24 Coolest Gifts and Unique Toys for 8-Year-Old Girls, According to Kid Testers

Now kids can add some strands of tinsel to their hair without taking a trip to the salon. The kit comes with nine bunches of tinsel hair extensions along with a project guide with ideas for how to style them. It also comes with other hair accessories, like pony beads, clips and elastics. "She really enjoyed the colors of hair tinsel provided," one parent tester said. "She was also intrigued by the bead option because she hadn't seen that before." Ages 6+

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Lots of 8-year-olds want to personalize their rooms, and a neon name sign is a cool touch that doesn't overdo it. You can choose the size, the font, the color and even a symbol to add after the name. No age recommendation given

If she is in her Minecraft era, she can build the iconic Frog House and fight off zombies outside the video game. This GH Seal-holding LEGO set comes with 400 pieces that come together to build furniture (including a craft table), a farm for harvesting crops and a boat for catching fish in the lake. Ages 8+

Good Housekeeping Institute readers loved this story about a girl who lives in a world full of monsters and is tasked with tracking down an invisible dog. “I liked how the some of the pages didn’t have words and you got to figure out what happened next by looking at the images,” said an 11-year-old reader.

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Kids will get to see some fun STEM concepts in action, including the difference between potential and kinetic energy, by arranging and re-arranging this 150-piece marble run. The focal point is a motorized elevator that brings the marbles up to the top of the track. "It's fun to put it together, take it apart and watch the marbles race down the shoot," one tester said. Ages 8+

Give them an outlet for their culinary enthusiasm without having to pre-heat the oven. With your supervision, they can make 12 cake pops at a time (sticks included) in five minutes, and then get creative frosting and decorating them. No age recommendation given

With this kit, they'll be expressing their style in not time! It makes it easy for them to paint their nails neatly, then stamp a cool design on top. "It was fun and easy to clean if a mistake was made," one tester said. Ages 7+

This kit makes it easy for her to whip up her friendship bracelets. There's a clip at the top and slots at the bottom to hold the strings and drawers help organize the pre-cut threads. No age recommendation given

This set introduces kids to the basics of 3D printing, allowing them to build three-dimensional representations of objects by adding layer upon layer of plastic from thin filaments. The pen is great for reinforcing creativity, spatial awareness and fine motor skills. Ages 6+

What do you get when you cross a stuffie with a purse? This adorable, smiling rainbow, which also has a strap so it can be used as a crossbody bag. You can also opt for bag charms instead. No age recommendation given

The Artie 3000, a Good Housekeeping engineer favorite, is a drawing toy that teaches kids how to code. Kids can create a design and then translate it into "drag and drop" code on a computer or tablet and then Artie will draw the design on a piece of paper. It's a great blend of art and science. Ages 7+

Get their brains working in three dimensions as they try to solve this geometry-based puzzle. Players get a challenge card that uses the Kanoodle pieces to create the beginning of a 3D shape, then they have to use their wits to try and figure out how the rest of the pieces fit in. There are 200 challenges to complete, and it all fits nicely into a carrying case so you can take it on the go. Ages 7+

In this make-believe laboratory, kids pretend to be a chemist for a bath and body products company. They get to make and test different cosmetic products (kind of like our Beauty Lab experts). This kit includes a lab station and 10 soapy and bubbly experiments, so your 8-year-old can get hands-on STEM learning. Ages 6+

The best school supplies are the ones they make themselves! This kit comes with enough materials and ideas to make 25 mini erasers, along with some paper crafts they can use to hold their new creations. Ages 8+

You can choose the font, the chain length and the metal (silver, yellow gold or rose gold) for these personalized name necklaces — and she'll be thrilled to have something that is uniquely hers. You can also just go for the initial/monogram, too. No age recommendation given

They're soft. They're squeezy. They're popular on TikTok. What's not to like? If she's not into this cute rainbow axolotl, there are plenty of other Squishmallow animals and other friends to choose from. Ages 3+

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She'll be able to practice her penalty kicks long after the sun goes down with this soccer ball, which uses battery-operated LEDs to stay illuminated. Plus, she'll dig the cool star pattern, especially when it's glowing. If soccer isn't her game, GlowCity also makes footballs, pickleballs, volleyballs, basketballs and other sports equipment that light up at night. No age recommendation given

Fans of the Zelda franchise will delight in the fact that they actually get to play as Zelda this time. The princess has the power to copy objects and monsters around her and use their abilities to her advantage, so kids have to use their puzzle-solving skills to figure out how best to wield them. Ages 7+

I may be biased because I wrote the foreword to this one. (Then again, I wouldn't have written the forward if I didn't like it!) This fill-in-the-blank journal gives kids the tools they need to understand their emotions, including information about what feelings are, how they live in the body and why they're important. When they're done filling it out, they'll be more prepared to talk about how they're feeling. It comes out August 20, but it's available for pre-order now. Ages 8 – 12

Kids who are into STEM will love building a battery-operated Ferris wheel that brings marbles to the top of a twisty track, then watching as the marble zooms down to the bottom again. It's a little lesson in potential and kinetic energy. Ages 7+