Elizabeth is 4-and-a-half. She likes Hello Kitty and she likes crafts.
My parents got her the 35th Anniversary Hello Kitty Colors pack, which contains five small plush Hello Kittys in five different colors.
My brother and sister-in-law bought her a Hello Kitty Dress Me doll, which I’d given up on because it was out of stock on Amazon, but they found her one. (We’d considered the Ty Hello Kitty as an alternative, but I think the Dress Me is way better—more like a doll in shape.)
We got her some pajamas with kitties on them and a Hello Kitty marker-by-number set, but we want to buy her one more thing. Here are some of the candidates:
This is significantly more than I wanted to spend, but a Hello Kitty dollhouse?? I think she would FAINT. Why are dollhouses SO EXPENSIVE?
Hello Kitty clock. I like it, but I had in mind something less practical.
Would she LOVE a stamp set, or would it mean she’d draw less? Would the alphabet stamp set help her when she wanted to write words but couldn’t handle the letters? or would it keep her from continuing to try her letters?
Magnetic dress-up dolls: tons of fun? or tons of pieces lost all over the house? (I’m also considering the boy version for Henry—but why is the boy version costumes instead of outfits?)
Swistle! We HAVE the Hello Kitty house. AND it has most of its pieces still. AND I am trying to ease it out of the house in order to make room for the onslaught of Christmas crap, I mean treasures, soon to be striking our house.
What do you think? Would you like it? Email me. I would LOVE to send it. (Yes, I know, Christmas, rush shipping, blah blah blah. Let me know soon, I guess).
It’s not perfect (ie mint and in box or anywhere near it)–but it’s freeeee.
We have those Melissa and Doug wooden paper dolls and they’ve gotten alot of play. Ours are the older version, which came with two girls and lots of different clothes, shoes, hats, purses. My guess, since our pieces are much smaller, is that these newer versions better if there are younger kids in the house (less chokables). We keep the M&D wooden boxes for all of our M&D toys, and when I find pieces, I put them back in the correct box. So we don’t have the pieces all over problem.
We also have some of the stamps, but I don’t like them. I find the ink to be messy and staining.
Um, and I just read the above comment- how awesome???
But Melospiza! The shipping! OMG the shipping! It will be killer! It will cost nearly the price of the house! It will haunt us until the end of our dayyyyyyyyssssss!
We had the exact magnetic doll set at my old work (kids studio) and surprisingly the pieces stayed pretty intact. They ARE small, though – the shoes are about the size of a long adult fingernail. We painted magnetic paint (look at Home Depot, Michaels?) on the wall in 2 layers – then 1 layer of paint over.
Otherwise my vote is for the clock or the dollhouse! Even though the clock to you is practical, she’d think it’s special. I remember getting an awesome ballerina clock and it’s the last thing you see when you go to bed!
I LOVE THE DOLLHOUSE. Get it! Get it from Melospiza! The shipping won’t be THAT much. I hope! Eee I hope it works out.
Swistle…they also have several Hello Kitty dollhouses on EBay for significantly less money. You should check it out.
Also, we have the letter stamps as well and they are a huge mess and not very well liked.
Hmm…in regards to the magnetic dress-up doll, do you think it’s still an ok gift for a 6-year-old girl? (It looks like fun to me, but I’m 50…and I don’t have kids, so perhaps my judgment is off.)
By the way, Target sells a knock-off brand (Circo, I think) of this and other Melissa & Doug toys.
My inner child says nay on the alarm clock…. but LOVES that dollhouse.
Mia loves these things with a passion:
http://www.amazon.com/Orb-Factory-Sticky-Mosaics-Fairies/dp/B000ZLSOOS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1260919098&sr=8-1
Very crafty, lots of different themes. A little pricy, I think, for what you get, but hours of entertainment.
My vote was going to be splurge and get the hello kitty dream house thing. My favorite toy growing up was my doll house. But after reading the comments my new vote is getting Melospiza’s Hello Kitty thingy house thing. LOL
Dollhouse! The dollhouse is awesome! Also the magnetic dress up dolls. I would totally play with that.
Swistle – The magnetic dress up doll? I bought it (very similar) for my daughter when she was 4, and she adored it. And the pieces always magically found their way back in to the box. Maybe because the storage was so handy, but it’s one of the only toys we never lost a piece too.
For a commenter (Jan), regarding if a 6 year old would like it. My daughter is 8.5 and STILL plays with this. I say, YES!
I have another similar one (it’s all magnets in a metal case, so they all stick to it) that I keep in the car for longer rides. Keeps her occupied.
Just my two cents! :)
Thanks for that link, Beth Fish, I just ordered the fish ones for my 6 yr old!
I got that dress-up doll for my 3-3/4 y/o old daughter but she hasn’t played with it yet so I can’t say about the pieces.
I got my niece one of those magnetic dress up dolls for christmas, and she has one at home that she loves. My SIL says the shoes and hat/hair bows get lost easily though.
Go for that doll house if you can swing it. It would be such a Christmas Miracle for her.
doll house, fo sho!
definitely the doll house! but we have three different versions of the magnetic dolls and they are quite popular around here. i don’t like the mess of stamps either. we have a set but i never get them out because of the mess.
The magnetic doll is great and I would second that yes, the clock is practical but she has no idea that it is. She will think it is special and fun and you will have to remind her that it is not a toy if you expect her not to play with it. Dollhouse is awesome, but it seems she is getting several HK’s already.
If any of you are still looking for the Hello Kitty Dress Me Doll for your girl, try camping out at http://www.watchmyitems.com/?item=B001ISU2F6 and grab it when Amazon restocks.
I’m in Camp Doll House, too, but alternately get her the stamp set with some extra Hello Kitty stamps. They make tons of them. I know; I’m a crazy 30-something lady who recently had a Hello Kitty themed birthday party.
My daughter sophie is 5 and has those magnetic dolls and LOVES them.
How about Hello Kitty clothing? Target almost always has some and my daughter loves wearing hers!
We have TWO sets of those magnetic dolls, the regular girl and the PRINCESS set. Both have stayed intact (er, the sets, not, like, THE DOLLS’ VIRGINITY. Heh.) And they do get a lot of play. It’s a great activity for me to do WITH Addy that isn’t too involved if I’m feeling burnt out- i.e., I can dink around on the computer while stopping here and there to choose an outfit for my doll and show it off, and there! I’m playing with my child!
I got mine using the service at http://www.amzpricesniper.com. It watched the Amazon inventory and the moment Amazon received fresh inventory at the regular retail price this obnoxious alarm went off.