Welcome to year 8 of this ongoing list of favorite products for kids! What was once a list about baby products to keep them alive or help them grow, is now a collection of favorite toys, games, crafts and book loved by my 8 year old.
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve referenced these lists in future years to figure out birthday party gifting ideas for younger siblings! Here’s a small glimpse into the life of an 8 year old and all the things she loves to play, create and wear!
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Toys & Games
- Phase 10 – This game is great as you can play just a few rounds before bed and continue to more another night. It’s based on sets (3 or 4 of one number) and runs (numbers in order) so the lots of strategy in play!
- RummiKub – Once our girls understood the concept of runs and sets from playing Phase 10, we were able to introduce this fun tile game. I love seeing my 8 year old’s brain work as she manipulates the tiles to get her plays made so this is a great math and strategy game for this age!
- Uno Attack – Fans of regular card Uno will love this electronic twist which spits a random assortment of cards at you when you’re forced to push the button.
- 5 Second Rule Jr – This game is all about fast thinking so it might only be perfect for the right by of 8 year old. There are tons of answers for most questions so it can be played over and over again. This is the junior version but once they become a pro, you might want to check out the older version or the Disney version!
- Boogie Board Reusable Drawing Pad – My girls are still screen free when we’re out and about never having had an ipad or played a game on our phones. These boogie board drawing pads take no batteries and allow them to draw with the included stylus and erase the full design. We used them a lot for homework practice (writing red words), drawing (as in Pictionary style games) and to just get creative in the car!
- Speed Stacking Sports Cups – Brielle told me that she does these in gym class in winter so Santa bought her a set and it’s been my go to gift to give fellow 8 and 9 year old friends!
- Squishmallows – Seriously each one is cuter than the rest and the size doesn’t matter! She loves her 12″ Leonard Lion due to his fluffy rainbow mane and his mini counterpart. She is drawn to every other character in store and loves to squeeze them all!
Arts and Crafts
Of COURSE this is a big category in our house!
- Friendship Bracelet Maker – She got this last year but her attention span and attention to detail wasn’t what is was now at 8 years old. This is not a “maker” as in something that creates the bracelet, but it is a holder which holds both the main knot and bracelet and each of the strands used to make it. She’s been carrying it around different places lately so she can make bracelets in the car or at her sister’s softball practice!
- Creativity for Kids Origami for Beginners – We did this kit as guided activity where I taught them each step but I was surprised that we had a fun experience without any frustration or yelling from my 8 and 6 year old alike!
- Just My Style Pop & Color Activity Sketchbook – Coloring book + Popping Fidget Toy + Glitter filled pen? What’s not to love? We received this item as a part of the Horizon Group USA influencer program and it was right up Brielle’s alley. We used our own color penciled to actually dress up the pages but the pen came into good use on some of the activity pages and the fidget popper was a big hit!
- CiyvoLyeen Woodland Animals Sewing Kit – I’m happy to share that Brielle was able to complete the cute stuffed animals on her own! This kit pre-packaged each animal with pieces pre-cut and with pre drilled holes and their own step by step photo instructions.
- Just My Style Rainbow Tie Dye – Last summer we did this Rainbow Tie Dye kit with their cousins and my 8 year old was very focused on her pattern and color choices. She loved the outcome of the project and proudly has worn it every since. We didn’t use all the dyes so we plan to do it again soon! Check out this post for tips on doing tie dye with kids!
- Paint by Number Watercolor Sets – This was the first time my girls experienced creating art using watercolor pencils and they loved it! Brielle loved the Fairy design (which has much smaller areas to color and paint) and Hailey, age 6, loved the mermaid design.
Books
- Would you Rather Book – These books are loved by boys and girls as the questions raise plenty of discussion on preferences, fantasy situations and creative solutions.
- Craftily Ever After – This series is all about friends and crafting so it’s right up my 8 year old’s alley! Each story has a problem that uses crafting as part of the solution and in the end of the book they have a tutorial to do a craft.
- American Girl Wellie Wishers – These are about a sweet group of girls who love to garden and do things outside and with animals.
- Magic Treehouse series – There seems to be a million of these stories starring Jack and Annie, two siblings who enter a Magic Treehouse that takes them on an adventure through time with lots of historic references.
- 3 Minute Gratitude journal for Kids – Regular journaling was not appealing to Brielle, but she was SUPER into this style of journaling because of the daily writing prompts. She looked forward to filling it out every night and it quickly became a go to birthday gift for fellow 8 year old friends.
- Dog Man Series – Brielle got really hooked on these books, I think with influence from the boys in her class. They’re easy to follow mini comic style books. Personally, I wish they were hard cover but they are easy to find a grab from the library if the cost is too much. She also started reading the next series, Cat Kid.
Accessories
You gotta know that an 8 year old girl tends to get into the wearable accessories and her are some of my daughter’s favorites:
- Knotted Headbands – Both my 6 and 8 year olds LOVE these headbands, usually wearing the knot on top vs underneath in the back. Bonus: all the young teachers always compliment them because they wear them too!
- Stick on Earrings – If I told you this was the favorite Christmas gift from her stocking last year would you believe me? You should as they were and a great “test” to see if she liked this look before considering real earrings just recently!
- Hair Towel Wrap – This was the year she started to take showers alone and having an easy hair wrap like this allowed hers to dry fast before bed.
Looking for gift ideas for other ages:
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