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Sarah M
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My oldest dd (just turned 7) has now turned that corner where saying "go play" doesn't work so well. She would much prefer any kind of adult-type work rather than going off to play pretend or whatever. I'm at a loss for Christmas gifts for her... any ideas?
While I'm at it, maybe I'll ask what kinds of things you send your daughters around this age to do when they are following you around constantly, wanting adult work and adult conversation.... I like it for a time, and then I just get exhausted and need some space!  I can tell her younger sister to go play witih her dolls or her brother to play with his trains, but with her....? She'll do some handwork for a time (knitting on a loom, usually), but what else can I offer her?
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Rachel May
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A kids' cookbook? Fabric for you to make her an apron? Tea and Cake with the Saints? Embroidery thread, a hoop, some needles and some muslin? (Maria draws a picture on the muslin and then likes to sew outlines with her embroidery thread She did such a good job, I let her do some sewing on my quilt.) A tea set from IKEA, some tea and a box of fancy cookies with permission to have tea parties for her siblings with approval? (We sometimes do water parties  ) A sewing box? How about a date to the fabric store to pick something for a project that she can do on her own?
One thing that I would love to have for Maria is a needle guard for my sewing machine. Then she could use it without worrying about her fingers. We had no luck with the toy sewing machine, but she loves to sew fabric squares together, sometimes by hand, other times by machine with supervision. I read that you can order needle guards through a sewing machine supply store, so my mom is looking into it for her.
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Rachel May
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I almost forgot, a Brownie Try-It book has a bunch of ideas for fun projects grouped by theme for girls her age. Think of them as mini, independent (or mostly so) unit studies. 
Browne Try-It Book
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Rachel
Thomas and Anthony (10), Maria (8), Charles (6), Cecilia (5), James (3), and Joseph (1)
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Lisbet
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Sarah - this is what we got for our 6 year old dd this year - along with the cookbook and a $20 Kroger gift card to buy groceries to make a few items right away. Of course this isn't something I'll tell her to go do own her own but I know if I take the time to do it with her, it makes it easier then for me to later say "go play" while I do something else.
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Lisa, wife to Tony,
Mama to:
Nick, 17
Abby, 15
Gabe, 13
Isaac, 11
Mary, 10
Sam, 9
Henry, 7
Molly, 6
Mark, 5
Greta, 3
Cecilia born 10.29.10
Josephine born 6.11.12
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Cay Gibson
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I agree with the cooking/baking. They seem to love this at this age.
My youngest will be 7 on Dec. 20th and just had her b-day party this past Sunday. She got lots of arts and crafts.
I also see her spending a lot of time at the kitchen table reading Dr. Seuss books.
And she requested a Cupcake Maker for Christmas.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
mom to 5
Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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Mary K
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Hi Cay,
Just thought I'd let you know there is a Dr.Seuss cookbook.
I don't remember the name.
God bless,
Mary-NY
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teachingmom
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As for a Christmas gift, how about a scrapbook and extras to go with it? I am giving that, along with a homemade gift certificate good for $10 worth of photo developing at Costco, to my almost 6 year old. She actually asked for the scrapbook.
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Bella
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Oh,how FUN to be shopping for a 7yo dd!!!! 
I think the above are absolutley wonderful ideas! I would add an apron with fabric markers to personalize it,and a plain,unfinished stool to paint!
Lisa! I LOVE that website-I have it bookmarked! 
A few ideas;
~A jump rope with a tape recorder that has jump roping songs on it.( A friend did this for her dd, and she LOVED it!) The tape player also played cds. so the dd could listen to books on cd! 
~Klutz has such amazing kits! My dd(12) still loves her fashion design kit!
~Magnetic doll dress-up set.
~A doll size baby sling.
~A craft/art center. A couple of yrs ago, Family Fun had a great spread on a craft/art corner. I bet if you googled it, you'd find it.
~ A well-made recorder-with self instruction book.( and ear plugs for mommy?)
~ I always tell people to look in the HearthSong or Chinaberry catalogs,then look on amazon or your local T.J.Maxx or Marshalls for the cheaper price!
Have fun!!
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Bella
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Bella
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Oh, oh,oh! I want to add an "office set".....
~ New box of envelopes
~Little pretty pads of paper
~ Mini pens and pencils
~paper puncher
~stickers(for stamps)
~calculator
~mini-clay pot w/her name on it(Deco-pens )(To hold her pens,etc..)
And....
~A talking diary/journal-or any kind of journal-but the talking ones are neat! She "records" the "password" for the book to open, and she can write away with the little pads of paper they come with!
~ A purse...with all the goodies! A pocketbook, cell-phone,pen, etc..
(At that age, my dd started to collect purses-we would go thrifting,and she would get the cutest purses-everyday she would play for hours,putting stuff in, rearranging,etc...)
I don't carry a purse.
Have fun!!
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Bella
Wife and Mom to my sweeties!
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anitamarie
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My dd (7) loves the Creativity for Kids kits. (JoAnns, specialty toy stores). Everything is included in the kit, and she can do them all by herself. I just set her up. Best of all they are about $5 for the small ones and $15 for the larger ones. Books on CD are great with my kids. Scramble Squares puzzles. ThinkFun has lots of inexpensive one person games- logic type stuff. Small Hands Resources had quilt-type triangles made from paper to glue into quilt designs. My dd loves Sudoku. Good luck. It's such a fun age.
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Sarah M
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Oh my goodness, what wonderful ideas. This is why I'm on these boards- because when my brain goes to mush, yours all work with perfect clarity.
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folklaur
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anitamarie wrote:
| My dd (7) loves the Creativity for Kids kits. |
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Mine 6dd does too. I love the Creativity for Kids kits. There are even a few that I would like for myself!
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RamFam
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I'm getting my 8 yo dd a nice journal and pen, making this doll and making a kid size mei tai for her.
(I just realized there's 13 days to Christmas and I'm writing gettING and makING. Oops. Better get on the ball.)
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Leah
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Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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10 Bright Stars
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Sarah,
I have a 7 year old girl!!! So, I am sort of an expert here. Just kidding. My daughter LOVES to play school with the younger kids. In fact, she has a whole side of the classroom set up with "time out chairs" and all! She has a little table I gave her to use, a plastic tote for her "supplies" which are stickers, coloring books and crayons, a few Bible story books, assorted toddler friendly crafts, folders she made up for the twins with their names on them where she puts their "work that they complete such as colored pages etc. She will even say funny things that she picked up in co-op or CCD such as "Eyes up here" which I never say. She named her "school" St. Elizabeth Pre-school and when I go down to the basement to lesson plan, she will often come down and plan her lessons too which may involve writing on a big calendar I gave her to use that was out of date, or writing in her teacher planner. I will actually have her "do school" with the twins when mornings are hectic sometimes and I am trying to get the bigger kids going. I cannot tell you how invaluble this has been!!! I act as if her school is "real" since she is very much like your daughter sounds, wanting to do "big girl" stuff and hang out with Mom. So, since I take it seriously, she does too!
I also purchased a really cute home ec course for girls about this age from "Pearables" It is Protestant, but I don't even see anything religious in the books except little Bible verses at the bottom. Anyway, she will cook one of the recipes or dust for that day, or clean her room etc. Whatever the page says and then she traces the little patch that they had on each page as decoration for an accomplishment badge that we hang on a poster I have in the kitchen. I was going to actually sew patches or something, but my husband suggested that she just trace the cute picture in the book that looks like a quilt patch and then she colors it and she feels very proud. She has made desserts for dinner and an actual meal once so far.
I also would give her a job or several to do. I would help her out at first and just let her work along beside you. You could even give her a little apron and pink cleaning gloves and one of those carry around cleaning trays. Then, you could mix upwater and vinegar in a spray bottle and a few other harmless cleaners like that so you don't have to worry about the safety of the little kids getting into it. Then, let her go to it!!!
I also find a lot of china dolls and older type dolls at thrift stores. They are always fun to play with.
My daughter really enjoys scrapbooking. I gave her my extras as far as pictures etc and bought one of those cheaper scrapbooking kits at BJ's (like Costco) and she works on that from time to time. I would say crafts are HUGE at this age, and if you set them up as being "neccesary" and not just busy work since it sounds as if she likes real work and accomplishments, then she will really enjoy them! ALSO, she will be ble to sew soon! That will fill her days with fun once you can trust her alone with a sewing machine which may not be for awhile, but she can probably start handsewing a little doll quilt with a bit of a start.
What a treat to have a helpful little girl! Mine is like this too and we will be so blessed when they get a little older and want to help us even more!!
I asked my daughter what advice to give and she said that your daughter should be "in Little Flowers". She is and really enjoys it.
I also just remembered that she LOVES to play with mail especially all those free cards that monastaries etc. seem to send about masses etc. My husband will giver her "her mail" which often includes free rosaries or medals. She loves to make cards and gifts for people. You could haver her mail cards to her grandmother on a regular basis. (Or some other relative who might enjoy it.)
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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10 Bright Stars
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Sarah,
Another thing I just thought of before my computer died..hehe..was a great idea I happened to think of a few months ago concerning An American Girl doll catalog! While I cannot afford to buy the dolls, I thought we could make cute little story books using the pictures in the catalog. They are SOOO cute! (The ones that have the dolls posed in front of stoves etc.) Anyway, we get these catalogs free in the mail all the time. She will make a book out of all the pics and then either she will write it herself or she will dictate to me what to have the pages say and we make a little book out of it. We have sent them to her cousin before and she really loved it. (The finished book.) This will give her whole afternoons of fun with kid friendly scissors, a glue stick and paper and the catalog. They really do make hysterically cute books and it is fun to see what they have the dolls or the story say.
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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10 Bright Stars
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Sarah,
I wanted to quickly add that I must have seemed a little "odd" to suggest you give your 7 year old daughter an American Girl Doll catalog as a "gift". I was up early on vacation and for some reason took the topic to be "activities" for a 7 year old girl! When I got home from the trip and realized that I had suggested old magazines and other non-Christmas type gifts, I had to laugh, but figured those ARE good ideas for occupying a little girl, but not necc. gift ideas!!! I figured you understood, but just to clarify we are not THAT frugal, although wouldn't that be nice if we were and they were happy with it etc.???
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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RamFam
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I finished! Here's my mini mei tai, doll and little bag.
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Leah
RamFaminNOVA
Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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10 Bright Stars
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Leah,
That is just precious, Leah!!! You did a beautiful job! I am sure someone is going to have a lovely Christmas.
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Kim married to Bob (22y)
Mom of 11 blessings:
Bobby 19, David 17, Noah 14,
Mary 12, Gracie 10,
Isabelle and Sophia 8,
Gabrielle 6,
William Anthony 4, Joseph 3 and Luisa Marie - born in M
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RamFam
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Eight Wonders wrote:
Leah,
That is just precious, Leah!!! You did a beautiful job! I am sure someone is going to have a lovely Christmas. |
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Kim,
You're too kind! I had so much fun making this. I felt like Santa's little elf. Next year I will definitely do everything handmade.
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Leah
RamFaminNOVA
Tom ^i^, Kyle (my Marine), Adeline '00, Wyatt '05, Isaac '07 Philip '08,Michael '10, and John Xavier Feb '13
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teachingmom
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You did a great job, Leah! I'm so glad you posted the photo because it made me go back to the link to the doll. I hadn't noticed the first time that the site had free online instructions right there. Now I know what I'm making my youngest dd for either her birthday next Fall or next Christmas. That doll with the double face is just adorable!
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~Irene (Mom to 6 girls, ages 7-19)
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Topic: Gift Ideas for 7yo girl
