I also have an 8 year old girl who has too much and wants things I don't want her to have yet- iPad, iPhone, etc. I am giving her cooking class through our county, some of her own baking supplies, a karaoke machine, a rip stick and for her and her brother, an electronic basketball hoop for our basement... She will get books and craft supplies as well.

I recommend selections from the "great books". Many of the great books are completely understandable to an 8 year old.

A good starting point might be here:
http://www.greatbooksdiscussions.org/highschool-syllabus.htm

Classics stand the test of time and are relevant in any era.

Ask your child to create her own Christmas wish list: ten things for her, ten things for children in need. Tell her she needs to get rid of/donate 10 things from what she already has.

Then get her five of the things on her list and donate.

If she writes her own list, she'll let you know exactly what she wants.

Anonymous wrote:I have a niece who is similar. I adopted an orphaned baby elephant from the elephant sanctuary in nairobi national park for her. It really caught her attention - she'd log on to check on her elephant, and wrote letters to the keepers, and learned a ton about wildlife trafficking issues. Now she's 11 and has raised money to adopt two more. I think it was a really unusual, motivating gift for her.

Do you have a link for this? My child would love to do this. What a lovely idea!

I like the experience idea too. When my only child was young (DD) we went to NYC once a year on the train and saw Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Suessical the Musical, etc. on Broadway and they were memorable trips for us full of bonding time, laughs and fun.

I also like someone's idea to adopt the elephant, a child in SE, Africa, etc. That way, your DD will learn about people who don't have everything and will learn empathy.

Therapy

Nail polish
Taylor Swift concert tickets
Duck tape and other craft supplies
Karaoke machine

You could get her an Easter Island Ping Pong table. Because what else do you get the person who has everything??

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/shopsale-home/25748542.jsp#/

It's a steal, marked down to $4,000 (from $12,000). Plus an extra 20% of all sale items, today only!

I have a niece who is similar. I adopted an orphaned baby elephant from the elephant sanctuary in nairobi national park for her. It really caught her attention - she'd log on to check on her elephant, and wrote letters to the keepers, and learned a ton about wildlife trafficking issues. Now she's 11 and has raised money to adopt two more. I think it was a really unusual, motivating gift for her.