Gifts for a girl aged 5 or 6 — gift ideas

No time for the whole list? These are our four favourites for a girl aged 5 or 6: the Alice Daisy headband that goes with every dressing-up party, the Zoete Zusjes letter card game for the girl who’s just discovering letters, the LEGO Friends Heartlake City rabbit hotel, and the Elise dress from Souza that makes her feel like a princess. Four gifts you can’t go wrong with.

A small gift for a 5 or 6-year-old, for the Sinterklaas shoe, for a birthday party or as a reward. Everything below costs less than ten euros.

With up to 25 euros there’s plenty of choice: a craft kit, a reading book, a game or something to take outside. Everything below has been picked for a girl aged 5 or 6.

A complete drawing and painting set, watercolour pencils to start painting straight away, a colouring book, a craft kit or a mosaic for magical afternoons, and a pencil case with everything in it for the girl who loves drawing most. LazyLama and Invulboekjes.nl have plenty more. Also see our blogs on lovely drawing supplies for children and the best drawing books for children.

Five and six are the dressing-up years. From glittery hair clips and cheerful headbands to complete princess dresses and small gifts like bracelets, little purses and her own make-up case. LazyLama has a large range of costumes and accessories from Souza!, which stands out for quality, comfortable fabrics and a durable finish: they last for years.

Alongside reading herself, being read to stays lovely. Classics and picture books she asks for again and again, and a thick book of stories for the edge of the bed. LazyLama and Studio Bambacht have a lovely selection of children’s books.

LEGO Friends and the Disney castles are the favourites at this age, from a small set to a big birthday present. Browse the full range in the LEGO Shop.

At this age she’d rather be outside all day. A scooter with LED wheels comes along to school every day, and a figure on the handlebar makes it instantly her own. For the garden there are small gifts like a skipping rope or a frisbee. LazyLama and Little Dutch have everything for playing outdoors.

Plus-Plus is a wonderful building system: one shape, endless possibilities, and the tubes of a hundred pieces come in dozens of themes, from dolphins and unicorns to mermaids. A tube is a perfect small gift, the storage box in pastel shades the big one. And for those who’d rather build with wood: Kapla, identical planks without glue or clicking together, just stacking and balancing.

A friendship book (vriendenboekje) is and remains a Dutch classic: a keepsake of the first school years, full of little questionnaires, favourite foods and stickers. With unicorns, horses or Frozen: something she’ll proudly read back years later. Invulboekjes.nl has the whole collection.

For cosy moments with the whole family. A card game is learnt in five minutes, memory trains the memory, and a junior board game is a first introduction to a real board game, with a board for those who can’t read yet. Lotana and 999 Games have the full range of children’s games.

Puzzling is lovely concentrated fun, and at 5 or 6 a puzzle of 100 or even 200 pieces is possible, with unicorns, mermaids or Frozen. Lotana has a large collection of puzzles.

A 6-year-old is in groep 3 or about to start it — the year Dutch children learn to read — and nothing is as much fun as a book she can really read by herself. AVI Start and AVI M3 are the first Dutch reading levels. A sticker book, a first reading series or a workbook to practise at home. These books are in Dutch, which is exactly what she’s learning at school. Also see our blog with reading tips for groep 3.

Groep 3 is a milestone, and nothing makes that first school day as exciting as having your own things: a backpack, a PE bag and a water bottle with a print she picked herself. More at LazyLama.

A fun day out together is a treat in itself: you experience something special and make memories to talk about for ages. A few ideas:

🎪 Monkey Town or another indoor play centre

🛝 A big playground to run wild in

🦒 A day at the zoo or a children’s farm

🍿 A film night with popcorn (and staying up late!)

🏊 Swimming and playing at the pool