Presents for a 7 year old girl I've never met

[Chocchip88]

I need help!
I have signed up to do a Christmas gift box for a local child. I have been allocated a 7 year old girl, which is great as I only seem to get to buy for boys recently. However I don't know any 7 year old girls and obviously don't know the girl in question and am a bit stumped as to what they are into these days.

So, questions - would she likely be interested in:
Playmobil
Lego
I also want to get a book, would the David Walliams new Demon Dentist be too old for her?

So far I have a selection box, a make your own perfume set, a make your own lip gloss set and I also want to get some crafty things (not actually bought anything yet, it's all just sitting in my amazon basket so if anything is inappropriate please let me know).
I've got just over £20 left to spend after that.
Any advice greatly appreciated

I would think too old for playmobil but Lego good, demon dentist would be fine or any of the Walliams stuff or roald Dahl.

Nice notebooks, pens, pencil cases, hair clips or bobble, little cuddly toys like beanie boos (animals with the big eyes)..

Based on when my dd was 7

Things like tissues with tatty teddy on are good fillers (8 packs for £1 in pound shop!)

I have a 7 year old dd and she loves playmobil - not keen on Sylvanian. Loves beanie boos. Imo books for a child you don't know are tricky as you don't know easy she finds reading.

Moshi monsters. Nice set of colouring pens & colouring book - perfect patterns colouring book etc.. on amazon.
My dd loves card games - rat a tat tat, sleeping queens.

Lovely scheme you're taking part in

It's a lovely thing you're doing

I would avoid books because, as schilke says, you don't know her reading ability.

How about these for ideas:-

Mandala Designer
Wooden Model Construction Kit (Squirrel)
Beads

I have a near 7 year old and second the Playmobil. She's also good with Lego, there are some nice cheapish sets on Amazon for less than £10.

If you want to get a book, I'd get an easy reader book rather than Dahl or Walliams.

Good on you for taking part.

My 7 year old likes lego friends, hello kity, playmobil and craft making kits. David Walliams books look fab (might get these for dd1) but then it depends how well the child reads. My dd's got lots of nice bath things last year which they loved (bath confetti, fizzing bath bombs etc..), felt tip pens and paper are always popular.

The girls here seem to love pretty notebooks and coloured writing pens. An Usborne See Inside book might be nice as you can get as much out of it as you want. A game like Bananagrams?
My niece loved getting a little sponge bag with body shop shower gel, shampoo and lip balm in it.

My nearly 6 yr old likes;

Lego friends
Hex Bugs (Really well priced in The Entertainer)
Barbie
Fur Real toys or similar (Walking dogs, cats, rabbits or whatever)
One Direction
Anything to do with horses.
Activity books with stickers etc.
Making stuff (jewellery, painting by numbers, dress designing...again The Entertainer shop is really good for these)

Thanks everyone lots of helpful suggestions. I'll have a look at everything properly this evening.
With regards to the book it was suggested we include one, but appreciate reading levels can vary enormously at that age. The BBC is doing a production of Roald Dahl's Esio Trot that is going to be premiered this Christmas, I was also considering getting this book, thinking at least if it's not something she is able to read right now she would maybe be encouraged a bit by it being on tv?

Demon Dentist - I'm just reading this with my 12 year old. It's a horror story - quite bloodthirsty in parts (eg dentist pulling out all of boy's teeth) so I wouldn't recommend for a child I didn't know!
How about something by Jacqueline Wilson?
If you have a Hobbycraft near you, they have loads of brilliant craft stuff in kits etc.

Cool stationery always goes down well IME, little sets of pens and pencils, pencil tins, notebooks, erasers in funky shapes. Paperchase is great for this, but this year I had to buy for one 7yo girl at the last minute and got a selection of really nice stuff from a Waitrose - the mum later told me it was her favourite present.

Lego friends, notebooks, felt tips, doodle books, bath stuff, nail varnish, notelets or writing paper sets, board games or card games (eg uno, pictionary).

Yeah, I can see your thinking with Esio Trot. It's something that an adult could maybe read to her too, I suppose.

You could always get her a Where's Wally book, or a book of Spot the Difference, or Wordsearches or something else along those lines. That way her reading ability won't matter so much.

I know I said before, but it is a really lovely thing you're doing.

Please don't get her anything by Jacqueline Wilson. These books can be so bleak!

Hetty Feather- Read in school as a class read, informs that people who kill themselves go to Hell. OK, this may reflect the attitudes of people in Victorian times (when the book is set), but do you really want a little girl whose father's just killed himself to hear this?

Sorry for the rant but, if you don't know her situation, Jacqueline Wilson books are best avoided.

Go with Winnie the Witch or Charlie and Lola books. Funny pictures, funny stories. Not something she'll be able to read on her own if she's a weak reader, but it wouldn't be long if she can't. Not sure why I'm thinking an adult wouldn't read with her, but I'd rather go with the possibility of her having to read it herself.

I have a seven year old DD.

I would agree with crafty sets, stationery kits, hair bobbles and the like.

In terms of books, my DD likes reading the magic puppy rubbish / rainbow fairies crap, Enid Blyton (Amelia Jane books) and some Roald Dahl. She wouldn't like Charlie and Lola (too babyish) and not quite reading for David Walliams yet.

She's not into Barbie / play mobile etc any more - too babyish apparrently!

She does however like board games, and stompees. They're slippers and all the rage this year!

An annual could be the answer to the book problem. Easy to read , quizzes and puzzles and lots of pictures. For a seven year old girl maybe Moshi Monsters/ Horrible Histories/ Beano /Dandy.

YY to an annual - Rainbow Fairies annual would have gone down a treat with every 7 y/o girl I've ever known. And it doesn't matter so much about reading ability as insanity says. Ditto Horrible Histories also very popular.
I definitely wouldn't go for Esio Trot as IME Roald Dahl gets done to death in school.

My girls are 6 and 8. Both like sylvanians, playmobil, lego friends. anything crafty, anything bubble bathy, older dd loves David Walliams books but may be a bit grown up for a 7 yr old, agree with the annual idea for a child you don't know, anything moshi monsters esp the moshi monsters guess who game, glittery pens, notebooks etc

The usborne colouring and design books are great, my dd recently got one and loves it. Bargain if you can get free delivery and it's great value

www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_product_tbp?productId=311925&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&searchTerm=Usborne

An annual is a great idea! I used to look forward to getting mine every year. Do they still do Bunty?!

My 10 to DS has just finished Demon Dentist, and no way would I recommend it to a 7 yo you don't know. Without wanting to give away the plot, it is too frightening for that age IMO, esp if you don't know her.

Sorry to actually answer your question, my 7 yo DD loves the Klutz activity books.

This is a big favourite
And this

DD is almost 7.
She loves diaries that lock,
she likes hama beads,
she likes colouring and making bead necklaces etc.
Hair bobbles etc always go down well, and those pretty threads of butterflies that hang down in front of windows.

My DD(7) got a lego friends pencil case for her Birthday, she loved that. Also, she loves all soft toys almost to the exclusion of everything else! She has started to be able to build lego kits by herself. She is a struggling reader, so whilst something like Rainbow fairies would be fine, she wouldn't be able to read it alone (many 7 yo and younger can though). She loves getting new hair things. Also games - we got her Qwirkle for her Birthday which is an 'easy to get the hang of' strategy game which went down well.