What Does a 9 Year Old Like?

Deby asked in a comment about what kind of toys a 9 year old likes nowadays. I didn't mention what my daughter's gifts were because I was afraid it would be too boring of a topic.... but since you asked ;)

We have a few 'rules' about toys in our home. They have to make you use your imagination or make you think in some way, preferably NOT require batteries, and of course, promote godly behavior. These are the choices we made for this year:

Great minds thought alike on this one. Heather and I both got this for her! That's okay though, Heather got the credit for it on the 'big day' and the one I bought will be a gift for someone else.
BLOKUS --- Strategy Board Game.
This game is worthy of all the good reviews and rewards it's been given. It is fun and challenging and our whole family can play together; even our 4 year old. My husband HATES board games, but even he loves this one.

This next one I purchased as a way to get my husband to enjoy playing with the kids more. Don't get me wrong, he wants to spend time with the children but let's face it, after a hard day at work sometimes a tea party doesn't sound very appealing. So this present was as much for him as it was for her ;)
SNAP CIRCUITS
I hit the nail on the head with this one! My husband had this opened as soon as it arrived in the mail. I had to make him put it away until her birthday! This is one exception to the 'battery rule' since it does makes you think. This particular kit came with over 300 different projects to build from the included schematics, such as a doorbell, fan, lights, motion detector, alarms, etc. There's no wiring involved, you just snap the pieces together. If you have trouble keeping up with small parts, or if you have small children that have a 'talent' for getting into things they aren't supposed to, then this probably isn't a good buy for you. But for older children (8+), this toy is great!!

My daughter loves to play with her toy kitchen and pretend food. I knew this would be perfect for her.
CUTTING FOOD BOX
This crate is crammed full of nicely painted wooden 'food' that is stuck together with Velcro. The set comes with a cutting board and knife so the food can be cut apart along the seams. The sound and feel of this is close to realistic and both kids just love it! I've already been invited to many lunches ;)

WEBKINZ
Heather sent her this cute little penguin (now named Lucy). On the outside it's just an ordinary soft, cuddly, stuffed animal.... which would be great on its own. But each one of these animals comes with a special code to allow you onto their website. There you enter a safe, virtual world where kids can take care of their new pet. They get to buy it food and toys and even furniture for its room. They earn the Webkinz cash by answering trivia questions, playing games, or a variety of other fun options. My daughter is having lots of fun with this, and it's a great, safe way for them to get familiar with using the computer, a necessity these days.

"Aunt" Rachael sent this dress for her. She found it on clearance in CA and just couldn't pass it up. We can't dress up like this for church because of the attention it would bring to ourselves walking through a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, but she's been wearing this as 'dress-up' almost every day! It really is beautiful!

This one I got for her with the intention of sharing with her ;) I'm hoping I can use them when I finally get around to putting my scrapbooks together. Being in Joann.com's free shipping club and using a 50% off coupon really comes in handy for these types of things.
STAMPS

We also got her this puzzle:
A book:
And it wouldn't be a birthday without a Patch the Pirate CD... she gets one every year. This is their newest one:

I try so hard not to go overboard for their birthdays.... believe it or not, I'm getting better ;)