When a birthday comes round I always take to the internet to see what new and exciting things we can introduce to our home. So I thought I would make a 3rd Birthday Gift guide to share with others like me!
My 3rd birthday gift guide takes longer than you would think to compile
I always keep a running list of ideas that I add to as I think of things over the year, but I inevitably end up searching to see if there are any gems I may be missing that are just too cool to pass up! This searching has led me to my 3rd Birthday Gift Guide! My guide does lean a little towards more traditional girl items but there are plenty of gender-neutral ideas here too!
Free Play Toys
- Toddler camera
- Wooden Train set
- Grapat Loose Parts
- Family Builders Magnets
- Jookie speaker
- Magnatab free play drawing board
Dramatic Play
Pretend Play of almost any kind is our current biggest interest and dress up is the name of the game most days. Chances are your 3 year old is also getting really interested in dramatic play right about now.
- Dress up dresses
- Doctors Kit
- Tool Set
- 18 in Doll
- Animal Figures
- Character Figures such as Toy Story or Frozen or Octonauts
Gross Motor
It never sises to amaze me how much energy Bitty has. She NEVER stops moving and it wears me out just watching her…lol
Board Games
Bitty has found a new love of board games and card games. Can she sit still for them? No. BUT she loves the focused one on one time that she gets when we play
Creative
This is my favorite section and way to play. There is so much good that can come from a blank piece of paper and some art supplies!
Early Learning
3 year olds are ALWAYS learning and it seems like out of the blue they know things you never even knew that COULD know. Now is a great time to introduce some more “traditional learning”
Building
Chances are building with blocks may be at the top of some of your 3 year olds favorite activities. They have never been Bitty’s favorite but I know how good it is for her and how much she is learning when we play with them so we keep trying!
- Picasso Tiles – right angles
- Picasso Tile – Marble Run
- Lego Duplo Creative Box
- Themed Lego Duplo Set
- Grimms Rainbow
- Semi Circle and Plank building boards – can easily be DIYed 😉
Sensory
I really love a good sensory bin and while you can create an amazing bin with some basic kitchen ingredients there are some specialty sensory fillers that are worth checking out.
Books
I will never NOT get my kids books. Between the fact that I get bored reading the same book over and over it is SO good for their little brains to hear as many books as possible. With local libraries closed recently I found we have needed to add a few new titles to our shelves.
- Books that cover topics they are dealing with = The Magical Yet
- Books that are more subtle in their lessons = Mr. Tiger Goes Wild
- Books that are just fun to read = Pippa & Percival Pancake & Poppy
- Seek and Find Books
- Usborne ABC
- Lift the Flap books
Practical Life
Kids always seem to need something. Weather its because they outgrew what they already owned or they entered a new phase of life or they broke the old item I try and take holidays as an excuse to update and upgrade something that they were likely to get anyway.
I follow a simple guide for all holidays and my 3rd birthday gift guide is no different
For all gift-giving holidays, I try and stick to the ‘want wear need read’ concept. If you’ve never heard of it is simple; they receive 4 gifts. One thing that they really WANT, such as that cool toy or game that they have been begging for. Something that they will WEAR, I take this opportunity to get something that I wouldn’t normally spend the money on. A nicer dress-up dress or brand new name brand shoes or something like that. One thing they NEED, this can be developmentally based or hobby-based. Then I always include one gift to READ. I tend to try and get a set of books vs a single book. It adds to the fun of the gift and it makes the purchase a little easier when it’s for a holiday.
What would you include in a 3rd birthday gift guide?!
I hope my 3rd birthday gift guide gave you a couple fun new ideas for your little big kid! Please share what your ideas for 3 year olds are I found this year kind of difficult to come up with ideas that my little lady would actually like and use!
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