Holiday 2022 : 3 year old Gift Guide

The holiday season seems like it is on everyone’s mind, myself included. Here is my holiday 2022 3 year old gift guide. This guide is geared to the 3 going on 4 crew and even more specifically to full-time at home preschooler so it also has plenty of fun learning at home items!

over 80 ideas on my 3 year old gift guide with fun and learning presents that your little will love long after the holiday season!

My 3 year old 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 or things that I want to pick up for us to grow into. This is especially the case now that we are embarking on homeschooling and I have to try and think of the materials or resources we may want to have on hand!

I created my 3 year old gift guide to cover all the basics I could think of for a young preschooler who spends the majority of their time at home. I am in no way suggesting you NEED all of the items I list below I am nearly listing our favorites or our wish list items. Hopefully, this sparks some ideas for your own 3 year old’s wish list!

I list what I know and I have only ever known shopping for a little girl…

My list may be a little geared towards traditionally girl items, but lots of the things on my 3-year-old gift guide are just open-ended, loved by all toys, or at the very least come in other colors if llamas and glitter aren’t your kid’s thing!

with more than 80 ideas in total each section of my 3 year old gift guide has plenty of ideas for all kind of toddlers!

FREE PLAY TOYS

You could make the argument that nearly my whole list is “free play toys” as I am a huge fan of letting the play lead the learning and letting my kid lead the way as I best I am I able. BUT the following toys are here as they don’t really fit into any of my other categories but I felt they were still very mush worth the mention.

ROLE PLAY

Pretend play or Dramatic play take a HUGE leap around the 3 year old mark. I find that Bitty always has a story and is coming up with more and more creative play and it’s such a delight to watch the items in this section of my 3 year old gift guide are all about fostering that role play and storytelling!

BUILDING

What 3 year old gift guide would be complete with without some magnetic tiles and some Lego Duplos!? These are without a doubt the most used toy in our house. Even better is that these blocks grow with your little!

GROSS MOTOR

Every day I look at my preschooler and I think to myself…”where does all that energy come from?!” It’s amazing and so good for their development but with winter looming I am always on the lookout for something to help burn some of that energy in a way that doesn’t leave me drained as well!

STOCKING STUFFERS

It has been so interesting growing up and learning how differently Santa visits in each house. For me Santa filled my stocking and maybe a couple other gifts, This is something I plan on doing for my girls long after than catch me in the act. I just love filling a stocking! That said I am always on the lookout for some new ideas! Share your favorite thing to stuff in a stocking down below!

Sometimes you just cant stomach the idea of more toys coming into your home. I have over 40 non toy ideas on my 3 year old gift guide that your little will love and use well after the season is over
a non toy gift guide for the 3 year old in your family

BOARD GAMES

The day we have been anxiously awaiting has finally arrived. We can play board games with our preschooler. We LOVE board games in this house. Ask me to prove it. Our board game closet is epic! I couldn’t create a 3 year old gift guide without including our favorite board games for young kids as well as a few that we are itching to add to the collection!

CREATIVE

Its no secret that I am a crafty person. I love all things rainbow and colorful. Art supplies make the perfect addition to a 3 year old gift guide because they are the one thing that your preschooler is likely burning through at home and you would likely be picking up anyway!

SENSORY

Sensory play is super important for the preschool-age crowd as they are still learning about the world around them and I love introducing various sensory bases. Of course, you can still use the classics of rice, beans, and playdough (by the way make your own it’s SO much better!) but the Holidays are a great time to add a new filler to the rotation!

EARLY LEARNING

Kids are always learning. Don’t ever forget that. Why not provide them with a few materials that will help them learn with a little more purpose and intention! This year is we are doing a little bit of preschool at home and I have found that a few things are super handy to use for manipulatives or to help get a point across. Your preschooler may not to through the roof with excitement over these but YOU will find them super useful!

PRACTICAL LIFE

I wanted to make sure and include some non toy items in my 3 year old gift guide. So many kids already have more toys than they could every play with and I totally get that and parents and loved ones are looking for other ideas of ways to still have presents under the tree. These items are where you are really going to want to customize your picks to you kids preferred colors, characters and needs.

BOOKS

We will never have too many books. Its just a fact. We may need to install a proper library in the basement but You wont hear me complaining. This is another section of the 3 year old gift guide that you are going to want to customize to your kids interests and needs. (enter again that homeschool life, we read a lot)

  • The Isle of You – topical books that relate to things your kid might be dealing with in real life
  • Mr. Tiger Goes Wild – Books with a moral or a lesson to be absorbed but aren’t hitting you over the head with it
  • Bitty Bot Pure fun to read picture books
  • A Little Prairie House – Nonfictional picture books that can be used as a jumping point in homeschool lessons but are more fun to read than non fiction books
  • Seek and Find Books – Hidden in the Jungle – these are great for the car or quiet time as there isn’t reading so much as just looking

USBORNE BOOKS

I wanted to give our Usborne favorites a special section all to themselves for a couple of reasons.

1. they are without a doubt some of the most used books in the house and are well-loved by us all and without a doubt deserve a special shout-out on the 3 year old gift guide! I tried really hard to pick our TOP 6, but I have soooooo many that we really love that this was really hard and I feel like I am leaving out some of our must-haves…I may have to do a separate post on that soon… 😉

2. I am an Usborne consultant and If you choose to purchase anything through one of my links below know that I will make a small commission at NO cost to you and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for choosing to help support my family!

Holiday shopping can get tricky for parents when your often not only shopping for what you are going to gift your kids but often having to find ideas for friends and family to gift as well. my 3 year old gift guide is sure to give you at least a couple good ideas to pass on to grandma and keep everybody happy!
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