Would prefer it to not be “hair” 'makeup" girlish oriented, but rather something challenging for her mind. I am her Uncle, and would like something maybe aimed at DIY outside of Lego if you know what I mean. Budget is small, maybe 39.99? Can move either way if needed
Advice, much needed as a 36 y/o male with no kids
If you want diy that’s not Lego for a 6 yo, I’d go with magnetites. The original brand is best but the knock off brands are good too. Not all brands are compatible, though, so if you plan to get a recurring gift and add to it over time, I’d stick with the magnetile brand.
My 8yo boy loved them at that age. However, they don’t have the staying power of Lego. Why not Lego?
Probably cost, Lego’s really expensive for what you get, sadly.
I disagree. Lego has a replayability and endurance that makes it great value in my opinion. For that price point, there are lots of Lego creator 3-in-1 kits that have a variety of instructions with the same bricks.
Cheaper brands and toys don’t have the same quality, longevity and compatibility.
Oh, don’t get me wrong, I completely agree about the replayability of Lego.
I was thinking more in terms of gift impact - to get something that looks great immediately, instead of in hindsight, can cost a fair bit.
The best gift IMO would be just a huge bucket/box of random bricks, to leave it all to the imagination, but for a kid that might not seem very exciting, at least at first.
Buy em from AliExpress
My brother has done quite well for himself, and married a lawyer and what not on top of it, so I know he’s already got a game room with that really nice millennium falcon and such next to his game consoles. I just kind of figured any Legos she would have wanted that were on the cheaper side they would have bought her. So I figured more obscure gifts or something different would end up being something she already has.
Lego update their range every few months. If you know they like Lego and she does, I’d pick one and ask if they have it.
I’m sure any gift you out this much thought into will be perfect. From my kids point of view, they get excited about presents whether they end up playing with it or not. What I’ve found works for spenifn time together is zoom videos with books that you can read to them while they read too. So you both have a copy of the same book.
At 6 they will be learning to read, presumably, so you can also listen to them read to you. All of the Julia donaldson books are great. However, I’d still get a toy present. This is more a thought for developing a relationship while apart, seperate to the birthday. You can even just pick up a copy of their favourite book near you and then only one copy needed. I love overseas from my family and at that age they are not able to hold a conversation on zoom for long as their attention span is low. Having the book brings a focus.
I’ve had friends bake together over zoom and also build the Lego together over zoom, so if you have the time that would work also.
Kids don’t differentiate between expensive and smaller sets of Lego at that age. The bigger sets are normally more advanced, so I wouldn’t stress about the size or cost.
I recently had my kids friends for sleep over. We got some Lego that day as a reward for something else. It was about Aussie $30, so maybe 25 USA dollars, and was 3 Harry Potter characters. They each were entertained for about an hour making them. Then an hour playing and they could each bring one home. There were 3 characters to build. They got more fun out of that each and collectively than a 100 dollar set.