Would prefer it to not be “hair” 'makeup" girlish oriented, but rather something challenging for her mind. I am her Uncle, and would like something maybe aimed at DIY outside of Lego if you know what I mean. Budget is small, maybe 39.99? Can move either way if needed
Advice, much needed as a 36 y/o male with no kids
Ask your sibling if it would be ok, to take her out to a museum or something similar.
Or aks them what she currently is into and try and get her something you know she’d love.
Would be lovely, unfortunately I live a few states away, so I can’t don’t that this time. I appreciate the thought though
I once bought my niece a marble run. I got some shit for it, because I guess some people just don’t get it? But she loved it, and my 6-year-old daughter now loves marble runs too.
My daughter also collects rocks, so a rock tumbler was a big one for her.
Another gift for a niece I got shit for was a drum. She loved it. She was so excited that it was a real instrument. My brother always said he’d get me back, but my daughter got a full-ass drum kit for Christmas, and I think it’s great.
Oh, and make your own slime kits are huge right now. It’s science-y, DIY, and kids love slime.
I once bought my niece a marble run. I got some shit for it
By her parents? Either way, who the hell criticizes a gift to someone else? Especially if the recipient ends up loving it!?
It was good natured. I wasn’t offended.
I just think it’s funny how some people are all about marble runs and some people just don’t get it. No in between. Personally I’m all about marble runs.
I mean, the drum was an asshole move.
Look, I told you I was drunk and saw a crazy 1-day only deal!
EDIT: I thought you were joking too! 🤦♂️ I didn’t see the edit from the original comment…
My 6 year old son absolutely loves the Snap Circuits kits. We’ve also started teaching him collectable card games (Pokémon, Yu Gi Oh , etc) which challenge his reading and strategy skills. Plus great quality time activity. There are tons of Stem kits out there for less than $40.
Yugioh and snap kits were my faves back then, now over 20y later I’m still playing yugioh and soldering, so I’d say it was a worthy investment of my family and my free time. Problem-solving card text is probably good for understanding programming logic, too.
There are also kits for learning about electricity for kids of that age. For making a light switch or making a doorbell buzzer and simple things like that.
Now that sounds amazing, any kits or companies that sell something she may like
SnapCircuits!
They have a bunch of different kits, there’s like a music one that’ll even let you make a circuit that plays music from a phone.
They are absolutely a WONDERFUL introduction to electricity for a kid.
K’NEX. I used to build all kinds of cool stuff out of those when I was a kid.
She needs a sword. It’s educational.
Is she too young for an Arduino starter kit?
https://store-usa.arduino.cc/products/arduino-starter-kit-multi-language
Edit: the great thing about these is that you can eventually add a raspberry pi to the mix for even more functionality and learning fun!
Or a calliope mini, they are geared towards elementary school kids.
I have a couple smart nieces. One of them did want LEGO — she wanted a whole LEGO-themed party. I was the only one who bought her an actual LEGO set, not one of the ones aimed specifically at girls (LEGO and Friends, IIRC). Yeah, guess whose she wanted to actually build — and guess who she recruited for help doing it, while all the other sets sat in boxes (dunno if they were ever opened).
Beyond that, I stuck to the “edutainment” aisle. Science-y stuff. Books are another good option, if you can find a fantasy series with light romance (but nothing erotic, obviously). That’s more for older girls though, a six-year-old probably can’t read. That being said, audiobooks are a thing, and if they’re a tablet kid, an Audible/similar gift code might not be a bad idea. They can do a lot worse for themselves with a tablet than having someone read to them.
Also, crafting stuff. Crochet kit, beads, anything that lets her “make” something.
to add to the DIY section of your comment - air dry clay, a set of basic clay working tools, and a set of acrylic paints (+ varnish for the acrylics) could be very fun. cheap air dry clay is cheap (i’ve seen 1kg go for ~$3), a basic set of tools and paints also won’t break the bank, and it’s absolutely amazing fun!
even with 0 skill you can make nifty things - like minature foods (a blob? potato. cylinder? cucumber. ball? so many options here), simple figurines, animals, accessories for other things, candle holders - bascially, the only limit is your imagination.
though if you do think that’d be a good idea one word of warning - air dry clay is not food safe, any cups, plates, or dishes made with it can only ever be decorational. (the only clay you can eat off is the kind that you need to fire, glaze, and fire again at +900°C)
My niblings have liked the Kiwico and other sciencey kits I’ve sent them
My kids love the Kiwico boxes. They have different ones designed for different ages. You can buy a single one of get a subscription where they get a new one every month.
Get a crystal growing kit and grow colourful crystals with her. It’s gonna take multiple days and is a great entry to stem-topics.
Thinkpad thin client with Gentoo
You gotta make sure there’s that little dot in the middle of the keyboard or else it isn’t worth it.
I looooved K’nex when I was a young girl, would recommend
Ill have to look into what that is, thanks for the suggestion!
Check out Meccano as well, similar idea as a construction toy.
Board games. Catan junior, Loopin Chewie, Robot turtles, Tsuro, Abracada…What?, camel up.
Regular price
Catan Jr, didn’t know that existed I’ll have to look into what games are around. I know her Dad taught our parents how to play Settlers of Catan a number of years ago before she was born, so that’s something that she may have parents/grandparents to play with. She has a brother that is 2 years younger, so maybe they’ll be able to play that together soon enough.
Ticket to Ride: First Journey and Qwirkle are also good choices for that age range. Qwirkle is great because it’s simple but fun for all ages. My kids loved it when they were young and still play it frequently at 16 and 25.
If she likes drawing a big set of decent-ish markers could go a long way.
Something like that.
Do you know what she likes? I think a lot of “cool” ideas are presented here, however, remember she is still 6, and kids that age learn a lot through unstructured play.
Toys that have multiple ways to play with them, such as craft beading kits and doll houses are stimulating to the brain in more ways, and often preferred by children to circuit building kits, for example. The former is well within your price range, if she is crafty.
Unfortunately I’ve only seen her a couple times because the distance and my time/money. I know she likes animals, they go to beach and waterparks. She likes Halloween, even when she was 3 she was trying to make friends with the giant blow up scary things. She’s got a 2 wheeled scooter she likes. Baking, crafts. Swings, pools… they are always going on trips it seems. (Thankfully my brother has a family shared album so I’ve seen 1000s of pictures of her growing up and always doing things). They are I suppose upper middle class, and I’m not lol. So it’s one of those trying to find something that they wouldn’t have off hand bought her when they saw it, and I know my brother likes Legos, so I assume she has any cheaper set she would have liked.
