I suspect red-and-green construction paper chains would be a bit too elementary for your niece, but maybe paper snowflakes (http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/dstredulinsky/home.html)? This guy has some *really* cool patterns, including simpler ones for kids. Gobs more snowflake crafts here (http://familycrafts.about.com/od/snowflakes/Creative_Snowflakes.htm), too.

As for magnifiers, this kind (http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-AsSeenOnTVGuys-Lighted-Stand-Magnifier/dp/B000IG22FC/ref=pd_bbs_5?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1228951253&sr=8-5) would work well with cookbooks. It's one of the plastic fresnel lenses, so optical quality won't be the best, but the stand would make it more useful than the kind you have to hold a few inches above the page.