The girl we picked up off the angel tree is a 9 year old girl that simply asked for 'toys and clothes'.

Not having kids, we're not entirely sure what all 9 year olds are into these days. Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

If you know her clothes sizes, go to Justice in the mall. They also have some toys as well as lots of fun accessories. My daughter is the same age and she, as well as all her friends, love everything in that store. One thing she really wants this year are Ugly dolls (I've seen them at Toys R Us). Anything electronic would be good too (MP3 player, small camera, etc).

The Children's Place is an excellent place to order well made (but pretty inexpensive) clothes online. Old Navy or Sear's (which has Kidvantage clothes exchange program).

Toys could include an electronic diary, a sing a long microphone, A Barbie Doll head (to do hair and make-up), Discovery Kids stuff, jewelry or clothing design stuff, etc.

(Yes, I have been doing a lot of gift searching!)

If there are no sizes for the clothes, it is hard as some 9 year olds can wear anything from size 7/8 to 12+.

As for toys, my 9 year old loves Pillow Pets, arts/crafts kits(making friendship bracelets), games and electronics. The diary is good, too!

Be careful about giving electronics that need a computer to really use since she might not have access to one. Also - some styles at Justice are pretty mature. You can get some cute things and pair them w/other more conservative pieces from Children's Place, Old Navy, etc.

HEB/Walmart, etc have gift/"debit" cards: how about a "debit card" that allows them to pick out things they want to buy for themselves? I think it costs about $3 to purchase the card, and allows them to use this "Visa or American Express" card to shop for anything up to the amount of the card. They start at $25 increments from what I've seen.

A nice luxory would be a pedi/mani treat for this young lady, as that might not be something she may every have experienced.

As for clothes and toys - the gift/"debit" card could help out. Even a WalMart gift card to let her chose toys and/or clothes there. Justice might not be the "right fit" for this young lady, in a few ways....may not even be her taste.

btw you're very special for being as kind and loving in helping a young child...just wanted to recognize you for your compassion and generousity. (:

I have a 9 year old girl. I have to agree that she loves everything at Justice. She also likes Barbies, pillow pets, happy nappers, and Angry Birds. In my opinion, you really can't go wrong at Justice or Old Navy for girls clothes. She is pretty much past Children's Place.

keepitsimple has some really good ideas. 9 year olds don't play with things near as much as we did when we were kids. Arts and Craft stuff, the electronic diary, maybe an inexpensive boom box. Justice and Old Navy are great places for clothers.

Before you go to Justice, sign up on their website for their "newsletter/updates".

Essentially, you'll get a 40% off coupon everyday from them for anything in the store.

It's still pricey even with 40% off, but there's absolutely no reason to pay regular price since they give you the coupons every day.

I have not had a 9 yr old girl in my house for about 8 years, but I would think it would be safe to get anything related to Justin Beiber or Demi Levato, or however you spell it. A gift card to Grand Station would be great too. She could go bowling, or play in the game room. Bath and Body works also has a line of fragrances that are geared to the younger girls like small nail polishes, lip glosses, loofa sponges, pedicure sets etc...just some ideas. I agree too with pillow pets. I have a niece that is 15 and she loves it.

My DD is near that age here are some items that go over well:

bopit XT (modern day simon says)

arts & crafts (Target has some really cute DIY stuff - decorate a purse, bracelets, soap)

angry birds

webkinz

cute girly nailpolish

colored pencils/artpad

maybe a cute fuzzy blanket

And the matching oh so cozy no slip sock they offer at Aeropostale. They have been on sale for 60% and they are beyond soft.

Another nice idea is to get her a nice canvas type over night bag that looks kind of girly. Take over to All American embroidery and get her name put on it with a coordinating color. From there you could then put in cozy pj's and socks, or something like. Go to the Sam Moon website,,,they have tons to choose from and are fairly inexpensive.

Thanks, everyone! Great suggestions.

Another question - on her clothing sizes, it says her shirt and pant size is 8T, but we're not entirely sure what that means and we're not seeing it on any clothing websites. Does anyone know what the 'T' stands for?

Thanks again!

[This message has been edited by tamuaggie2007 (edited 11/29/2011 10:04p).]

Just saw the Ugly Dolls...and apparently they are the hottest thing.

Also, look into getting a couple of books. Judy Moody is a hit with girls. And my personal throwback- Pippi Longstocking.

And handheld games like Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? I have one I bought from Wal-Greens.

Maybe the T is for tall? I've never seen anything like that on my 9-year-old's clothing but the other thing that could have happened is that the person filling out the card had been filling out a bunch and many of them had the T sizes (2T,3T,4T) on them. It could just be a case of adding a T where it wasn't meant to be. My 9-year-old also wants the Bop-it XT and just about any kind of stuffed animal. She also loves craft kits and other things where you can make something. Blue also seems to be very popular with all of my Girl Scouts that are that age. I would be careful of anything Bieber related since half of them love him and half of them despise him.

jr - if you can get her the bopit xt do it! best present ever for mine.

The T generally means toddler.

Get her books!

The Daring Book for Girls is good: (from Amazon): The Daring Book for Girls is the manual for everything that girls need to know—and that doesn't mean sewing buttonholes! Whether it's female heroes in history, secret note-passing skills, science projects, friendship bracelets, double dutch, cats cradle, the perfect cartwheel or the eternal mystery of what boys are thinking, this book has it all. But it's not just a guide to giggling at sleepovers—although that's included, of course! Whether readers consider themselves tomboys, girly-girls, or a little bit of both, this book is every girl's invitation to adventure."