Present for a 4yr old girl - please help I’m completely out of touch!

[HellHasNoFur]

I need a present for my niece! She likes dolls but is getting a whole load of doll stuff from her Mum. Her Dad (my DB) hasn’t been able to come up with any ideas (!). What’s big in the world of 4yr olds at the moment?

It depends on the 4 year old. Do they like crafts? I like the website wickeduncle for ideas.

She does like crafts but my DB doesn’t She does loads with her Mum and he has a lot on his plate at the moment (newly divorced, doing the bulk of the childcare) so I don’t think a ‘paint your own…’ will go down well!

Ps I’ll have a look at ‘wickeduncle’ thanks!

I have a 3yo and a 5yo. They both love the magformer type magnetic building shapes.

I say magformer type as they’re the ‘brand’ I think, and you can get loads of cheaper sets on Amazon.

My 4 year old loves anything to do with Frozen, lots of the shops have little backpacks, lunchboxes, water bottles etc which go down well here. And definitely crafts too. You get little bracelet making kits on Amazon which are good and not messy

A marble run
Jigsaws
Polly pockets
Hungry hippos game
Zoom tubes car track thing

All have been a big hit in our house!

Playmobil set could go down well? Still a toy but not a doll?
Or my daughter also loves the little Polly pocket sets you can get (memories!!) but that’s mainly because she watches the Polly pocket show on Netflix

Strap on roller skates.

Tickets to indoor soft play.

Books

Painting sets the ones like decorate your own flower pot/photo frame.

Walkie talkie

Stamp rocket

Bath bombs

Jelly baff/bath crayons

Bubble machine

Puzzles

Hula hoop

Den kit

Books
Hatchimals
Rainbicorns
LOL
Colour change barbie
Fun lockets

Magnatiles are great and mess free.

Lego dots are fab - like crafting in a way, but without any glue or paint or mess. They’re quite small though so one to watch if there’s younger siblings who might eat them.

My DD also loves her ‘Gotta Go’ pooing flamingo, but it’s definitely an, erm, acquired taste!

Aquabeads!

Dd loves aquabeads

Crayola washimals

My 4yo got this from his auntie for his birthday and absolutely loves it!

www.aldi.co.uk/hey-duggee-wooden-carry-along/p/702646445211401

I recently bought this for mine - she loves it. Plays making bbq food for everyone.

medoga Wooden BBQ Grill Play Food Set, Pretend Play Toys with Cooking and Cutting Utensils, Kitchen Playset for Toddlers Children, Educational Toys Gift for Boy and Girl https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B089STP1GT/ref=cmswwrcppapiglttfabc77DV0HM9KT0CZP623WTJ

Dressing up

Something to do. Lego? A pack of seeds and kids gardening tools? A bird box / bug hotel building kit?

Bilibo - my daughter got one at 3 and it still gets played with daily at age 6.

My fairy garden.

A fairy door. We have one in the garden and many summers have been spent making fairy houses/playgrounds next to it to keep the fairy's happy 😁

Dressing up.

What’s your budget?
You could look at Tonie or Yoto boxes if your budget is a bit bigger

DS is getting a kiddizoom camera as his cousins have one and he absolutely loves it. It's on a Prime day deal at the moment.

I've also picked up some imaginex for him from Facebook.

Magnatiles are very popular here to

Some things my 4 year old got for their last birthday:

Frozen Elsa doll
Buzz Lightyear slippers
Kiddizoom camera
Bath bombs
Lego
A piggy bank
Some clothes
A stomp rocket
A science set
Mr Men book set
Bike bell
A blow up globe
A torch

Big hits here at 4 include: Kiddizoom camera, leapreader pen and books, Melissa and Doug diner set and pancake making set, stomp rocket, scooter, fairy garden, dressing up clothes, trampoline, stickers (so many stickers...!).

I would get her some of the fairytale hairdresser books. They always went down well as presents when my dd was that age

The fairytale hairdresser books are awful. But they do love them,
My go to is washimals, my 4yo has never had as much play out of anything else.

Washimals.

The peace we got the afternoon she got Washimals was a revelation. Sat at the kitchen table with them for literally two silent hours.

Am going to get the set with the unicorn and the narwhal for Christmas!

Thanks so much everyone, loads of great ideas!