My daughter just turned 6. Oh my! What a year! It’s been amazing to see her grow so much and how bright she is becoming. So in the days running up to her birthday, I decided to put together a list. This is a list with all the things she has played with, used more, and enjoyed the most during this past year as a 5-year-old. This way, I am sharing 55 fantastic gifts for 5 year old girls based on our experience during the past year. If your little one is any similar to our daughter, they will probably love these gift ideas!
In hopes of making it a bit easy for you to navigate, I am organizing the items of this list under the following categories:
- Books
- Toys
- Games
- Outdoor toys
- Tech & Apps
- Arts & Crafts & Experiments
- Movies
- Other
Although you can find most of these gift ideas internationally, some might be difficult to find the same outside of Europe. However, even though it may not be the same, the principles might still apply, and you’ll probably be able to find similar items from other local brands. I hope this list can be helpful to you and bring some inspiration.
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself, and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you; when you buy through the links, we may earn a small commission. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks!
Our selection of best gifts for 5 year old girls (and boys)
Books
1. Welcome to Ballet School – Chris Haughton
My daughter is a tiny ballerina and loves ballet. She’s been going to classes since she was three and loves it. When school was over, she still wanted to practice ballet at home – so we got her this book which is lovely and inspiring. With beautiful illustrations, it explains step by step positions, steps, and all the things they’ll be learning during these first years. (It is also great for parents who have no idea about ballet – like me 😅 )
This book is lovely and a great gift before going to see the Swan Lake ballet. It was our first ballet, and understanding the story through its beautiful illustrations and linking each scene to its music was fantastic.
3. Draw With Rob – Rob Biddulph
This summer, we discovered Rob Biddulph’s Youtube channel, where he posted over 100 video tutorials on how to draw different characters. It is just great, and we love it! We’ve drawn together the Narwal, the cupcake, the seahorse, and so many more! (Honestly, I’ve learned a lot). This book is fantastic with more tutorials and activities for when the internet is not available 😉
4. Cats Sticker Activity Book – National Geographic Kids
A fantastic sticker and activity book that will keep them entertained for hours. My daughter has been asking for a cat. I’m not an animal person, so for now, this is the closest she is to a cat 😅 Over 1000 stickers to play with and a lot of knowledge about them. She has enjoyed it a lot. There are many different themed books in this collection, so I’m sure you’ll find one about your little one’s interest. They’ll love it.
5. The Day the Colours Quit – Drew Daywalt & Oliver Jeffers
Duncan wants to color, but when he opens his box of crayons, they have all gone! Instead, he finds a bunch of letters from his crayons saying they’ve had enough. They quit! Red needs a rest – he never gets a holiday, always coloring Santa and Valentine’s Day hearts. Purple can’t stand that Duncan colors outside the lines. Black hates to be used only to outline things. Yellow and Orange are fighting because they want to know who is the real color of the sun. And the letters go on. It is a fabulous, original and hilarious book that we all love. It is simply brilliant.
Toys
6. Costume
One of my daughter’s favorite things to do is play dress-up. Her imagination flies freely when in costume, and she enjoys it a lot. She asked for Jasmine’s outfit this year, and we’ve had many adventures together with the magic lamp and the flying carpet. But she enjoys pretending she is many different people and letting her imagination fly.
7. Dolls
She has enjoyed playing a lot with dolls this past year. Her first Disney princess doll was a gift when she was three, and she has been building up her collection. Dressing them up, playing with them in the dollhouse, and sleeping with them, have been things she’s done all year long. She has enjoyed the Cry Baby dolls as well (although I feel she has played much less with these). These little dolls that come as a surprise inside their little house. It has been a trend here and all her friends had some and she was excited to have one herself and asked for it for Christmas.
These have been fun to play with. We bought a set and she has played with them a lot. She has enjoyed switching their outfits, playing with them in slime, during bathtime, and making outfits for them out of play dough. Here are some of the designs we created.
9. Grapat Mandala
These beautiful sets of loose parts have been a fantastic discovery this year. They are made from wood and are simply fantastic to play with. But, you are probably asking, “what do you do with them?”. So many things! From mandalas, flat designs, stacking them, using them as decorations for small world play, and so much more. This post will show you all the things we’ve come up with so far.
10. Giant Clips
I had no idea how incredible these would be when I bought them on a whim. My children have loved these. We have Montessori-style beds with a house and teepee structure, which have been great to cover with blankets and sheets. But we’ve also used them to create dens with chairs in the living room and gripping things when doing fine motor skill activities.
11. Beads
Beads have been a big hit this year. We’ve made countless bracelets, necklaces, and rings all year long. As gifts, as an afternoon activity, during playdates,… any moment was a good time to make something with beads. We had Grimm’s wooden beads (which are lovely) and plastic and glass beads we found at a local store. She loved combining them and feeling the differences.
12. Magnetic tiles
We’ve played a lot this year with these tiles from Playmag, and we’ve had hours of countless fun. I’ve recently discovered the brand Connetix online and have fallen in love with them. From what I’ve seen, I feel their magnets might be much stronger than the ones we have, allowing for taller and more magnificent constructions. Their pastel tiles and the ball run games seem incredible! This is definitely going on in our letter to Santa this year. I’m positive that any 5-year old who enjoys building things will enjoy experimenting and creating with these. Here’s a link to the ballrun set so you can see the possibilities!
13. Large Wooden Rainbow – Grimm’s
At home, we love love love the wooden rainbow. Since she was three years old, my daughter has been playing with it, and she keeps surprising me. As time goes by, she can do more complex creations. She created animals and more complex structures this year that required more precision, patience, and balance. It is a fantastic open-ended toy that will blow your mind. Check out over 75 ways how we’ve played with it over the years.
14. Dollhouse– KidKraft
When she was four years old, Santa gifted it to her, but she hasn’t played with it until she has turned 5. We chose this particular house because it had wheels, and we could pull it out and place it in the middle of her room, and you could play on it from any angle. So 2 or 3 children can comfortably play with it without being in each other’s way. It is mainly played with when she has friends over, and they spend a lot of time playing with it.
She loves dressing up as a princess but she felt she was missing something important from her outfit: princess shoes with heels. She always enjoyed them when we went on playdates to friends’ houses, and she asked for them for her birthday and simply loves wearing them around the house.
16. Moji pops
Don’t ask me why, but she loves these little squishy toys that can flip their face. My mother-in-law brings one each week as a little gift, and she is super excited. I guess the idea that she can collect them is what makes them attractive.
17. Grapat Lola
Oh my! Lola by Grapat is such a delight for all the senses. It is such a beautiful and colorful open ended toy that you will all love. Stack them, create designs, create small worlds and so much more with them. What do you do with it? That is the beauty, there is no right or wrong way to play with it. Check out this post for inspiration.
Games
18. Postman – Londji
Postman is a beautiful board game from Londji, where all the players have letters to give out around the town. We flip a card and whoever sees the house first is the one to make the delivery. There are cards with different levels of complexity, going from the easiest with the actual drawing of the house to the most difficult saying the house right to a white building with 4 windows and a blue door. It’s great for kids and grownups. We’ve loved it!
19. Monza – Haba
What a great board game! My daughter isn’t into cars but loves it. It is a race around a track, and whoever crosses the finish line wins. But to move forward, each player rolls five dice that will give different colors, and you must come up with the color combination that will allow you to move the farthest in your turn. You can only move forward, and it is fantastic. Each game lasts 10 minutes tops, so it is a fun, quick activity you can do together. We’ve played all summer!
20. Uno
This classical card game is fantastic for getting started in playing cards:
- We started with a couple of colors and took out the cards that were not numbers.
- When she understood how it went, we added the rest of the colors and kept playing.
- We added all the cards to the deck, and she loves it.
They also played with it at school to learn about turn-taking and rules.
Outdoor toys
21. Bicycle
Santa Claus brought her first bicycle. She was so surprised! This year she learned how to go with it, with the stabilizers. I hope she’ll build her confidence to leave the stabilizers behind now that she is six.
22. Swimming glasses
These have been great during the summer. If my daughter could choose between running around and being in water – she would choose swimming all day long. This year she has built her confidence inside the pool and liked to dive and get some things from the pool’s steps. The glasses have been a great confidence booster to put her head underwater, and she has spent countless hours pretending she was a mermaid.
23. Unicorn float
The second best thing to do in the pool, after swimming around, was to sit on her magical unicorn and float around. Be it with daddy, grandma, grandpa, her brother, or me, it was great to go on adventures with our new unicorn pet that we could all enjoy. (I admit I also enjoyed some “me time” away on the float when it was free 😉 ).
24. Golf clubs
We play golf as a family. Both her grandfathers play golf, and my husband and I played when we were young. My husband loves it, and I know how to play but prefer doing other things to playing. So during the summer, she started with her first golf lessons, and she enjoyed them. So her grandparents got her this first set of clubs hoping that she might like it as much as them. The good thing about golf is that even three generations can play together, and you can’t do that with many sports. So let’s see if she likes it.
Arts & Crafts & Experiments
25. Aquabeads
These tiny beads have had her concentrated and entertained for hours! They’ve helped her focus, count, be patient, design and work on precision. We’ve replicated many patterns from the booklet or others that we have searched online. These are small plastic beads that you place together on a grid, creating a pixel-like design, and after you spray with water and let them dry, they hold together in place. She has gifted them to friends, and her friends have given her their creations. Aside from that, I do not know what else you can do with them. 😅
26. Acrylic markers
I was so excited when I discovered these this year – I honestly did not know they existed. We’ve painted rocks and peg dolls with them, and they are fantastic.
27. Ingredients to make slime
Slime has been a big thing. If they could, they would have been playing with slime all day and all the time. Our issue is that my daughter has coeliac disease, and many of the premade slimes do not indicate if they contain gluten or are suitable for coeliac children. I know they will not eat it, but since they play with their hands and then touch EVERYTHING, I did not want to risk contamination. So, I bought glue, contact lens solution, and food coloring that was all gluten-free, and we’ve been making slime many times during the year.
28. Experiments set
We’ve played a lot with this set this year. It has sparked many ideas and experiments. She has loved mixing liquids, food coloring, different densities, and extracting conclusions from the process.
29. Food coloring
Food coloring is a must-have item in our home. I used to bake cookies and used them a lot. But with the children, we’ve done soooo many things with it. We’ve experimented with water, made slime, made oobleck, chalk paint, dye rice, volcanoes, painted with colored ice, made marbled paper, and decorated cupcakes. These are just a few things you can do with it. You must buy food coloring if you don’t have any.
30. Lab coat
The perfect complement for a little scientist that likes experimenting around. (It also helps keep her clothes clean of any slimy accidents that will for sure happen 😅 ).
31. Glitter markers
My daughter looooves glitter. We haaaaate it. Once you let glitter out, it goes everywhere, and it lasts forever. For that reason, we don’t have glitter at home. But, I found glitter markers, and they gave her the shine without the mess.
32. Peg dolls
These have been a discovery. We’ve had the Grimms peg dolls for years, but we bought plain wooden ones so we could decorate ourselves. It has been so much fun. You can paint them with paints, or markers, or even cover them with playdough. They’ve been so much fun.
33. Fabric markers & Plain fabric bags to paint
This was a fun activity. Her grandparents got her these special markers for fabric and because I did not want her drawing on her T-shirts, school bag or shoes, I got her a set of plain fabric bags that she could decorate as she wished. She decorated tote bags and small bags for all of us and they are lovely.
34. Face paints – Snazaroo
For her birthday party – which was with restrictions and we could only invite a couple of friends due to Covid – I bought these face paints and we painted their faces and drew some tattoos with stencils. They loved it! I highly recommend it. These are also Gluten-free so it was great.
35. Washi tapes
I’d say these are great for 5 year olds and older 😅 They have so many uses! You can create so many arts & crafts, and you can use them to stick things on the wall and they peel off great without leaving a mark.
36. Icing and sprinkles
My daughter has coeliac disease, and it is not always easy to find ingredients to make cakes that will fool gluten-eating family and friends. It is so challenging to find fun sprinkles that she can have and make her feel like the rest of her friends. There is not much to choose from in our city, always the same and just 3-4 options.
I discovered The Baking Time Club, and it’s been incredible. They make the most beautiful sprinkles selections, and they are gluten-free. Sometimes they have taken ten weeks to get here, but the look of happiness on her face is priceless. If you are feeling lazy and do not want to make your icing, Betty Crocker has amazing Gluten-Free icing as well. And if your child does not have to worry about ingredients, any lovely shiny and fun sprinkles will do the trick. Who doesn’t like sprinkling some magic on their cupcakes?
Movies & shows
Raya and the Last Dragon came out this year and we really enjoyed it. It is a story of a Raya, a warrior, who sets out to track down Sisu, a dragon, who transferred all her powers into a magical gem which is now scattered all over the kingdom of Kumandra, dividing its people. It is a beautiful story about trust, knowing people and making friends. Set in South East Asia which portrays another rich and diverse culture not usually seen on the screen for us.
38. Zog and the Flying Doctors
We fly with Zog, Princess Pearl, and Gadabout the Knight in this story and see them taking care of magical creatures everywhere. But when they visit Princess Pearl’s uncle one day, he captures her and doesn’t let her leave because he feels princesses shouldn’t and can’t be doctors. But Pearl, with the help of her friends, will prove him wrong! Princesses can be doctors and anything they put their hearts into. We love how this story goes against traditional stereotypes. You can check out other short movies from Julia Donaldson and others in this post.
39. Luca
Luca is a beautiful story about summer friendships, discovery, passion for learning, and learning to accept and embrace different people. Set in a coastal village in Italy, this is an original movie with a sweet ending that will make you smile.
40. Gabby’s Dollhouse
This Netflix series is terrific. In each episode, Gabby, a real-life cat-loving girl, magics herself to fit in her dollhouse with all her cat friends. When she is in the dollhouse, everything is animated. They go on adventures and quests that often involve making some crafts. I’ve gotten home more than once and found her tinkering and creating something she has seen in an episode. I appreciate that it is encouraging her creatively to make things by herself.
Tech & apps
41. iPad
My daughter likes to use an old iPad of mine now and then. I downloaded many apps when we were in lockdown, and she can also access Netflix and Disney+ occasionally. In addition, we have the Apple Pencil, and she enjoys drawing on it.
42. Procreate
Procreate is my favorite app. I have used it to work on my illustrations for the past four years. Everything I’ve created has been done with it, and it has been incredible. My daughter also enjoys it at a much more superficial level. But she swaps brushes and accesses the color palette all by herself. We are learning about layers now, but I think it is something we still need to practice a lot. So if I use it for my work and amazing artists use it, why not teach her to use it as well?
43. Khan Academy Kids
What an incredible discovery! Khan Academy is an online American non-profit educational organization whose goal is to create online tools that help educate students. The quality and quantity of courses you can do is incredible… and it is all for free. Now, they’ve developed an app for children that is awesome.
It is filled with activities, videos, and e-books that keep them engaged and entertained while learning and with no ads. We downloaded it during lockdown 2020, and she still asks to use it now. My daughter loves the books about nature, and it is great to see her teach us things we did not know. It is fantastic, and I highly recommend it.
44. Camera
She loves her camera.
Other
45. Sparkly dress
I believe this is her favorite outfit ever. She asked Santa for a “sparkly dress”. That was it. A “sparkly dress”. So Santa had to get creative and research and found that Zara had this sequined dress all in silver. Santa thought it might be too much – as Santa likes things more muted – but it was a real success. I have never seen her shine as much as when she wears her sparkly dress.
46. Umbrella
This umbrella with transparent top and drawings caught her attention immediately and is her faithful companion on rainy days.
47. Chocolate kit
What a fantastic gift this was! A kit to learn how to be a mini chocolatier master! It came with molds, chocolates, piping bags, tools and instructions. This is from The Chocolate Factory in Barcelona and it was so much fun.
48. Nail Polish
Her friends and her enjoy painting their nails. I really don’t know where she’s got it from as I never paint mine, but I guess it is something they talk about in school. We got her some peelable water based ones and I feel ok with her painting them as they are very easy to remove.
49. Headbands
It was the year of the headbands. My daughter’s signature look was with a headband, and she had many in different colors. We bought most of them in Zara, and I must admit, we have shared them all year long. It’s lovely to be able to share with her.
50. House bed
She absolutely loves her Montessori house bed. After 2 years, if I could, I would choose an option like this one, without the beam where she gets into bed (we’ve bumped against it too many times by now).
51. Lamp – Marset
Grandpa got her this wonderful lamp that we use a lot during bedtime. She can place it on the bed, and we read a story together. Each of my children has their own lamp, which makes them feel grown up and independent. We read stories, and while I am putting one to sleep, the other is looking at a book by themselves. It is chargeable so that it can be cable-free, and because it has different intensities, they can have it on their bed in the corner without bothering the other one much.
52. Martial arts uniform
She started taewkondo just when she turned five as an after-school activity. We offered her a range of activities that she could do. We did not want to gender-bias her in any way, so we offered to continue with music and ballet or try out coding, sports, martial arts, and she decided to continue with ballet and try martial arts. She decided to drop music (which I would have loved for her to continue), but it was her choice. She is thrilled with taekwondo. They build confidence, respect, honor, and instill positive values that we believe will help build a solid foundation for her future.
53. Ballet outfit
She loves loves loves ballet and she needed a new outfil. We got her a new pink leotard with a skirt and she does not only wear it for class, but also at home when she wants to practice her steps. It’s fun to see how she is growing and evolving and how much she loves to move to the sound of music.
54. Magical door (Ratoncito Perez)
In many parts of the world, the tooth fairy is the one that comes and collects children’s baby teeth, but not in Spain. So here we have “Ratoncito Perez” (Perez Mouse). He is a tiny mouse that comes, takes the teeth, and leaves a goody behind, a coin or a small toy. He comes through this magical door at home that only works when he knocks on the other side 😅. We got this one in Zara Home.
55. Tooth fairy bag
My daughter has lost her first three teeth this past year, and we all know that magic happens at night when teeth are put under the pillow. She placed hers in this tiny bag with a letter to explain what had happened, and it was so sweet. Be it the tooth fairy or Ratoncito Perez, it is easier for parents to find the tooth under the pillow if it is placed in a bag like this one.
Extras that I know she would have enjoyed as a 5 year old
56. Flockmen
Flockmen have come into our home very recently and they are an amazing open ended toy. From my 3 year old son to myself, we have a great time playing with them. You can build bridges, towers, monuments, and play in so many ways with them. See how we play with them here and enjoy them as much as we do.
57. Waytoplay road
Fantastic Gifts For 5 Year Olds – the things our 5 year old daughter has loved
These are the top things that my daughter has enjoyed while he’s been 5. I hope they will inspire you and help you find things your little one will enjoy. I know that when I look at these objects I’ll have many memories of her fifth year.
Once again I wanted to mention that most of these items can be found internationally, but some might be difficult to find exactly the same outside Europe. But bear in mind that the principle is the same and you might probably be able to find a similar item from other brands that are local to you. I hope this list can be useful to you.
I would love to hear if you have enjoyed any of these or if you have other gift suggestions that have worked wonders for you and your family. Please share with me in the comment section below! We are always interested in discovering new things!
Happy fives! *
