Gift Ideas For A 3 Year Old

We're back again with another collection of gift ideas, this time for 3 year olds. It's been a year since Iris's 3rd birthday and throughout the year I've kept a note of the things we used the most in order to create this gift guide. Prior to having a child of my own I'd always struggle with what to buy children of certain ages. My hope is that posts like this can help you to purchase something useful, that will be loved and is age appropriate. 

Looking back on last year's Gift Guide For 2 Year Olds I saw that Busy Books were one of our most played with items from 2-3 years of age. The Busy Books are still going strong and remain one of our most played with items but as Iris's play style changes we've expanded our range of character play to include vehicles and the vehicle that has had the most play is without a doubt the Paw Patrol Paw Patroller and the accompanying vehicles. The Paw Patrol movie is massive right now and the toys are so expensive, thankfully we got our Paw Patroller for a bargain £2.50 from our local charity shop- it's the old style, not related to the film but Iris hasn't been bothered by that at all.

Another toy that has been played with a lot is the Marble Run, a really affordable toy that I bought from PoundToy. In fact any kind of building toy has had a lot of play, we've collected a large amount of Duplo over the last two years and that still gets played with at least weekly.

As Iris is getting older and spending more hours at pre-school she's becoming more and more interesting in educational activities and just because something is educational doesn't mean it has to be boring. Iris has loved experimenting with science kits. 

Continuing with the theme of hands on activities things like Play-doh and Kinetic Sand have been a real hit this year both with Iris and myself.  At 3 years old these activities become less messy and more creative plus they are great for improving the hand strength and posture that's required to learn to hold a pen correctly.

As you leave the realm of toddlerhood behind and head into the pre-school era you get to enjoy family board games. Our particular favourites have been Crocodile Dentist, Buckaroo and Hungry Hungry Hippos. It's really enjoyable to play the games from my childhood with my daughter. There's a reason these games have stood the test of time. They are simple enough for 3 year olds to grasp the rules but also exciting enough to keep their interest for a few rounds. Games also help increase concentration and help children learn to take turns and practise patience. 

As Iris gets older I've found I am enjoying playing with her more and more. It actually makes me a little sad to think that next year she'll be a full time school and we won't have the chance to do as much playing. I'll miss our pyjama play days! 

If you're looking for gift recommendations for other age groups why not check out our other gift guides;

 Thanks For Reading 

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