Can you help me buy for my daughter?

[Sallystyle]

We are getting stuck and there is a lot of good shoppers on MN.

DD will be 9. It's her birthday a few days before Xmas as well. Her list consists of one CD and that took her ages to think of. I think we will get her a bike for her birthday as she does enjoy riding the one round her grandparents but has grown out of her bike here.

I am looking to spend around £100-150. She is a very mature girl for her age, she is getting a Spanish and French dictionary from MIL that she asked for ages ago. She does love learning, some novelty stationary stuff might be a nice idea. She loves to read but I know extended family will buy her lots of books. She isn't really into clothes, or dolls, or playsets. In her spare time she reads, and makes up maths quizzes for her little sister. She does love to play teachers, and loves preparing lessons, again her little sister gets the benefit of this

I am really struggling. She has been working on her list for a while and came down all exited when she thought of an Ed Sheeran CD.

She has a tablet so that is out.

If you can think of any ideas at all I would really appreciate it.

Would she like an electric keyboard? that is what my 9yr old dd is getting - it was about £70 from Amazon on a stand and she can plug headphones in so it won't drive us all nuts.

Ohh there are some great ideas there.

A subscription she would love. Headphones she needs, she definitely needs a new desk as well. I might see if I can find someone that does French or Spanish lessons for a decent price as she has been trying to teach herself.

Thank you!

Not sure about the keyboard. I know she would like it but I'm not sure for how long. I must admit that I've been thinking of getting one for myself though

That reminds me that she has mentioned wanting to learn to play the flute as well.

We bought dd a block of horse riding lessons for her 9th birthday.
Quite competitive rates round here as it's quite a horsey area.
She hadn't asked for anything particular and her friend had received the same for her birthday previously and told dd all about it.
Although dd hadn't ever expressed an interest in horses, she absolutely loved it and we did the same for her on her 10th birthday.
Worth a thought!!

May be as an alternative gifts, I would prefer any adventure, interactive device, toys that will be fun and engaging based on their interest. I have checked a few items at one of the Black Friday deals, here it is: goo.gl/ljKvTd. Anything fun learning is recommended.

My dd loves playing teachers, we bought her a white board easel from ikea and then on eBay they sell real school registers which she loved and then a lanyard id badge and some Pens etc she still plays with it all now and so does her younger sister.

Cool pix waterproof camera?

If subscription, how about The Phoenix or Aquila?

iPod or kindle? For music and books

Science stuff, crystal making kits, geodes, goldiblox, things to encourage STEM subjects.

Today I got my 8 yr old a stop-frame animation kit from Waterstones; had no idea what to get him, but saw that in Waterstones and thought it looked cool. In fact, Waterstones had loads of cool stuff besides books, so worth a look generally!

What about sonething like snap circuits?

I was similar at 9 and one of the best presents I ever had was one of those massive selection boxes of different types of pens, I think it was every pen made by papermate. I still think of it fondly!

Smiggle stationery - v. popular according to my DD.

This might be of use to you re your daughter:

I have just read about Kloo games on the Christmas Bargain thread (11) - they do French and Spanish games for learners (school age). I've bought one for my young DDs (but an English one as they can't read yet!). Excellent value and free P&P, plus one pound off if you subscribe to their newsletter.

From what I could see, the games looked really outstanding. They are used in schools too. I used to be a French teacher and I would've loved this kind of resource to use in the classroom! Your daughter might enjoy one of the French games (you mentioned she is getting a Fr/Eng dictionary I think).

www.kloogames.com

Ah I see she learns Spanish too - they do the games in Spanish too!

I second easily for a stop frame animation kit. My ds (11) got one for his 10th bday and still uses it. It's by Hue and I really recommend it. It's £50 (it was £50 when we bought it too ) on amazon. It really makes use of his imagination. She'll need access to a pc or mac obv.

By the way U2 your daughter sounds lovely and unspoilt. Dh and I were asking for ideas from our dd (3yrs) and she already has quite a list!

What about a nice tin of watercolour pencils? Also on Amazon you can get 'teacher record books'for making a school register.

Ed Sheehan poster for her bedroom maybe.
Concert tickets to see him.
I take my dd to watch athletics which she loves, tickets are on sale for Birmingham in June at the mo.
Trainers.
Sewing machine.
Hot water bottle with cover (Dunelm do some cool covers!)
New bag/rucksack.
Cool socks.
Hoodie.

Framed photo for her bedroom.
Her name in letters/lights.
New rug for her bedroom.
Waitrose wooden crate thing with movie night stuff in, hot chocolate, DVDs, popcorn etc.

Am out of ideas!

Some of these ideas are really good.

I now have enough to get her presents! Thank you everyone. I really appreciate all the help.

By the way U2 your daughter sounds lovely and unspoilt

She is. unlike her 6 year old sister who wants the world

I got the KLOO games. They do look awesome. Im about to buy some more of the stuff listed here.