北方人这么说吧，我们从来不说点儿，基本是我给他买了点东西。thats it i bought him something

Yes you are right, "我给他买了(ㄧ)点儿东西" is indeed translated as "I bought him a little something“ where 'ㄧ' is often omitted. ㄧ点儿 = a little 东西 = something/stuff

I suggest that you ignore this word and tranlate it into English as "I bought him something". because, it's spoken Chinese, and occasinally, It means not too much; but in most cases, it means nothing. People always like to say that, . eg. if you bought food and say "我买了吃的" ,that means you can speak chinses correctly； but if you say "我买了点儿吃的"， that means you can speak idiomatic Chinese (地道的) just like local people. especially， Beijing guys like the word "儿"

Thanks Glen.

在这个句子中，"点"="some","儿" is just a retroflex,Don't need to translate. You can also say "我给他买了 一些 东西" "我给他买了点东西"