Eight is old, isn't it? I can't quite believe I have an eight-year-old. Ebony's birthday is close to Christmas, which is a bit crap really. It means I have to have all my good ideas at once (sob) and that she has a long wait for the rest of the year. It also means outdoor gifts feel a bit wasted because it's so cold around her birthday.
We try not to go overboard with gifts. It's hard to find the balance, I find. Especially as they get older, because they don't want toys so much, and so the things they do want are smaller and less exciting to wrap.
(This post contains affiliate links. If you choose to buy something using one of the links, you won't pay any extra, but I'll get a teeny tiny percentage of the sale price)
Here are some of the things we got Ebony for her eighth birthday:
Harry Potter Vans
Ebony is obsessed with Harry Potter, so I knew I had to get her some of these shoes. They're currently in the sale, so if you have a Harry Potter mad kid, look on the Vans website. I paid £45 for a pair of the golden snitch design, but they're now £31.50 in the sale. Her face lit up when she opened the box, so they were definitely a good choice.
Clothes Designing Mannequin
I stole this idea from The Playful Den, if you don't follow her on Instagram, you need to. She knows everything there is to know about play, and I have learnt so much from her over the past couple of months. I bought Ebony a 12-inch wooden mannequin (I got this wooden mannequin from Amazon for less than a tenner) and a glue gun and then I filled a shoebox with fabric cut-offs, ribbons, buttons and fabric flowers. She absolutely loves it, she really enjoys creative tasks so designing and making clothes is ideal for her. It's definitely been one of her favourite presents and was really cheap to throw together.
The Confidence Code
Ebony loves to read so we bought her quite a few books for her birthday. Some of them came from our local charity shop and cost 25p each, and others I bought new. A few weeks before her birthday, I stumbled across a blog post about how girls lose confidence at age eight. It filled me with fear, so I decided to buy her The Confidence Code For Girls and the accompanying The Confidence Code For Girls Journal. They're books designed to help girls keep their confidence, accept their imperfections and like themselves. I've had a quick look through and they both look great. I also bought myself a copy of The Confidence Code which is the accompanying book for parents. I hate the thought of her losing her confidence this year so I'm going to do everything within my power to make sure that doesn't happen.
Swimming Things
Ebony started swimming lessons last year and has been working really hard at learning to swim. Laurie usually takes her so I only see her swim every so often and it always impresses me how much she's come on in a short space of time. I bought her a new swimming costume (I chose this one from Boden because I loved the print) and a pair of swimming goggles. Swimming goggles always get lost or broken in this house, and she's been asking for a new pair for ages. I chose these swimming goggles because they came with a case and I thought that might increase their lifespan. They look like superhero goggles and I like them a lot.
Circuit Kit
My parents bought her this Hot Wires Circuit Kit for her birthday. Ebony likes science so this seemed like a good option. I'm pretty sure the circuit kits when I was younger just had tiny light bulbs that flickered on or off. This kit is way beyond that. You can use it to build a lie detector test, or a burglar alarm, or a flashing light sequence. It has lots of different options for things to make and Ebony has really enjoyed using it so far.
Artist Set
Laurie's parents bought her this artist set. Ebony has always loved arts and crafts, but we don't really have any grown-up art materials in the house. Even the felt tips are on lockdown because Ember has drawn on so many doors and walls. This artist set is more grown-up than the art materials we had before. It features paints, pastels, fancy pencils, and fancy pencil crayons. It has an easel and a wooden board to mix your paints on. It looks like a really good kit and all the stuff she's tried out so far have been good quality.
All of the presents on this list were a huge success.