Disclaimer: This gift guide for eight year old girls contains items I was sent free of charge for inclusion, but words and pictures are mine. This post contains affiliate links, see more information here. You can enter the giveaways at the bottom of this post.
It’s that time of year again! Well actually, it’s my daughter’s 8th birthday, and that means my yearly Christmas Gift Guide is here! The aim is to give you ideas of what you can get for your own similar-aged kids (and other people’s if you’re feeling generous) for Christmas. As an aside, if you’re thinking of have kids and becoming a blogger, November birthdays are dead handy for this reason.
Eight year old girls seem quite tricky to buy presents for.
Toddlers and younger kids are happy with loads of colourful plastic and go for quantity over quality, but by the time they reach eight, kids know what they like and they can’t be bought off with any old Poundland tat any longer.
I have only included things that I know she would like and will use, even though having to turn down wine, beauty products, sex toys and other things extremely unsuitable for an eight year old was pretty depressing. Perhaps next year, I’ll do a gift guide for myself.
Why is this gift guide specifically for girls? Can’t boys like these things too?
Yes of COURSE they can. But when people Google for Christmas present inspiration, they tend to type in ‘best Christmas presents for an eight year old girl’. I don’t necessarily agree, and hopefully I’ve included a lot of gender-neutral ideas here as well as things that although might be seen as typically ‘girly’ are of COURSE also available to buy for your children, whatever their gender. Unless you operate toys with your genitals, they are gender neutral. And if you do, they aren’t for kids. However, if I don’t make this google-able, no one will ever find or read it. Are we cool?
OK, on with the show. (And if you want some extra ideas, I also recommend checking out American Toy Store’s guide to gifts for eight-year-old girls).
Hair accessories storage
My daughter’s hair has grown almost exponentially in a year. Hair bands, I have discovered, are simultaneously everywhere and nowhere all at once. In an attempt to be able to locate them of a morning, I got her this stacking storage tin, £8.95 from the Wicked Uncle website.
I’ve also bought her 100 hair bands to go inside it; shall we take bets on how long before we can no longer find any?
Hand stamped bracelet
This year, she specifically requested jewellery, which is a very grown up thing to ask for but I am hopeful it will stop her from nicking mine.
With her name hand stamped on the outside and a personal message on the inside, I am obsessed with this aluminium bracelet from Truly Senti Metal. It’s a small business run by Anna, who hand makes jewellery, keyrings and more over and is contactable on her Facebook page.
The bracelets can be stamped on the inside as well as the outside, and cost about £12 so make great Christmas presents.
Heelys
Heelys are hugely popular with kids of all ages and these Minecraft Heelys combine two very popular pastimes! These particular one-wheel Heelys with the purple and black Minecraft design are priced at £59.95 in children’s sizes.
If you would prefer four wheels to two, then there is also a great range of beginner skateboards.
Personalised birthstone necklace
I also got her this Swarovski birthstone necklace from The Engravers Guild, who make personalised necklaces. The necklace, which costs £39.95, has a silver heart shaped pendant which can be engraved with the recipient’s name or initial, and my daughter’s birthstone, which happens to be topaz.
It’s also available in gold and rose gold for £49.50. You can also win one at the bottom of this post!
A subscription to The Week Junior
If you’re looking for something that will last the whole year, then a subscription is a great gift. My son has a subscription to The Phoenix Comic, which he loves and looks forward to every week. Looking for something that could bring my daughter the same fun on a weekly basis, I came across The Week Junior.
The Week Junior is a current affairs magazine specifically for children aged 8-14. It makes a brilliant Christmas gift for your child, grandchild, niece, nephew… Any child who has that spark of interest and wants to know what’s going on in the world. You can give 19 issues for just £27.99 – and they’ll send you a card and festive activity pack to give to the child on the big day, with their subscription starting from the first issue of the new year.
As a fan of the podcast, I just know my daughter will love this one!
A secret diary
What eight year old girl doesn’t want a secret diary in which she can write her deepest thoughts? This one is £8.95 from Wicked Uncle has a lock and a key to keep everything secret – so no little brothers can snoop.
Festive baking
Baking with kids was always something of a nightmare, but now my daughter is old enough to follow instructions it’s more fun.
This Britain Loves Baking Christmas Gingerbread Baking Box includes everything you need to make at least 50 biscuits, including weighed/measured ingredients, cookie cutters, piping bag and baking parchment – the only thing you need to provide are eggs.
The box is SUPER heavy and bursting with ingredients, individually packaged so you can’t go far wrong! It has an RRP of £35, and there are loads of different baking boxes available on their website which can be delivered directly to your giftee.
You can also follow them on Instagram and Facebook. You can also win a set worth £50 at the bottom of this post!
Toys and games
Addams Family Mansion Mayhem game
Nintendo Switch games are always on the list and this time we were excited to try out the new Addams Family game – Mayhem Mansion!
Up to four players (playing as Gomez, Morticia, Wednesday and Pugsley) can work together using their unique powers to save the Addams Family mansion by exploring, solving puzzles, and finding lost relics in a spooky 3D platform game. You start off in the kitchen, where you have been shrunk down to the size of a mouse and have to bump into containers and jump on bananas, and collecting coins as you go.
There are also minigames for the whole family to play against each other.
My biggest criticism would be the lack of the classic Addams family theme song…
You can also get the game for Xbox One and PS4, and all are priced around the £30 mark.
Living Nature Little Owl
I’m quite chuffed that as an owl-lover, my daughter has grown up to have owls as her favourite creatures too and I couldn’t resist adding to her soft toy collection with this cute and cuddly little owl.
Nature’s collection of over 200 toys are soft and stuffed with material made with recycled plastic so they’re eco-friendly too. The 16cm little owl, who comes in a carry case with nesting material and an owner’s manual, costs £14.99 and can be purchased on their website. He’s even suitable from birth.
You can sign up for their newsletter for 10% off your first order. Follow on Instagram and Facebook for updates.
Edible Science kit
When it comes to toys, science and crafts come out top.
The ‘Edible Science‘ kit contains fifteen delicious experiments for you to do at home, including making chocolate spaghetti, a sugar crystal geode and edible slime. You are supplied with the instructions and equipment but note that you will need to purchase the ingredients separately – and although some items are easy to find, others aren’t necessarily, so be warned and be prepared if giving this to someone on Christmas day, you’ll need to go shopping first which makes this a more expensive gift than the £21 RRP.
The Amazing Flower Kit
This cute kit from Bright Minds costs £16.99 has everything included to make almost 50 foam flowers to display including daisies, primroses, edelweiss, gerbera, daffodils, dahlias, orchids and poppies.
You don’t need glue or scissors so it’s a mess-free craft; push out the pieces and fit on to the stems to create your own bouquet.
Crafting kits
The Abeec Rainy Day craft kit has six individually packaged craft activities perfect for the miserable Christmas weather. Craft kits included are letter bracelets, mosaic pictures, bouncy balls, foam notebook, fashion braids and Christmas greeting cards, and all come with step by step instructions so when kids get bored they can open up an envelope and get stuck in!
Although it’s aimed at any kids from 5+ , at eight my daughter will be able to do the crafts all unsupervised (which is the dream). At £12.99, it’s a great little buy – the colourful box it comes in can be kept afterwards to store things all your craft things inside, too. You can buy the kit from Amazon.
Other cute craft kits available from Abeec are this unicorn diamond painting kit (rrp £8.99) which comes with a template, gems and a frame to put your artwork in, and Barbie colour reveal scratch art poster, (rrp £4.99) which would both make brilliant stocking fillers and will keep your kid entertained for hours.
Body Art
The Shimmer Me Body Art Roll on Glitter Tattoos kit is something I tried out at the last BlogOn. The kit contains four one-metre roll-on foils, two colours of glitter, a glitter brush, gems, roller and 180 temporary tattoo designs.
Here is how the glitter tattoos look when they’re applied. They last around 24 hours and are easy to get off by peeling them or washing with warm water.
Available online currently at £15, it’s a decent sized present and I can’t wait to be decorated.
Geomag Mechanics Gravity Racetrack
Geomag make seriously cool toys for kids of all ages. Their mechanics range is aimed at older kids, aged 8+. We’ve already got the Gravity Shoot & Catch set which is satisfying – but very time consuming – to set up, with 243 pieces. It’s certainly not something that a young child (or, er, me) could do on their own quickly and without the odd swear.
This set promises to be slightly easier with 67 pieces, largely made from recycled plastic, including a magnetic canon and circuit to race the ballbearings around. This set will be something fun to do as an alternative to jigsaws on Christmas day.
This kit has an RRP of £24.99 and you can buy it from Amazon. You can also win one at the bottom of this post!
Ghost Castle
Games are always fun to play at Christmas, so there have to be some on the list!
NOSTALGIA ALERT! So it’s a ghost instead of a skull, the playing pieces aren’t way too flimsy to go into the plastic stands and the whole thing doesn’t fall apart every 5 minutes but apart from that, this updated version of the classic game Ghost Castle is very much as I remember from the 90s.
My kids better enjoy it or they’re dead to me.
You can get it from Amazon
Baffled
Baffled is a fun family memory game for 2-4 players aged six and over from Cheatwell Games.
You have a minute to memorise the position of 12 tiles, which then swap around to confuse you. When you land on the square, you have to guess where they are correctly or lose a life. Kids will enjoy it because there is every chance they will beat the adults (and probably won’t stop banging on about it either.
You can buy it from Amazon. You can also win one at the bottom of this post!
Original Super High Performance Stomp Rocket® Kit.
I thought I’d get this one for her little brother primarily, as birthdays can be a bit depressing when it’s not yours. However, turns out that this simple ‘stamp on the pump and make the rocket hit the ceiling’ game is both a brilliant and hilarious gift whether you’re a six year old boy or an eight year old girl, so it’s getting an honourable mention here.
Although it’s probably best as an outdoor toy, I would certainly only use it in a large garden unless you’re friendly with your neighbours because this thing goes a LONG way- up to 40 feet, so the packaging says, although I have no way of actually measuring that far. Fortunately you get three rockets with it, so hopefully you can avoid losing them all over the fence.
With a SRP of £12.99, you can buy it from Amazon, I’m certain this one will bring much joy and many arguments to the two of them.
Science Mad! Chemistry Lab
We have tried some of the Science Mad! toys for younger kids, but this Chemistry Lab is definitely a step up from that!
Aimed at kids 10+, it’s one that I will definitely be supervising as it comes with 10 different chemicals (Ammonium Chloride, Magnesium Sulphate, Potassium Iodide, Sodium Sulphate, Sodium Thiosulphate, Sodium Carbonate, Sodium Hydrogen Sulphate, Zinc Pellets, Tartaric Acid, Aluminium Potassium Sulphate, Copper(II) Sulphate, Copper Foil, Iron(II) Sulphate, Iron Filings, Litmus Blue, Magnesium Strip, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Hydroxide, Copper(II) Oxide) and the glass equipment needed to do 80 experiments, including test tubes, safety goggles and a methylated spirit burner and of course, step by step instructions.
Never mind the kids, I’m quite excited about this one and I’m sure that they will be too! Note that you’ll have to supply additional chemicals such as citric acid, common salt, vinegar, methylated spirits, food dye and other materials, so be prepared to go shopping if you want to do more than a handful of the experiments.
The Science Mad Chemistry Lab costs around £30 and can be bought from Amazon. You can also win one a set at the bottom of this post!
Stocking fillers
Reflective hat and gloves
OK, there are more exciting things out there than hats and gloves but as we head into winter they’re very necessary, and these ‘Luminosity’ ones are pretty damn cool, as they are reflective and fleece lined.
I am loving the bright colours and particularly the woollen bobble; both have an RRP of £20 but the hat is currently down to a fiver on the Regatta website.
Light up gloves
When one pair just isn’t enough, these light up gloves from Wicked Uncle are quite the party piece. Funky, cosy and with various different modes including flashing, you’ll never get lost in the dark again!
They cost £13.99. You can also win one of three sets at the bottom of this post!
Zoobles
If you’ve ever seen Bakugan, then Zoobles might look a little familiar! When you drop your ball or roll it over the magnetic ‘happitat’ included in the pack, the little Zoobles transform from small balls to cute little animals and birds.
The single packs cost are £7 each and you can get them from Amazon.
Pass the Pugs
Another one with the nostalgia here as Pass the Pigs was always one of my favourite games. It’s had a 2020s update and now it’s not just pigs, but the much-loved pugs. Clever, no?
The rules remain the same, and it now comes in a handy little travel box which you can fit the pugs, the pencils and the scoresheet inside. I can’t wait to play this with the kids, evoking happy memories of arguing with my own sister about cheating.
The game costs just under a tenner and you can get it from Amazon. You can also win one of three sets at the bottom of this post!
Crafty Surprise Mystery Craft Kit
Although a lot of mystery collectible are aimed at younger children, I liked the idea of these little Crafty Surprises from John Adams which contain everything you need to make one of six surprise craft projects – including a cat coin purse, a panda and a dream catcher – with instructions, materials, and a cute reusable pencil-style container.
Currently available for under £10 on Amazon, they’re a lovely little stocking filler.
PhoneHug phone holder
Judge me if you like; my eight year old has a mobile phone. Technically it’s my old phone, and she uses it for games, photos, skyping relatives and obviously playing Pokemon Go.
However even though it’s an old phone, it still makes me wince every time I let her take it out in public, so this silcone PhoneHug (RRP £8.95) with lanyard (RRP £7.95) and carabiner (supplied with the PhoneHug but also available for £2) is a great way to make sure it doesn’t get lost or dropped.
It can also be used to hang it up at the end of the day so it won’t get misplaced around the house. The PhoneHug fits onto most smartphones and can be purchased online from the PhoneHug website. You can also win one at the bottom of this post!
And of course, no Christmas is complete without…
Socks!
Socks might not be the coolest of all the gifts, but they are a must-have Christmas gift for kids and adults of any age as I’m sure you’ll agree (even if they groan about it).
These mix and match Odd Socks are from Wicked Uncle and cost £12.99.
GIVEAWAY
I have loads of prizes available to win!
All competitions are for UK residents only, and you must be 18 or over to enter. Additional competition terms can be found here.
Good luck!
One of three Pass The Pugs games
A copy of the boardgame Baffled
A personalised birthstone necklace from The Engraver’s Guild
A Geomag Mechanic Gravity Racetrack set
Two PhoneHugs with accessories
A Science Mad! Chemistry Lab set
A Britain Loves Baking ingredients and bakeware box worth £50
A pair of flashing light up gloves from Wicked Uncle
I always want fragrance! I am delighted, though, to get gifts of any description.
Your 8 year old sounds a lot like mine! Plenty of craft and science love here. Good list!
Rarhhhh, longest post ever 🤣😍 another good one though, cheers. I’m off to rest my scrolling finger now…
Hahaha sorry – think how I felt writing it! x
A happy and healthy christmas for all. After last year, i’d just love a hug!
After last year, I just want my family around me for Christmas!
Well this worked, I’ve ended up buying stuff from Wicked Uncle for daughter and niece
I want gloves for Christmas. Technically I want A glove, as I had the perfect pair but one went away 😭. But I know that’s impossible so will look forward to 2 new hand socks.
Some ace ideas! 😊
Hope your young one has a great birthday ,the presents sound fabulous
This is a great gift guide. I (sorry, my children) would love to win anything on the list 😊
I’d like my family around me this Christmas!
I would just like to do the best I can for my kids to have a good Xmas I don’t have gifts it’s all about my kids 🎅🎀🎅🎀🎅
I always ask for soap and glory sets… I end up with enough to last me till next Christmas x
I would love to have a pandora bracelet as never had one.
I would love a new dressing gown for Christmas.
I would like a new coat
I have had a bit of a accident so i actually do want two new front teeth as the old song goes
I would like some new walking boots
I’d love a new phone
Just for harmony and peace fun and laughter
I want some perfume and a Ninja Foodi.
I’d love a year’s subscription to Ancestry, or a booking for a holiday in the Lakes!
The new Dave Grohl book
Just happy healthy family
I would love some cosy Pj’s, some slippers and a plastic chopping board!
For Christmas I’d love an animal experience for our local zoo!
A new phone
I’ve been struggling for my 8yr old this year. She’s not given me any ideas, but at least now I’ve got somewhere to start.
Some books
Peacefully chill out at Christmas
Some new pjs and slippers
Some new slippers!
for Christmas I want to have a lovely time and food with the family
I am a big kid and want the new Mario Superstar game
A chain saw.
I would love perfume!
Diamonds please 💍
I would really like a Velvetiser
I would love gin, chocolates and flowers!
Fantastic Prize 😀 keeping my fingers crossed 🤞
A fairy or some other magical being to finish my decorating!
to be healthy. I just had a 2nd heart attack at 44
Just CDs really, something which makes my younger co-worker laugh. Apparently no one buys them anymore….
I would love just a day full of smiles 🙂
A bit boring but I really want a garment steamer for Christmas
I would actually love a set of pans for Christmas
fantastic guide and loads of great ideas
this year for christmas I’ve asked for experiences with friends and family – so an escape room day, cinema and theatre tix and drag show tix
I’d love some pillow mist from NEOM
I would love tickets to visit Los Angeles but I will also be happy with chocolate for christmas xx
Any kind of sweets and I’m happy 🙂
Pandora charms to go with my bracelet
I want my little boy to be happy and enjoy himself
I would love some books! I love reading!
Perfume, chocolate and gin would be good choices!
Wow, great ideas for my eight and six year olds. Thanks.
I need those light up gloves for myself! Excellent gift guide
I so need these gloves for when I am playing Steel pan in the dark!
Great Post and fantastic prizes! My daughter has her 8th birthday in January, so she would love any of these i’m sure! 🙂
Shall be having a new fridge as mine packed up last week. If Currys actually deliver it and don’t keep putting back the delivery date, for something supposedly in stock when ordered.
Great prizes!! Christmas has come early!!
I want to be able to see all my family and have time with my friends. Some new boots wouldn’t go amiss either 😉
Dog grooming equipment to help with my training
These are great prizes. I’m hoping for a Hotel Chocolat velveztiser which will sit in the cupboard with all the other ‘useful’ things I own.
Seeing Ghost Castle reminded me of many a game against my brother and sister when younger and makes we want to write to Santa for that this year…
however it also then made me think of another classic (in my household anyway, probably really obscure and rare) Torpedo Run!
It basically had a playing mat that took up the entire ground floor of your house and was glorified battleships with real plastic ships and elastic band powered plastic torpedos thay could take an eye out. Good ol’ 90s board game!
I am hoping for anew houseplant!
An end to the pandemic?!
I would like a fancy new dressing gown from Wolf and Badger, as my fella has adopted mine in the same way I adopt his hoodies, and I don’t think I’m getting it back!
A new ipad
I’d love a Kitchen Aid mixer but I’d settle for some sleep tbh
A tin of paint would be a very useful gift for Christmas this year!
As many rescue cats and dogs as possible to find loving homes by Christmas.
I’ve asked for books and the peace and quiet to enjoy them, well it’s worth a try.
I’d like some new socks
Just for us all to be happy and healthy
Peace and quiet 😉
I think i just want to spend time with family x
I’d like a new tablet for Christmas.
I’d like a new laptop this year as mine is so slow.
Anything scented ! Candles perfume love them
Would love some new pyjamas
I could use a new PC monitor this year.
To be together at Christmas time
This is actually really helpful! Struggling for ideas for my daughter this year! Thanks