Christmas Gifts for an 8 Year Old (Who Has Too Many Toys!)

My kids also have/get way too much. I do one of two things:

In lieu of a gift, take them to a special event - play, movie, zoo, etc. - whatever they are interested in.

For every new gift they receive, an older toy/item that they don't play with as much gets donated.

I also have an eight year old girl with tooo many toys. At Bed Bath and Beyond, there is a working miniture ATM that actually comes with its own card. I am trying to instill the importance of saving money. She thinks that the ATM machine is just the box that gives away money to mommy. Well, this is a banking system that allows the child to deposit and withdrawl their own money. It provides the child with a balance notification. The ATM has its own pin number created by the child.

My daughter is all about games and spending time as a family after dinner. I bought a whole variety of games. At Walmart there is a game called Blink. It is fast paced and one round takes less than two minutes. It is tooo fun and addicting.

Cater to what ever arts and crafts she is interested in. My daughter loves to draw clothing. Toys R Us has the Project Runway collection for kids. Plus they have their own line of crafts that range from decorating plates and cups to making jewlery.

I hope this is helpful. This is the first Christmas that my daughter is not getting toys. Just computer games, family games, crafts and clothes. Good luck and have wonderful holiday.

Well, I have a 7 year old girl, going on 16, so I thought that qualified me! LOL.... anyway, it IS hard because my daughter isn't really into toys anymore. As a matter of fact, the only toy she asked for was LuLu the Kitty from furreal friends. Here's what I've done for her and I think she'll LOVE. I'm repainting and redoing her entire bedroom. I'm making an excuse about her and her brother going to grandma's house for a couple of days while I go through the house and touch up paint on all the walls (to explain the paint smell), and also to move all Christmas presents into her room (to explain why she has to stay out of it), so that when they come home, she'll have to bunk in her brother's room. I bought curtains, bedding, rugs, a CD player, flowers in a vase, net to hang from ceiling, pillows, and also pink lights to string around her ceiling. I'm super excited and really think she'll freak out when she sees it! Also, every year she gets an AMerican Girl Doll, so I went on EBay and bought clothes for all her dolls. Got her CD's, movies, games, and clothes. It's nice getting away from the toys, but man, a lot more expensive!

T....My 8 yr old girl is getting a jewelry box, some jewelry, books, computer games and she wanted new tree ornaments (a couple disney ones). Last year she got tickets to the Creation Museum and some misc stuff. I also give her money and take her shopping. Hope this helps....M. B.

Hi, I am an Usborne Books direct seller . We have a variety of books for 8 year olds. Kane Miller Line: Motorbike Bob, Cranky Paws, The Mare's Tale, Jack Russell:Dog Detective (9-Book Series),Wickit (4-Book Series), Dancing Through the Snow, The Wild Stories,Hannah's Winter, Moonrunner. Those are the chapter books. There might be other's if you check my site. With the regular Usborne line: We have other chapter books, arts and crafts, reference books, hobbies, holiday books etc.

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Hi T.,
I feel your pain!! Our oldest will be 9 this coming Saturday & I feel we have the same issue. My sister-in-law got her flannel sheets for Christmas last year & she LOVES them!! We'd wash them & she'd beg us to put them right back on her bed. When it started getting warmer, it was a struggle to keep them off & regular sheets on. I like regular sheets (no flannel) so I never bought them for my girls, but seeing how much she loves them, I bought another set for this Christmas! Good luck!

Good Morning!
My 9 yr old daughter is asking for cd's, laptop, cell phone, webkinz, a few board games, etc.

Something we did last year was raise some money and went shopping for kids at a local shelter. We had a Christmas party there and some of the kids opened their presents then but some of them saved theirs for Christmas morning because that was all of the gifts that they would receive. My daughter wanted to do it again this year. It really touched her seeing how other people really needed things that she took for granted.

You might call a shelter or two in your area to see if you would be able to just pick one family and maybe "adopt" them for Christmas. I know it really opened my daughter's eyes.

Good Luck & MERRY CHRISTMAS

I don't have an 8 year old but I do suggest either a small shopping trip and lunch out or a visit to an interesting place like COSI or the nutcracker or whatever kids event is in your local area.
Music is always great too