find clothing, posters, furniture and even crafts with the Barbie theme.

There are many more Christmas gift ideas for girls between 5 and 8. I have only listed ones that have stood out so far this year. If you think a gift is perfect then it probably is, even if it is not on this list or any others. It is about finding the right gift, not always the most popular one.

Top six Easter gifts for girls 5 to 7 years old in 2011

Easter will be here very shortly. This year my daughter has helped me create a list of what she thinks would be the best gifts for the Easter bunny to give her. Of course there will be the usual chocolate and other goodies hidden for the kids to find but I do like to give each of them one bigger gift, or a couple of smaller toys for them to find.



Lalaloopsy dolls
She has been asking for a Lalaloopsy doll since before Christmas. I am not so sure what the appeal is but she thinks they are great. Yes they are bright and different looking, very creative. She seems to like Jewel Sparkles with the Pet Pink Cat the most. I have found Lalaloopsy dolls costing $29.99 (toysrus.ca) up to $70.00 depending where you look. The Lalaloopsy mini dolls are $6.99 (Toysrus.ca). I can see a mini finding its way into her Easter basket. It is cute and not too expensive.



Monster High dolls
Yet another toy she has wanted since before Christmas. Most of her school friends have at least one of the Monster High dolls and brings them to school all the time. I think my daughter feels left out because they have them and she does not. She has never seen the show so her only contact with the dolls has been commercials and her friends. She wants the Clawdeen Wolf one. I would have thought Cleo de Nile because she is like a princess or Draculaura because she has a lot of pink. No, she really likes Clawdeen Wolf. I have found Clawdeen Wolf from $16.99 to $19.99 online.



Furreal friends
Furreal friends she has been collecting for at least a year. She has dogs, cats and a racing bunny with track. It comes as no surprise she would like more. She has been asking about the furreal friends Kitty Cat ever since she saw it in a store. It is around $50. She also loves the furreal friends snuggimals dress ‘n snuggle, they even have a bunny one that is around $17. I can usually find small furreal friends between $7 and $13 at Walmart.





Zhu Zhu pets
These were big around Christmas. She has a couple from Christmas but she would like a puppy just like her friends at school has. They are very popular right now with all the girls in her class. I found them for about $11. What she has been getting is the baby Zhu Zhu pets. They don’t require batteries, they just have a little ball on the bottom that the role on. They come with accessories, are small and usually under $7. There are many Zhu Zhu pet accessories she would love as well.



Build a bear
Build a bear is always a hit with my kids and they have bunnies. A couple of build a bears stood out to me, the lamb and a bunny. I think that they are cute. However, the real charm of build a bear is that the kids get to build the bear and bring it to life. It is not the same to be given a build a bear as it is to make your own. I would put a build a bear gift certificate in her basket before I would give her an actual “made” build a bear. The clothing on the other hand has unlimited possibilities. She already has a build a bear, so clothing for that build a bear is a great option. The clothing can start off as little as $4 but is usually in the $10 to $20 range. It would be easy to pick up a couple of small pieces or an entire outfit for Easter.




Lego
My daughter would play with my son’s Lego but never seemed to get into like he does. Then for her birthday she was given a “girls” Lego set. The Lego was pink, white and other light colours. The figure was a girl and she could make pets, there were stickers for eyes, flowers and other cool things. Suddenly she was playing Lego all the time, building things and talking about getting more “girl” Lego. I think part of the fun was that I was right there with her, playing and building. There is some wonderful “girl” Lego out there, any and all of it she would like. She would love the pink Lego box with 219 pieces for $21.99 or the large pink Lego box for $39.99, that one even has a horse. I really like the Lego Ville Pet Shop I found for $29.99. It has a girl figure and several pets and it is a little shop. Very cool. I do know she also likes the Mystery Lego Minifigure bags. They are only $2.99 each and it is fun to see what you get. Both my kids are starting to collect them. However they do have an agreement that any girl figures my daughter gets.