9 Yr old Niece doesn't want Barbie's / toys

[LizzeyBenett]

What on earth do you buy a 9 year old girl these days ? They all seem to be into skincare and toys and Barbie's are out the window. I'm completely at a loss .

Money

Baking stuff? Art stuff? A bike? Rollerblades? My Dd loved creative stuff at that age (and still does at 13)

Have you asked her what she wants?

A lot of 9-year-olds love Squishmallows - I have 2 daughters and 6 nieces and they seem to be universally loved by all of them!

Not sure what your budget is, but some ideas...
Fake oodie
Cosy blanket
Funky light for room
LED strip lights
Book like Guiness book of records/Weird but true/ Believe it or not
Tie dye kit
Other craft kit - bath bombs/candle maki g/marbling
A few bits from Lush
...or Claire's
Scarf/hat/gloves
Slippers or slipper socks
Make-up/skincare bag with initial on it

Oh yes because it's her birthday and then Christmas and all I got was she doesn't know 😂

@LizzeyBenett what type of things does she already have and enjoys? Can you get things to add to it? What does she "do" in her spare time?
Is she into books? There's a box set of Puffin Modern Classics for £15 in The Works.

I don't think you can go wrong with a squishmallow they all seem to be into them, or maybe a character rucksack. Arty set or get her soapy stuff one of my dds loved that at 9.

perfect girl not into Barbie list.

Dd sounds very similar, she won’t play with Barbie’s etc now

here list would be Squishmallow, lava lamp, denim jacket, Simbrix set, fidget mystery bag, Posca pens, air up bottle

My 9yr old daughter and all her friends are all about squishmallows.

My near enough 9yr olds getting…
Wicca potion box
light up football
snowboarding lessons
ink recipe book
metal detector
printers tray for wall (for fossils etc)
face paint box
badge making machine
chilli plant seeds
percy Jackson graphic novels.

(not all from us)!

That's a bit sad. What about taking her out to theatre/a show?

At 9 mine was lego, Harry Potter, pokemon and Minecraft- combining any of those with lego was even better. Rather than ask what she wants find out about her interests, my own would be blank if you ask her what she wants but gets very enthusiastic talking about lego or Minecraft or pokemon etc

That's a bit sad

It really isn’t.

The pp is right. Squishmallows are universally loved. My 9yo has asked for art and drawing stuff, a slushy cup, hair paints, Harry Potter stuff. Books and Lego still good too.

Nothing sad about it at all!! Not every girl is into Barbie - I certainly wasn’t. That’s a very unidimensional approach.

Is she crafty? Art supplies, Djeco sets, books on how to draw, calligraphy sets, knitting/crochet materials etc.

Is she sporty? Sports watch, new football, tennis racquet, skipping rope, yoga mat etc.

Does she play board games or like puzzles? Great but lesser known games which my kids played at that age are Kingdomino, Patchwork, Azul, Welcome To, Point Salad and Mindbug.

Elena Essex puzzles are absolutely gorgeous.

Techy? Engineering kits, robotics, Lego tech stuff, coding kits. If she has a Switch, there’s a new very highly rated Mario game just out.

My nine year old doesn't really play with toys anymore. @CoffeeChocolateWine 's list is pretty spot on for her - she would love all of that. She also loves the national geographic crystal stuff.

My eldest is in her 30s she wasn't really into toy toys and definitely not Barbie at 9/10 so it's not a new thing it is probably an age thing.

Science kits?
make your own candle/soap/bath Bonn/hair scrunchy/bracelet kit?
explosive kitchen experiments?
Grow crystals?
No good?

‘Grown up perfume’. Things popular at moment are Daisy, D&G Light Blue, Ghost, Arianna Grande Cloud, Rituals minis especially L’Eclat ( smells pleasantly of pencil shavings and Amber wood) etc.
Cute furry handbag - TK Maxx have loads and small ‘trendy’ rucksacks too in shiny metallic colours - with money inside or nice lipsalve, perfume minis (Next do good ones for £6) ,

I’m amazed actually that it’s “a bit sad” or a bit of a conundrum that Barbies can’t be bought. What about the gazillions of make your own X Y Z science tech robotic Lego candle soap bracelet god knows what hands on things available? Vouchers for classes or clubs? Subscriptions to magazines?

Think the Chilis water bottles are still ‘in’!

Left field - at that age my daughter loved the Gallagher Girls spy books - so she got spy kit, covert recording pen, codes books, wig(!),joke moustache and specs, hat, book on female secret agents in wartime. She’s still interested in cybersecurity!

Books, Lego, Harry Potter, coding kits and squishmallows on the list here.