Christmas gifts: What to buy for little girls

You could take the easy option of buying something pretty and pink when choosing presents for the little girls in your life, but if you’re looking for some slightly more inspired ideas here is a selection of products which have caught our eye this year.

Disney

Disney is always a reliable source of gifts, especially for girls, and this year is no exception.

The company has a good range of toys and clothes out which will get the little ones jumping for joy on Christmas Day.

Among the highlights are the toys accompanying the new Tinker Bell & The Lost Treasure movie.

The Disney Fairies Fashion Dolls provide Barbie-like models of Tinker Bell and her friends Rosetta, Iridessa, Silvermist and Fawn.

Each comes in a beautiful costume, packaged with a lovely blue moonstone necklace for its owner.

The dolls are very closely modelled on the characters, and are very pretty. They are the perfect play things for girls aged between about four and eight who have vivid imaginations.

Meanwhile, the Magic Spiral Wings Doll comes complete with fluttering wings. It also includes a transparent glitter wand that can be used with the doll or separately in kids’ magical play.

Little fairy fans can keep the Tinker Bell theme going wherever they are with a choice of costumes, craft products and other items such as lunch boxes and drink bottles.

If it’s more about princesses than fairies in your household then there are plenty of gifts to cater for that too.

An enchanting range of products is based around the eight princesses – Ariel (The Little Mermaid), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Jasmine (Aladdin), Cinderella, Mulan, Pocohontas and Snow White.

There are costumes and shoes for your little ones to look like their favourite princess, as well as home items such as bowls and mugs, and there is even Disney Princess luggage.

More information about the Disney products at home.disney.co.uk/

BrightMinds

A great selection of fun and educational toys are available from BrightMinds, and some of them could make really good stocking fillers.

If like my daughter your little ones like making bubbles then the Giant Bubbles set could provide hours of entertainment.

The kit contains a bubble wand, bubble tray and bubble mix - all they need to make big beautiful bubbles. A great idea if you want the kids to get some fresh air on Christmas Day while you get on with making the dinner.

Another great value gift idea for artistic girls is the Friendship Stamps kit.

This comes with eight stamps featuring rainbows, hearts and more. Children will love using them to make pretty pictures for their friends or just for fun. There are also pencils for colouring in the pictures.

The stamp set is well made and comes in a sturdy wooden box which is much better than the tacky plastic containers that pass for storage these days.

The best thing about this set is it can be used over and over again, providing hours of old-fashioned creative pleasure.

Continuing on the girls’ arts and crafts theme, the Ruffle Rug provides a colourful handmade addition to any bedroom.

It allows kids to create a smart bedside rug from supplied coloured t-shirt strips. Girls can also use their own old t-shirts or fabrics. It’s a great way to recycle as well as being very easy to make.

More information about the BrightMinds products at brightminds.co.uk

Aspace

Aspace is a name you might not be familiar with, but it’s worth checking out for an extensive range of kids’ furniture as well as toys and games.

The Russian doll handbag is the perfect size to squeeze into a stocking and little girls will be delighted to find it on Christmas morning.

The bright red bag features some lovely embroidery including a pretty Russian doll picture. The way it’s been designed gives it a very traditional sort of look.

My daughter is only seven but her handbag obsession has started young so this will be great for her, as it will be for any girlie girls in your family who like their cute accessories.

Speaking of traditional, it’s good to see wooden toys still appearing in shops, especially good old-fashioned puzzles.

A nice item from Aspace is the wooden puzzle of Europe which should provide plenty of wholesome fun for kids, as well as sneaking in some education. The puzzle is completed by fitting the countries into place on the hardy wooden board.

Another idea which combines fun with learning, and is also practical when finished, is the make-your-own-clock.

Budding engineers will love putting this together. Assembly takes just minutes and once complete the wind-up clock looks very distinctive with its see-through casing.

For more details on the Aspace range go to aspace.co.uk

Other top toys (courtesy of PA, by Sam Wylie-Harris):

* Sylvanian Families Caravan: Sweet little Sylvanians will find lots of cosy comforts in their luxurious new caravan. With a retro-style kitchen, convertable dining area and over 30 accessories, they'll be all set for a wonderful Xmas holiday.

* Vtech Camera: Paparazzi princesses will love snapping, editing pix, making videos and playing games with the new V Tech Kiddizoom camera in pink. Features easy to use controls, viewfinder, flash and colour LCD screen.

* Fur Real Friends Lulu the Cat: Here kitty, kitty - Lulu the Cat is so lifelike, this little pussy can roll over, 'lick' her paws, blink her eyes and move her head and ears.

* MagNext Girls Systems Deluxe: This award-winning funky building toy has the tools to let girls customise their jewellery boxes, picture frames and loads more with a new range of special parts for fun, creative ideas and glitzy finishing touches.