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
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…
I think the problem with the marble run is the constant “rrrrrrr tick-tick rrrrr tick rrrr”, but aside from the noise it’s a great toy and a core component of any child’s toy box. It’s also the start of many Rube Goldberg machines running through your living room.
I had a marble run at about 6. It was awesome.
Spirograph, Crystal growing kit, search for stem toys for 6 year olds, ask her parents what she’s into.
I’ve been doing stem toys for my niece for a few years and she always loves them. She just turned 9 in August.
those crystal growing kits are awesome! I might get myself one for Christmas jijiji
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.
Sent me back mentioning those snap circuits lol. Have her build the simple AM radio and watch her mind be blown OP, you won’t be disappointed
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.
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.
She needs a sword. It’s educational.
K’NEX. I used to build all kinds of cool stuff out of those when I was a kid.
I bought my kiddo a book about robots that came with a simple, buildable bot. It was well received
A microscope
If she likes drawing a big set of decent-ish markers could go a long way.
Something like that.
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.
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.
Maybe a musical instrument, like those blowing organs or a tiny guitar?
Or a puzzle? Can she read yet? Or will soon, maybe a book?
Does she like chess? Maybe a chess board or similar?
Maybe not in the “smart mind challenging” category but there are plenty of craft kits for your budget: paint canvases by numbers, make your own accessories with clay, bead jewelry, basic engineering kits (build your own robot types), dig your own fossil kits, build-this-or-that-with-LEDlights, gardening kits for kids, etc.
My point is to expand your horizon a bit, it’s perfectly fine that you want to cater to her intelligence and not just go for something girly in a cliche sense. But she can also enjoy crafting stuff.
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.
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.
