Gift Ideas for 3-Year-Old: Help!

[PCSarahjm]

My son will be 3 in January....the problem. I have no clue what to get him for Christmas. So everyone with 3 years or around that age give me some ideas. TIA

 

[myinnerchef]

Blocks or other building toys, Brio-type trains
Anything for pretend play - dress up, action figures, play sets based on his favorite cartoons.
Interactive electronic toys
...
off the top of my head

 

[ShanaSmith]

My son was totally into anything that moved at that age. Especially Thomas trains... just be sure you want to go there, we have more trains and sets than I know what to do with. My son is 5 and still wants every train that he sees.

 

[DebbieJ]

Thomas trains are huge here too.
Books
Puzzles
Clothes
DVDs (we like Veggie Tales)
Games

 

[myinnerchef]

My son was totally into anything that moved at that age. Especially Thomas trains... just be sure you want to go there, we have more trains and sets than I know what to do with. My son is 5 and still wants every train that he sees.

And what's wrong with that?

We have a huge 30 gal storage tub filled with Brio track and a special case for DS' Thomas trains.

 

[gailz2]

Little tricycle, legos.

 

[sburnside]

Anything with wheels - My son loves tractors since we live on a farm. He's into Thomas and emergency cars (any with lights & sounds) too.

 

[AnnieBee]

Craft supplies! Foamy stickers, white paper and construction papers, glue sticks, googley eyes, "dotty" paints (don't know the real name!), crayons, markers, stamps...

Also Duplo blocks, they are played with so much in my house.

If you do go for a train set, check out the Fisher-price geotrax set. It comes with a very simple remote (my 2 yr old daughter could do it when she got it for her birthday). It is VERY customisable, you can keep it simple or make it very complex, using ramps and supports to do two layers. My kids love it, and I think they will play with it for years more (they each got their own train and remote at age 2). You can keep buying more tracks and additional stuff as you need/want! The really cool part is that some of the add ons use "geo motion", which means that our windmill can either be set so the train goes by, or you move a lever and the train stops, and the motion of the train makes the windmill go around until you switch it back and the train continues. I think it is one of the best sets out there for kids from 2 to 6+. It is so fun, cool and versatile!! (And no, I don't work for fisher-price!).

Hope this helps!

Oh, also, if he doesn't have a bike, a bike is always great!

ETA: GeoTrax also has other vehicles that you can use on the track, we have a police car, ambulance and garbage truck that all make noise, and other cool little accessories. There are some really awesome bridges and other "structures" too to make the layouts really awesome (for a few years DD and DS both got lots for presents from family members).

 

[pkd09]

My grandson just turned 3 and he is big time into dinosaurs! His birthday was even a dinosaur theme. Imaginex has some really nice ones. Also, Toys R Us has plastic containers with an assortment of them for $10 (was $5 on Black Friday). The simpler the better.

 

[PCSarahjm]

Thanks for the ideas.

He loves tractors, trains, and blocks. But like everyone else we have tons. Last year we got him baby v.smile. He hasn't touched it once. I try to play it with him but he shows no interest at all.

What about games? Any ideas in that line of things.

I just always make it so hard on myself....I just want the perfect gift!lol

 

[pamperedbecky]

Thanks for the ideas.

He loves tractors, trains, and blocks. But like everyone else we have tons. Last year we got him baby v.smile. He hasn't touched it once. I try to play it with him but he shows no interest at all.

What about games? Any ideas in that line of things.

I just always make it so hard on myself....I just want the perfect gift!lol

Elephun is a neat game or Hullabaloo (sp??) from the people who make Cranium.

 

[PCSarahjm]

Craft supplies! Foamy stickers, white paper and construction papers, glue sticks, googley eyes, "dotty" paints (don't know the real name!), crayons, markers, stamps...

Also Duplo blocks, they are played with so much in my house.

If you do go for a train set, check out the Fisher-price geotrax set. It comes with a very simple remote (my 2 yr old daughter could do it when she got it for her birthday). It is VERY customisable, you can keep it simple or make it very complex, using ramps and supports to do two layers. My kids love it, and I think they will play with it for years more (they each got their own train and remote at age 2). You can keep buying more tracks and additional stuff as you need/want! The really cool part is that some of the add ons use "geo motion", which means that our windmill can either be set so the train goes by, or you move a lever and the train stops, and the motion of the train makes the windmill go around until you switch it back and the train continues. I think it is one of the best sets out there for kids from 2 to 6+. It is so fun, cool and versatile!! (And no, I don't work for fisher-price!).

Hope this helps!

Oh, also, if he doesn't have a bike, a bike is always great!

He has Grand Central Station Geotrax and a couple of add ons. He loves those...our problem is we have no more room for more add ons. Which alot of times he does a simple track and does it all by himself!!!

I was thinking of a bike but it will be too cold for that. Since his birthday is 2 weeks after Christmas we don't purchase a gift for him then we wait until about mid summer to get something. So a bike would be perfect for then.

 

[LeanneB.]

You may want to consider a Leapster by Leap Frog. You can get educational games and kids seem to really thrive on this stuff at this age. My daughter is 3 1/2 and she wants her Leapster every time we go somewhere in the car. My advise is to get some rechargeable batteries.... they do go through them quickly. I got my daughter a game called Pet Pals this year to give her something new to work on. Good luck!

 

[pamperedlinda]

Thomas the Trian - huge hit!
Mega Blocks (the giant legos)
Sesame Street movies
learning games - like the leap pad
puzzles - Target has the 30 piece ones with extra large puzzle pieces
cars
planes

 

[jesusluvsu2005]

I second the leapster. That's what my mom is getting my 3.5 year old for Christmas. We were at my friend's house and they had one and he was just hooked on it. I definitely recommend it! Plus they were on sale at Target.com for $28 and free shipping when my mom got hers. Hope that helps!
God bless,
Amanda

 

[AnnieBee]

I second hullaballoo, lots of fun. Elephun is alot of fun, but annoying for the parent who has to CONSTANTLY change the batteries and set it up every 2 minutes!

 

[Kodeysmom]

I agree with the leapster. We actually just bought our DS #2. His first one he has had since he was 1 1/2 and it finally quit on him-he is now 4 1/2. They are well worth it, he loves his. And just like Leanne said he plays with his in the car, dr's office etc.

 

[pamperedalf]

I third, fourth, fifth, Thomas the TrainLegos, we bought him the Thomas legos (which are interchangeable w/ the other legos)Hungry Hippos, Memory, Trouble. My son loves this game and will play w/ anyone who will sit. It has helped w/ counting and recognizing the number on the die. Books, books, books. David Shannon has some cute ones, he also illustrates How I became a pirate, pirates don't change diapers.Oh I am a dork, V smile or V motion game systems. Great for learning. We also got my son a thomas the train laptop. He likes that too.

 

[PCSarahjm]

What type of activities are on the labtop?

 

[pamperedalf]

What type of activities are on the labtop?

There are counting kids on & off the bus or train, matching letters, which train is the longest. We bought him that last christmas when he was 3, and we did it w/ him for the first few months and on some activities he does it by himself, others we still do w/ him. It's great because he can grow w/ it.

 

[merego]

All the above are great ideas. My almost 3 year old daughter is into trains now and loves the fisher price stuff. There are so many things to buy these days it is hard.

We are getting DD and DS the train table with all the goodies that go with it, that is a nice gift if your son likes trains.

 

[PCSarahjm]

I second the leapster. That's what my mom is getting my 3.5 year old for Christmas. We were at my friend's house and they had one and he was just hooked on it. I definitely recommend it! Plus they were on sale at Target.com for $28 and free shipping when my mom got hers. Hope that helps!
God bless,
Amanda

Which one did you get leapster or leapster 2???

 

[scottcooks]

Learn to Read at Starfall - teaching comprehension and phonics

save your $$ and give him the gift of learning - it's AMAZING!