What are your 5-6 year old girl's favorite toys?

[olive&pimiento]

i am really feeling stuck on what to get dd for Christmas.  She has asked for a bunch of Barbie stuff.  While I don't really mind Barbies, she already has them and I would really like some other options.  She is very artistic and my mother has already covered all types of art supplies and books.  If you have a dd this age, what does she play with?

Thanks,

Nicole

[kibba]

I know you said she has barbies...but what about a barbie car or barbie house??

Art kits are always a good thing to have, my daughter loves them.

[LuckyMommaToo]

DD loves Playmobil and is getting a few sets. (Mostly hospital and vet themed.) She really loves and plays with her American Girl doll so is getting a couple accessories for her. DD also likes Calico Critters and Legos. Oh, she's obsessed with babies and nursing so I got her this momma dog and puppies:

http://www.amazon.com/Nursing-Nana-Dog-106690/dp/B00067U1S8

DD is also very artistic and loves beautiful things. Last year I got her one of these music box dolls:

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Tree-Riding-Hood-Musical/dp/B000Z94JJO

And she still loves it.

MIL got DD a Twirly Girl dress two years ago and she still wears it:

http://www.twirlygirlshop.com/

I may get her a crystal or two to hang in her window. Jewelry (from etsy) and a jewelry box are other possibilities.

But, OTOH, if your DD loves Barbies and you don;t have a problem with them, then you could just go with her list. My DS is like that with Legos. Can never have too many, according to him!

best,

-e

[LynnS6]

At this age, dd loved playmobil. She also got a set of Pop-Arty beads for her birthday from a friend and really liked them.

Board games were good too: She liked Guess Who?, and 2 Family Pastime games: The Secret Door and the Princess one.

I think that was the first year dd got a Webkinz. She played the online component a bit, but mostly played with the animals. Actually she still plays with the animals. Well, no. She plays with MY Webkinz (that she bought for me as a "present") because then I have to make them talk and she can interact with them. She's currently making them ball gowns for their Christmas ball. (Well, I'm cutting and pinning. She's stitching.)

[tooraloora]

6 year old DD has a little wooden doll family she adores, and a Waldorf doll, Flower, that she plays with alllll the time. New outfits for Flower are always big hits for her. She also really enjoys playing dress up and reading. We're big into fantasy here, so a good book on fairies will keep her entertained for a long time. I got her this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810995867/ref=oh_o00_s01_i01_details a few months back to look at together. She really enjoys the pictures, and wanted to hang the art prints immediately. The book is a little too much for her on her own just yet, but she'll grow into it. As it is now, I like it a lot too, so it's a good opportunity for bonding time. She requests it nearly every day. She adores the Ology series. I got her Bringing Up Baby Dragons for Christmas this year. It will likely end up being her favorite gift. I also got her A Genuine and Moste Authentic Guide: Explorer: A Daring Guide for Young Adventurers, which is also right up her alley. Any chance to explore and learn tends to get her pretty excited. I'll probably get her a compass and spyglass for her birthday in January, and maybe some dress up clothes to go with the theme. She has a pretty strong interest in biology and gardening right now, too. I have a butterfly nursery, worm farm, ant farm, and a venus fly trap terrarium on the list for later in the year, all of which she's pretty excited about. 

[SweetSilver]

My girls are all about the animals-- wooden, Playmobil, Schleich and all those.  They love *sets* of things, so a herd of little horses rather than one big one, or a flock of little fairies.  My youngest, 5yo, still adores her PlanCity road and rail set that keeps getting bigger every year.  My oldest, nearly 7, loves the paint-your-own-horse sets offered by Breyer.  They don't play in their toy house much, but love the wooden furniture and the tiny food.  Legos are loved by one-and-all.  DD1 prefers to build what comes in the instruction booklet and dd2 builds Whatever and it somehow manages to stay up!  Right now she is playing with her Erector set.  She still loves the wooden blocks, too.  (Well, she'll play with pretty much anything, even vegetable peelings on many occasions and chicken skin and bones on another 2.)  

For dress-up-doll lovers, I have always liked to give lots of new clothes.  I know I've seen a Barbie this year that comes with a horse (with blonde mane and tail, of course!)  I know that the My Little Pony sets that were given to them years ago are still enormously popular.  DD2 just had a birthday and her "big" present this year was the Summer fairy and unicorn from Magic Cabin.  The little Kathy Kruse dollies are just as much fun for them as their other dress-up dolls. 

Nothing tops the animals, though, in our house.

[pianojazzgirl]

Dress-up clothes

Playmobil

Lego

Craft supplies

[MAMom]

- Magnatiles - pricey, but we've gotten our money's worth out of these for DS (8) & DD (5.5)

- Legos

- Board games - Zingo, checkers, Blokus, memory game, bananagrams

- Wooden marble run (DD uses it with her Hex bug...lol)

- Kitchen set

- wooden animals

[Daffodil]

When my DD was that age, Playmobil and plastic animals got the most use.

[sharon71]

Anything that has to do with horses,horse books,horse toys,Barbie horses,horse beddings,etc.

[K1329]

Like a pp - Calico Critters are big with my dd. They're good quality & hold up well to lots of play. She is also getting a rock tumbler/polisher as she likes to collect rocks.
For your dd, I agree some Barbie accessories for her collection might work, without adding more actual Barbie dolls.

[Nan411]

DD is almost 7 and still loves playing with wooden block. She also like Legos. (Duplos because she has a little brother who would put the smaller legos in his mouth). She also loves dress up clothes, art kits, playdough, and blank note books or sketch books.

What she's getting for Christmas and her birthday (which is on Dec. 10)

-New bike

-Diary of a Wimpy Kid do-it-yourself book ( journal with writing prompts)

-BFC doll that looks like her (like an American girls doll but cheaper...LOL)

- MagnaTiles

-Tea set

She has also been bugging me for a Nintendo DSi XL but I'm not sure if she'll get it. I just know it will turn her into a zombie and result in a big fight every time I ask her to stop playing.

[olive&pimiento]

Thanks for the ideas everyone!  I can see that part of my problem is that I just don't know what is out there for her age group.  I have to look many of these things up.  That will give me something to do with the rest of my evening.  :)

[emilysmama]

Paper dolls were the best alternative that I found to Barbies.

These are the paper dolls that I had her start with, but there are many other very good ones. 

http://www.amazon.com/Klutz-320-Paper-Dolls/dp/B00005TQI9/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1322764773&sr=8-2

[lnitti]

My kids love barbies, calico critters, my little pony, littlest pet shop, strawberry shortcake, zoobles, dolls and pretend play, their dollhouse, animal and various types, etc.

[mumkimum]

Some of my 5 y/o girl's favorite toys:

playmobil mostly for 'people/doll' toy play (but we have 2 barbies, and some of those tiny squishy-clothes-princess 'dolls')

fashion design stickers

nano bugs (especially with dad, they do them together)

dress up (actually I'm doing a bunch of dress up stuff for xmas this year for her)

she also loves getting blank boxes (cardboard/wooden) and getting to paint/decorate them for her stuff or to use for play

[greenmom4]

My daughter has never really been into toys.  So I have kind of given up buying them for her.  This year she is getting an art box (this was so fun to put together), some new leotards and legwarmers for her ballet classes, a knitting kit and hand sewing kit.  Outdoor toys are always good for her, she loves to jump rope and use those little stilt cup things you can walk around on.  My mom is putting together a "caboodle" for her (do you remember those - brings me back to my tween days!) with bubble bath, hair accessories, chapstick, etc.  I'm also thinking of getting her the Just Dance game for our Wii - haven't completely decided about that yet.

Forgot - last year we got her a set of kids kitchen utensils that was a BIG hit. She was never that excited about her play kitchen, but she loves to help us cook and the set we got her was perfect.  The knives especially were awesome - they are nylon  but actually do a decent job if you forget everything you know about knife skills and use a "sawing" motion.  It was this set and this knife set.

[etsdtm99]

my DD is 5.5 and she plays mostly with her dolls and doll stroller/doll size-ergo ..  that could be partly becasue she is the oldest of 3 but she loooooves playing mommy with her babies.. she loves changing their clothes and putting them to bed..  thats pretty much all she ever plays..