What's a good birthday present for my soon-to-be six year-old niece?

October 16, 2019 7:07 PM

She's learning to read, she likes Minnie Mouse and Wonder Woman, unicorns and bunnies, and loves music and dancing. She's great.
posted by boghead to Shopping (9 answers total)

Best answer: Books. All the books. Six is a great age where most kids are moving beyond 'baby books' into 'bigger kid books'. If they are a bit hard, thats okay, shes growing fast. It doesn't matter if they are cheesy books about unicorns, and bunnies. Kids who grow up LOVING books get to the 'good' stuff eventually. If you're really unsure, choose one book locally, and then put in a gift card to (ideally) a kid friendly non-chain bookstore near her, or Chapters, or even online if she lacks local options.

Second best option: An experience. If you can do it with her, perfect, if not ask the parental units about a 'membership' for the year. The Zoo. The Aquarium. A local pool/rec center. Children's Museum. Something she can do a few times over a year will give her a different experience each time, and is sometimes much cheaper than you expect. If costs are prohibitive, even a single time visit is awesome, but if parental unit money is tight, include some 'spending money' if you can for a snack/special gift shop trip.
posted by Northbysomewhatcrazy at 7:38 PM on October 16, 2019 [4 favorites]

a copy of rabbit hill
posted by brujita at 8:15 PM on October 16, 2019

Books! My kid loved the Elephant and Piggie series when she was learning to read. If not books, how about a magazine subscription? There's Highlights, Cricket publishing, Ranger Rick, all have a publication for early readers. Art supplies and stickers are also always appreciated.
posted by arrmatie at 8:50 PM on October 16, 2019 [1 favorite]

DC Superhero Girls action figures, book series, seconding the Elephant and Piggie series, though I think if your niece turns out to be a fast reader, she'll move on really quickly to chapter books, and then I would recommend the Hamster Princess series. For something more creative, Target has a great paint your own unicorn set, and puzzles might be something she would like.
posted by toastyk at 10:36 PM on October 16, 2019

+1 for Hamster Princess
+1 for Highlights

Other things that were hits:
Indoor Blackboard + Chalk
Slime kits (though you can also DIY)
Depending on her backpack situation - "color-changing" backpack (the one with sequence that can be flipped in different directions.

This might be a bit much, but I got my kid's old laptops with Linux on it (planning on upgrading it to a not very expensive Chromebook). Bookmarked PBS Games, Nick Jr. Games, etc. They love it.

Experiences are always fun as well.
posted by pyro979 at 5:49 AM on October 17, 2019

wonder woman bunny stuffed animal. this has been on my wishlist for years even tho i am old and have no use for it. it is adorable.
posted by misanthropicsarah at 6:36 AM on October 17, 2019

Behold, the solar-powered rainbow maker. Kinda pricey, but it transforms any room with sunlight into a freaking magical grotto. Alternatively, take her to the zoo/children's museum and buy her a family membership while you're there.
posted by DSime at 8:28 AM on October 17, 2019

A subscription box for something she likes. Then she gets to get mail every month! Cratejoy has a bunch for kids.
posted by Weeping_angel at 11:33 AM on October 17, 2019

Narwhal and Jelly series.
Schleich animals (we play with these almost every day -- there are many animals and also fairies and mermaids) and a playmat (if you are crafty).
Hanna Andersson has some cute Wonder Woman stuff -- costumes and pajamas.
A bunch of random art supplies in a box -- fun stuff like glitter, jewel tapes, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, sequins, jewels, etc.
Gem tumbler.
Geodes you can break open (on amazon).
An old school tape player and cassettes of dance music/audio books.
Lego (pretty sure there are WW ones).
Magnatiles.

As a parent, I always vote for an experience if possible. There's just. so. much. stuff.
posted by mrfuga0 at 6:49 PM on October 17, 2019