Seven is a sweet spot where kids still feel the Christmas magic but can also beat grown-ups at a real game.
Short winter days mean lots of time indoors, so a gift she can play with the family fits the season well. Find her ideas in the picks below.
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Games and puzzlesOur proven pick for this list
Drawing in the air is the twist in Pictionary Air: she sketches with a light pen, and her picture appears on a connected phone or tablet for everyone to guess.
Keep a smart device handy, and the kids-versus-grown-ups setup gives her a fair shot at stumping the adults on game night.
Arts and crafts
First come the plants: she sets greenery into the Mini Garden terrarium, then arranges the mermaid decorations around it however she pictures the sea.
The plants keep growing once the craft is done, so there is something new to check on each morning.
Arts and craftsAges 4+
American brand
This Melissa & Doug bracelet kit lets a style-minded 7-year-old design jewelry she wears to school.
She decides how every band looks, then matches it to the day's outfit. Over winter break, her finished bands can wait by her hairbrush, ready to wear.
Building setsAges 6+
79 pieces · set 21583
Danish brand
If Minecraft is her game, Steve's Taiga Adventure turns a familiar corner of it into real bricks.
Once the taiga scene is built, she can walk Steve through it on the floor the way she would on screen.
Arts and crafts
Heishi beads, the flat little discs that stack into bold stripes of color, are the heart of the Cool Maker Stack'd kit.
She plans a color pattern, strings a few bracelets to wear together on one wrist, and still has a spare to slip onto a friend's arm when they swap.
Games and puzzles
American brand
On a slow Saturday morning, a girl who races through the puzzle pages of her activity books can open Kanoodle Gravity alone.
She wants tougher problems than paper offers, and this brainteaser lets her crack them without hints. Every solution she reaches earns a tally mark in the notebook she keeps for her wins.
VehiclesAges 4+
American brand
Barbie style and remote steering fit a doll lover who wants her pretend road trips to move on their own.
Her doll stories usually stall wherever her hand lets go, but this ride keeps rolling from across the bedroom. The controller steers it up to the front door of a cardboard-box dream house for the next scene.
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Dandelions and maple leaves no longer have to wilt on the counter: she flattens her park finds with the pressing kit, then turns the pressed blooms into small pieces of art.
Every walk becomes a collecting trip, with something to keep at the end.
Ladybugs, fish and smiling suns can all start as stones picked up on her walks, thanks to a Creativity for Kids painting set.
Her designs are made to glow, so a painted rock left by the front steps is still easy to see after sunset.
Numbers do the planning in the Maped Creativ Sticker'Art kit: she matches each sticker to its numbered spot and watches an origami-style animal appear.
With 400 stickers and nothing to spill, it slips easily into a carry-on for a long flight.
American brand
Favorite cartoon animals from her picture books are easier to copy on a tracing pad that lights up under the paper.
She can trace the outline of a fox, then slide the page off and give it a striped scarf freehand.
Ages 5+
American brand
Small enough to sit beside a bigger present, the Melissa & Doug butterfly kit turns a pile of colored stickers into a sun catcher for her bedroom window.
Each sticker fills its own section of the wings, and when sunlight comes through, the finished butterfly looks like stained glass.
Your shopping is for a crafter who doodles mermaids and unicorns on every scrap, and this kit carries them onto glass.
Her favorite characters leave the folder of loose drawings behind and become pieces she makes and shows off. Each suncatcher then goes up on her bedroom pane, princess beside mermaid beside unicorn, catching the morning sun.
Ages 4+
American brand
Secret notes for classmates are a daily habit for a doodling grade-schooler, and Scratch Art cards add a tiny drawing to every one.
Writing and sketching come easily to her now, so a scratched heart beside her name turns each greeting into a keepsake. The finished sketch ends up tucked in a friend's backpack pocket.
The Peaceable Kingdom Keep Out diary gives a note-passing grade-schooler pages she can lock away from siblings.
She fills them with the day's news and a quick doodle, then snaps it shut once she is done. Tucked beside a bigger present under the tree, it waits to be opened after the main gift.
The Galt jewelry-making kit gives a crafty grade-schooler wearable pieces to design and make.
She likes crafts that end up in use, so she plans each look before putting it together. Before a holiday party, she can make a piece to match her outfit and wear it out the door.
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Talking, not writing, drives eeBoo's Fairytale Spinner, so the plot never has to wait for her spelling to catch up.
Each spin hands her a new story piece to work into a fairytale told out loud, and two to four players can take turns adding to the tale.
Ages 6+
72 pieces (Ravensburger)
German brand
Curved pieces set the Ravensburger moon apart from the flat puzzles she already knows, since all 72 of them lock together into a round ball she can pick up and turn in her hands.
Once the lamp goes off at bedtime, the finished moon glows from her nightstand.
German brand
Part animal hunt, part build, the Ravensburger Wildlife Gathering puzzle fills a crowded scene with creatures for her to spot as she goes.
Its 150 extra-large pieces suit kids her age, and when the last animal is in place, she can break it up and race through a second round.
Ages 7+
German brand
Ravensburger Labyrinth sets Pokémon inside a maze board game, a strong pick for a Pokémon-mad girl.
With room for 2 to 4 players, cousins and grown-ups can join in. Each turn, she works out the quickest way to her next goal.
Uno Showdown gives a card-loving grade-schooler a version of Uno she can deal out and run herself.
Play rests on matching cards, so she can explain the rules to cousins without help. After Christmas dinner, she can set it up at the kitchen table for a round with the grown-ups.
This Pokémon holiday jigsaw puzzle suits a 7-year-old who likes spotting favorite characters in a wintry scene.
The interlocking pieces and a poster of the finished picture help her work it out alone. She can leave it on the table after dinner.
This puffin paper puzzle gives a seabird-loving crafter a bird of her own to put together.
Her favorite crafts end with something to keep, and this puffin grows out of each part she adds. Afterward the finished bird can stand on her shelf, close to the rest of her handmade animals.
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*Paid link
Building setsAges 5+
148 pieces · set 60402
Danish brand
Couch-cushion ramps are waiting for this blue LEGO City monster truck, which includes a minifigure driver to sit behind the wheel.
She builds the truck first, then sends it bouncing over the cushions, and any brick that pops off goes right back on.
Building sets
Made in Denmark
For a space-loving girl, this Plus-Plus set lets her join pieces into space pictures she designs.
Space fills her doodles, so piecing those scenes together puts her favorite subject into something she can hold. On a quiet evening at the coffee table, she can pull a design apart and start the next.
Outdoor and sports
On a ride to a friend's house, a girl who loves her scooter can buckle on a helmet that is hers alone.
She rolls around the neighborhood whenever she can, so gear of her own goes on without borrowing anyone's. Measure her head and compare it with the listed size when you order.
(price and availability terms)
$29.99 at Amazon.com*See price at Amazon.com* (helmet for scooter and skateboard rides, gray)(price and availability terms)
$29.99 at Amazon.com*See price at Amazon.com* (helmet for scooter and skateboard rides, blue)(price and availability terms)
$29.99 at Amazon.com*See price at Amazon.com* (helmet for scooter and skateboard rides, red)Outdoor and sports
The Micro Sprite kick scooter gives an outdoorsy grade-schooler her own ride for errands around the neighborhood.
Trips to the mailbox or corner bakery become rides she steers herself instead of trailing behind. Afterward it waits by the door for the next errand.
Books
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss makes a holiday read-aloud for a young girl and her family.
She can read it with a parent on Christmas Eve. It then comes back out every December.
Books
Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea makes a Christmas gift for a young reader ready for graphic novels.
She can read it on Christmas afternoon. Afterward, it stays on her shelf for a reread.
Electronics
The Kindle Colorsoft Kids gives a new chapter-book reader an e-reader that is entirely her own.
Amazon Kids+ comes included for an introductory period and is a paid subscription after that; the reader works without it. She has just moved past picture books and wants longer stories she can pick out herself. On Christmas afternoon, she can curl up on the couch and open a new story.
Dolls and figures
This Pepper plush puppy gives a 7-year-old with a pet wish a dog to look after at home.
She can pat it and carry it from room to room. After school, she checks on it again.
Dolls and figures
The Furby Furblets Moo-Boo is an electronic cow friend for a girl who loves quirky animal characters.
Its maker marks it for ages 6 and up, and she can carry it along on car rides. Moo-Boo can also play the oddball sidekick in the stories she acts out with her toys.
Science and discovery
Snap Circuits SCB-20 is a starter circuit kit for a girl who keeps asking how light switches work.
She puts each circuit together by hand, so her questions turn into things she builds and checks herself. Over winter break, she can spread the parts out on the kitchen table and start a new one.
Any price
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Yes. A girl who scoots alongside the stroller or the family bikes on a loop through the neighborhood is who the Micro Sprite scooter is for, and the riding helmet goes to one who already rolls on sidewalks and skate ramps.
Drawing in the air while the table shouts out guesses is the whole point of the Pictionary Air game, so it is for a girl who pulls the family into a round after dinner; the eeBoo Fairytale Spinner game is for one who would rather spin up a story than race to guess.
For a girl who snaps curved pieces together into a globe that glows at night, the Ravensburger moon puzzle ball is the pick; the Ravensburger wildlife puzzle is for one who spreads a flat animal scene across the table and hunts for the edge pieces first.
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Chosen by our team from store data and what readers pick, not hands-on tests. Nothing is paid to be on this list. Recall notices checked . How we pick
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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