Mothers of girls - help me! I am sat here with a streaming cold in front of Amazon and I am CLUELESS

[TheCappster]

I don't know what the hell to bloody buy them

and I have the worst cold of my entire life. Maybe it's swine flu? I don't know.

dd1 (9) has a new headboard for her bed with a clicky light, but I need something else to play with, surely?

dd2 is 5 in Jan and I am seriously thinking of entering the realm of Sylvanian families. She has outgrown her preschool toys but doesn't know what to replace them with. She wants 'ponies' she says. What kind of ponies?

don't ask me what they like, because I don't know. At present they like arguing about who has the television remote, arguing about whose toys are whose, and moaning because they can only open one chocolate advent calendar window a day.

Please help a poor snivelling woman.

So far I have bought them one HSM doll each from Home Bargains.

oh and I'm only thinking about Sylvania because I am stuck for ideas

it's not that anyone has expressed a preference or anything

i-pod shuffle with HSM songs on for the 9-year old

playmobile?

does the 5-yaer-old mean my little pony?

can't help with the Sylvania bit I'm afraid

I have a 5 yo. This year her (very long) list included Littlest Pet Shop, Polly Pocket Shopping centre, Musketeer Barbies, Barbie campervan, dvds of Ice Age 3, Snow white and Barbie Musketeers, various things of a Hello Kitty nature....scooter (2 wheels), the entire Playmobile catalogue....

Oh and every single game she has seen advertised - usually involving batteries and many many plastic parts. I refuse to buy any of them, as they have a lot of them at school, and I don't want to play the bloody things .

Ponies? What about 'My little Ponies'? Not sure on the price etc but I did notice them when I was shopping the other night.
I was also looking at Sylvanian Families they're soooo cute I want to collect them myself! But quite pricey if you're not sure if she'll like them or not.
My ds is 4 and I've got him Playmobil which is very unisex and might be an idea.
I haven't a clue about your dd1 sorry.

Lego? There are some amazing girls' sets.

My girls (8 and 6) are obsessed with Littlest Pet Shop and Club Penguin. My 6yo likes anything Tinkerbell so is getting the new movie and DS game. She also likes Barbie movies. 8yo is crafty and getting a knitting set. She really loves the Klutz potholder weaving set. For stocking fillers, what about purses/bags? Necklaces/bracelets? Cute notebooks?

Ponies sounds like My Little Pony? My 6yo has one of the sets but they really are plastic tat

You could try looking at [www. wickeduncle.co.uk] - you can search for suggestions based on age and sex, and it often comes up with things you wouldn't have thought of.

Then find the stuff cheaper on Amazon, obviously.

Sorry [www.wicked uncle.co.uk here].

Ffs [www.wickeduncle.co.uk here!]

I've bought dd who is 5 some of this stuff here they do a pony too I think. I bought her the tent, and my dm has bought her another girl and a sleeping bag so they can play camping.

my dd loves slyvanians but they are pricey. i think small figures and role playing type toys are perfect at this age. dd also likes polly pocket but tbh apart from teh actual dolls and their clothes the rest of the stuff is shite and falls apart in seconds.

dd really wants the sylvannian tree house but have you seen teh price of that thing? and then you have to get all the accoutrements.

there is a sylvanian caravan with pony which is going cheap in argos and places. which might fit the bill.

two brackets!

here, it has lights but you will need to buy a family etc.

Evil stuff. I hate it. Am going to start a FB group 'Mothers Against Playmobile'.

Sorry, went a bit off track there in my hatred of tiny bits of Playmobile that get lost all over the playroom and get sucked up by the hoover. Deliberately.

ahem.

Ok. My 7yo DD loves:

Pet Shop

Nintendo DS (getting one for Xmas this year)

playing at 'schools' - blackboard/easel might be good? DD got one of these a couple of years ago and they play a lot with it.

She and DS (5yo) spend a lot of time playing schools, he is the pupil and she is teaching him. He has learnt quite a lot already

Easel is recommended by other buyers.

20% off my little pony at debenhams iirc

Dd's list (aged just 6)

Playmobil hospital, a doll that eats and poos, Fur real kitten thing, In My Pockets animally things, anything to do with fish (dd's obsession)

She had the Barbie Campervan for her birthday from all her school friends and has played with it twice (October) The other day it was on the telly and she said "Oh!" (all surprised, cos she'd just remembered she'd got one dust collecting)

The playmobil house has probably been the toy she has most played with ever. She's had it for 2 years now and plays with it every day. (hence the hospital this year!)

DS is good for older one, but may lead to arguments? Games often on special offer in supermarkets

Puzzle games are big for us this year - jigsaws and those from the happy puzzle company. Rush Hour and the Hedgehog Escape game both look good and are coming our way as I type! Cheaper on Amazon, but the H.P.Co do do loads of stuff

Sylvanians good, our DD (7) loves these this year, but very expensive, and seem to be in short supply.

Playmobil excellent, but know what mme lindt means about small bits

My little pony - been there too, excellent but also a bit dear and often cheaply found in charity shops and car boot sales, but maybe not a week before the 25th!

Family games may be a good idea - how about UNO? great game, or Alpha Animals also excellent.

Hope you feel better soon [hands over a hanky emoticon]

My girls have already had their big presents from Sinterklass (St Nicholas) - the five year old loves her Fur Real cat and lego campervan.

The Barbie campervan looks like a lot of fun, I may get that for her for her sixth birthday.

For the nine year old it depends on how 'grown up' she is and how grown up you want her to be. I loved all girly toys including My Little Ponies until I was about 12. What about lego?

Oh yes, Lego is excellent, buy a basic set rather than a specific model so lots of various things can be made - it can also be easily added to later on when you spot loose Lego in charity shops / car boots etc etc

My dds are 9, 8 and 5. They all like sylvanian stuff, the older two do more than dd3. They also all like Animal hospital stuff, which is a lot cheaper.
And they like playmobil.

Apart from that what about board games, my 9 and 8 year old like most board games, current favourites are boggle and chess but they like almost every game. 5 year old likes games too, and jigsaws.

and they all like geomag, the 9yo has played with this constantly for years.

aquabeads or hama beads, martian matter maker for the 9 year old. lots of art and craft stuff, sewing kits for 9 and 8 year old, watercolour paint sets.

Clay is popular too.

My DD aged 4 loved My Little Pony a few years ago, but this year she's into the smaller ones - Ponyville. Could they be the "ponies" your DD is thinking of?
They are slightly bigger than Littlest Pet Shop and can all "play" together.
There is also Pony In My Pocket which are smaller, fuzzy, and come in "real" colours.

We are doing loads of tiny animals of various types, also a blackboard (Lidl had one for £14.99), and a Three Musketeers Barbie that comes with a Barbie-size horse! Peanut the dog, which I can only describe as an animatronic animal toy....

Sylvanian Families are beautiful but IMHO really expensive and possibly worse than Playmobil for tiny bits. We were looking at the camper van but it's got loads of cutlery etc which DD would just scatter everywhere.

I use Amazon to search and keep a wish list, but Argos is often cheaper if you can collect it from a local store. Argos delivery is more than Amazon but the prices in Amazon are sometimes loads higher, particularly for less popular things. We got a Dora Mermaid for £15.99 at Argos that was £29.99 on Amazon at one point.

Good luck

Thanks so much; I'm going through this all now.

dd1 had loads of playmobil which dd2 inherited and it was too much for her - she asked us to pack it up in the loft because she couldn't keep it tidy. There was LOADS. So she's probably put off for life now!

I had looked at the Littlest Pet Shop but I couldn't justify spending money on something so small! I can barely see it! I'll look again though, promise!

I love the Groovy Girl stuff, wonder if dd2 would? the horses are a bit pricey though. I could go really overboard there, though, given the chance, but it might be for me rather than her...!

I'm going to check out animal hospital, geomag, and you're right, there's nothing better than a nice bit of clay.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

My girls have Groovy Girls - I got them cheap in TK Maxx - and a matching Groovy Girl tent.

My dd is a real problem to buy anything for too. She hasn't ever really 'played' with figures or dolls but insists that she loves littlest pet shop. She has about 35 animals and bits of kit that, as someone else pointed out, get lost or, less likely in this house, hoovered up. This year she is getting a protable dvd player to replace the one that died along with umpteen books.

What about playmobil pony farm for the pony fan:

on Amazon here but if you shop around may get it for less

My DD got that last xmas age 6 plus a load of the add ons - jeep, dressage etc - and really loves it.

Or puppy, pony or jungle in my pocket are small figures beloved of little girls - my DD is in Y3 and no sign of liking abating so might still be ok for 9 year old. You mention Home Bargains and I have just seen all three in my local Home Bargains this morning for well under RRP - I can remember sets of the jungle animals for £1.99 (RRP £5.99), jungle house for £7.99 (RRP 22.99), puppys and bag for £4.99 (RRP 10.99).

I also bought my daughter in HB this morning sets of a little girl on a pony called my first gymkhana - never heard of it but have seen it in Sainsburys for lots of money - for £1.59. Could be a cheap buy if you are unsure re pony purchases.

My DD has wanted a HSM microphone since before last xmas and I succumbed and brought one from Sainsburys a few weeks ago (it's rubbish but she wants it) - have just noticed those in HB for £3.99. Also bought Disney novels which would suit the 9 year old - HSM and Hannah Montana for 39p each. They are v trashy but my DD still enjoys as a bit of an indulgence.

If you are up to it at all I suggest you nip to your local Home Bargains - I was in mine at 9.00, it wasn't too busy and they really seemed to have expanded how many toys they have in the last couple of weeks. The beauty is anything you buy that is a mistake - you won't have spent much.

We also have Sylvanian families but they are very expensive by comparision - if you do end up going for them I've yet to meet a little girl who doesn't like them so I don't think you'll go wrong. If you were going for them I would get something for both girls unless the 9 year old is very mature as they are fun to play with together - maybe on a theme like travel e.g.

caravan for one

canal boat for the other

then they can play at holidays.

I have got my DD the canal boat from Argos and as a bit of a plus it comes with 3 free figures, that you don't get if you buy it elsewhere. Otherwise a family of 4 is about £14.99. I do recommend Argos for buying the big Sylvanian stuff unless you find a bargain elsewhere as they do tend to come with extra figures and/or accessories.

Good luck - I am sure they will love whatever you get.