One of the best gifts for 3-year-olds are building toys, such as blocks, Legos, and Magnetic Tiles. There is nothing better than the original Magna-Tiles for hours of childhood play. Time spent building with toy building materials is considered an essential form of STEM play for children. STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math-based toys foster learning, curiosity, creativity, and much more with a hands-on approach that feels like play for children. The Magna-Tiles 32 Piece Clear Colors Magnetic Building Tiles Set is an ideal STEM toy for young children.

This colorful tile set features flat, clear plastic building tiles with magnetized edges that make a satisfying click when joined for building. Each tile features the Magna-Tile unique spoke-like design with encased magnets and metal rivets. The magnets are safely encapsulated using an ultrasonic welding method to prevent them from breaking out of the plastic for your child’s safety. The building tiles are non-toxic, BPA and phthalate-free, and made of food-grade ABS plastic.

This 32 piece set includes 14 small squares, 2 large squares, 4 right triangles, 8 equilateral triangles, and 4 isosceles triangles. All shapes attract on all sides and in any combination, allowing hours of fun as your child will arrange, build, and rearrange the tiles into endless combinations of flat or 3-dimensional shapes.

Unlike typical building blocks or Legos, Magna-Tiles are magnetic so structures can be built in vertical play on refrigerator doors, metal baking sheets, or magnet boards. The clear, colorful shapes are also fun to use on a light table. Your child will enjoy endless creativity as they learn magnetic principles, and explore building patterns and creative play.
You may wish to add onto the set with additional Magna-Tile packages as your child grows for further creative building. This is the best gift for 3-year-olds that can grow along with them!

Building blocks are one of the most highly recommended toys for inspiring creativity, enhancing problem-solving skills, and for hours of just plain fun for young children. One of the best gifts for 3 year olds is the Lincoln Logs 100th Anniversary Tin with 111 Pieces. This beautiful set is modeled after one of the original Lincoln Logs sets known as the “Meeting House” set. It contains pieces to build a variety of structures and comes with a guide with suggestions for building two small houses, a large cabin with a bonfire, or a tall tower. However, your child’s creativity is free to roam and there are endless possibilities with 111 pieces of various sizes.

This starter set of Lincoln Logs comes with a collectible nostalgic storage tin with plenty of room to add more pieces. Additional sets are available for sale separately, so you can add to your child’s set as they become more proficient at building. This is one of the best gifts for 3 year olds that can grow right along with them! The beautiful storage tin can be proudly displayed in your child’s room and makes cleanup easy.

Unlike most of today’s plastic building pieces, genuine Lincoln Logs are made of real maple wood and lightly stained in brown, red, and green with nontoxic wood stain. Considered to be one of America’s best national toys, original Lincoln Logs were created in 1916 by John Loyd Wright, son of famed architect, Frank Loyd Wright. These logs will not only provide hours of creative fun for a child, the adults in their life will also enjoy the nostalgic look back at a toy enjoyed by generations of children.

Building blocks are considered an optimal STEM toy, or toy that enhances the learning of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. You can’t go wrong with the original real wood Lincoln Logs.

Books are always one of the best gifts for 3-year-olds, and those books that offer interactive feedback and engage multiple senses are ideal. “World of Eric Carle, Around the Farm 30-Button Sound Book” offers hands-on interaction as children explore the book on their own, or are read to by parents. With 30 buttons to push, children will enjoy exploring a farm and hearing the sounds of many farm animals and wild creatures.

Your child’s imagination will be happily stimulated as you read the story. Children will learn about farm animals, such as the strong bull and the cow that gives us milk to drink. As each animal is introduced with a simple fact about them, your child can press the corresponding button to hear the life-like sound effects.

Experience the sound of a baby lamb, a rooster’s morning crow, a squeaking mouse, barking dog, and much more. For animals that make no sounds, such as a turtle or butterfly, a musical tune is included. Bubbling sounds are made when children press the fish button. All in all, thirty sound buttons are included so the animals, birds, insects, and other creatures come to life for your child.

Reading to a child introduces them to many new words. A child that is read to on a regular basis will begin kindergarten having heard more than a million words more than a child who has not been exposed to books regularly. A book with sound effects can keep your child’s attention engaged and they can participate in the excitement by pressing the buttons, which is also a good way to improve fine motor control and hand-eye coordination.

Featuring the beautiful artwork of beloved children’s illustrator Eric Carle, and written by Mark Rader, this stimulating and interactive book is easily one of the best gifts for 3-year-olds!

Experts in early childhood development overwhelmingly stress the importance of music exploration for young children. The Melissa & Doug Band in a Box set of musical instruments is one of the best gifts for 3 year olds to enhance their musical creativity. This is an adorable set of well-made wooden toys — the kind of beautiful toys that the Melissa & Doug toy company is known for. It includes a cute and durable wooden storage crate and ten working musical instruments, including a tambourine, triangle, wooden recorder, a pair of cymbals, clacker, and tone block. Children can explore different ways to make music including blowing, shaking, banging and more.

Toys that encourage creativity and hands-on sound exploration are recommended for young children, and the Melissa & Doug company lives up to its reputation of creating well-made toys to lure children away from screens. These instruments are ideal for musical exploration and creation for children ages 3 to 6 years old. There are enough instruments for children to share with their siblings or playmates, creating their own little musical band and fostering socialization as well as creativity.

Children will enjoy feeling the beat, singing along, moving, shaking, and dancing as they explore the fun of clanging cymbals, blowing into a recorder and pinging the metal triangle. Melissa and Doug partner with the American Academy of Pediatrics for creating toys to foster brain development in young children.

Studies show that creating music makes new pathways in a child’s brain, encouraging cognition and creativity. Manipulating instruments also encourages fine motor skills development in preschool-aged children. For kids, however, it’s all about the fun, and this box of instruments is one of the best gifts for 3-year-olds available today.

Some of the best gifts for 3-year-olds are those that foster imaginative play. The ToyVelt Princess Dress Up & Play Shoe and Jewelry Boutique opens the door to imaginative play for any child. It includes four pairs of fancy dress up shoes with low heels and decorative toe embellishments including flowers and bows in silver, gold, and pink. It also has a sparkly “jeweled” crown and fashion accessory jewelry, including two pairs of earrings, and three bangle bracelets.

The shoes are styled to fit most children between ages 3 and 12, and are slip-on style so your child can easily wear them, take them off, and change them for other pairs as they play dress up or princess and happily mix and match outfits. The plastic shoes have non-slip rubber patches on the bottom so your child’s chance of slipping is minimized. The earrings have easy, gentle clips to attach to your child’s earlobes without pain or fuss. The sparkly crown is lightweight and features a red, heart-shaped gem and four emerald-like gems and lots of sparkles.

The ToyVelt Princess Dress Up & Play Shoe and Jewelry Boutique will offer your child hours of beneficial imaginative play. Child psychologists and experts in early childhood development recommend that young children be allowed to engage in free, unstructured imaginative playtime daily, allowing them growth in important areas such as cognition, socialization, creativity, empathy, and general emotional well-being.

This adorable dress-up accessory set comes in a decorative display and storage box that is perfect for storing the shoes and accessories away between use. It also features a carrying handle, making this one of the best gifts for 3-year-olds to enjoy taking with them for playdates and sleepovers—and with four pairs of shoes and lots of sparkly fashion accessories, there is enough fun to share!

The best gifts for 3-year-olds are those that inspire creativity, hands-on manipulation for advancing fine motor skills, and most of all — hours of fun! The Biranco Flower Garden Building Toys- Build a Bouquet set achieves all of those goals and more. With 120 pieces to assemble, arrange, and rearrange, this beautiful set will allow for many hours of fun for children ages 3 and up.

This beautiful set contains 120 pieces, including 67 brightly colored flower pieces, 42 stems and leaves, 3 flowerpots, and 8 green bases. All come in a handy blue storage container with a creative idea booklet—and with a toy horse as a special gift!

Children can learn about the parts of a flower, including stems, leaves, petals, and stamens as they assemble their own garden. They can explore their creativity by mixing and matching flower parts to create their own designs, bouquets, and arrangements. Children can use the bases for beautiful, garden-like creations, or fill the flowerpots with sand and make beautiful plants to display, share, or give as gifts.

The Biranco Flower Garden Building Toys- Build a Bouquet set is both entertaining and educational for young children. Both girls and boys can improve fine motor skills as they manipulate pieces to assemble their floral creations. They can learn about the parts of flowers and plants, as well as learning their colors as they assemble colorful creations. Children can play for hours at home, or use the handy storage box to take their garden on the go, making this one of the best gifts for 3 year olds to share with friends.

These colorful plastic pieces are safe and non-toxic. They are BPA-free and free of phthalates, so your child can play safely and enjoy many hours of creative fun — which is also great for parents!

One of the best gifts for 3-year-olds is one that fosters their natural curiosity about the outdoor world and invites them to explore nature. The Essenson Outdoor Explorer & Bug Catcher Kit with Binoculars offers everything needed for your child’s cautious curiosity to examine bugs, watch birds, and enjoy an outdoor adventure. It’s perfect for children who love bugs, and also a great gift for children who are afraid of bugs, in order to help them to conquer their fears.

This all-in-one kit includes everything your little explorer needs, including a safari-style hat and a backpack to store or carry all of the exciting tools an explorer and entomologist needs. A child-friendly book on insects is included as a reference, and your child can collect samples to study and compare. Besides the hat and backpack, this explorer kit comes with real, working binoculars, magnifying glass, whistle, critter case, bug jars, compass, hand-crank flashlight, bug tongs, tweezers, and toy insects. The bug-friendly tongs and tweezers allow your child to safely examine insects without having to touch them or hurt them. The binoculars can be manually adjusted and feature 8X magnification and eye-glasses friendly rubber eye pads.

The working compass can help you and your child to find your way as you explore nature in your backyard, the woods, the park, or while camping or hiking. Children can enjoy a closer look at insects with the critter case and bug cups, and use the binoculars to find birds, nests, plants, and interesting woodland creatures. A whistle is included so your little explorer can alert you to an interesting find while exploring.

The Essenson Outdoor Explorer & Bug Catcher Kit with Binoculars is one of the best gifts for 3-year-olds that encourages exploration, scientific learning, and good outdoor fun!

Some of the best gifts for 3-year-olds are those that foster critical imaginative play. Roko Superhero Capes for Kids are ideal for inspiring imaginative play in little boys and girls. This set of four capes and matching eye-masks allow children to explore their inner superhero, make up exciting adventures indoors and out, create their own storylines through active play, and boost their self-confidence by stepping into the role of an imaginary superhero.

This set includes beautifully made satin capes in vibrant colors with bold designs featuring stars, spiders, and other glow-in-the-dark symbols that will make any child feel like a superhero. The capes are designed to fit children from ages 3 to 12, and feature easy-to-use velcro neck closures that children can fasten and unfasten on their own. The four matching masks are constructed of sturdy felt fabric and feature colorful shapes with eye cut-outs that are designed to not obstruct vision during play.

Experts on early childhood development recommend that children spend some time each day enjoying free-style, unstructured imaginative play. This type of play fosters creativity, imagination, socialization, empathy, and more. The Roko Superhero Capes for Kids is ideal for children to use for playing dress-up or for boosting self-confidence, as well as for imaginative play.

This set of four superhero capes and matching masks are one of the best gifts for 3 year olds to allow a child the fun of choosing a different cape and mask each day, or to mix and match and play multiple characters during their games. They also make terrific party favors for any child’s birthday party so little friends can join in the fun!

One of the best gifts for 3 year olds—and their parents—is the gift that helps ease them into sleep at night with less fuss. The Fortally Star Night Light for Kids can help a child drift away into sleep accompanied by beautiful, soothing stars and moonlight swirling around their room.

Most children fight bedtime and have some degree of fear of the dark. The Fortally Star Night Light is an ideal solution for both problems. The white base of the projector can work alone or with the stars as a simple nightlight, and the star and moon projector offers 8 beautiful LED color modes and combinations. Your child can try them all until they find their favorite, or rotate through the different nights of the week for a different color combination every night.

The Fortally Star Night Light for Kids rotates silently on its base to project a swirling blend of the moon and beautiful night stars in different sizes and shapes. The constellations will guide your child into dreamland with a beautiful light display that’s just bright enough to soothe away fears of darkness without being overly bright or sleep-disrupting. Easy buttons on the base function to select a steady warm white light, color selection, and rotation switch, allowing many possible combinations and color choices in a steady mode, or 360 degree rotating dynamic projection of beautiful constellations and star and moon glow. The star and moon film can also be removed for a steady glow in the nightlight color of your choice.

The Fortally Star Night Light for Kids offers several power choices including 4 AAA batteries—perfect to take with you camping or for travel—or a rechargeable lithium battery, and USB cord and adapter for outlet use.

The Fortally Star Night Light for Kids is one of the best gifts for 3-year-olds to usher them into dreamland in a sea of shining stars.

One of the best gifts for 3-year-olds is one that gives them their own special space in which to play, read, or nap. The Orian Princess Playhouse Tent with LED Star Lights is ideal for sparking imaginative play in any child. This princess-like play tent is just begging for a game of princesses and knights and is the ideal backdrop for games of dress-up.

This is a beautiful tent that is designed to appeal to any little princess. It’s constructed of lovely pink chiffon for a floaty, fairy-princess appeal. The set of 40 LED lights are twinkly and star-shaped, and can be set in two modes for your child’s choice of still lights or flashing lights. Your child will love to arrange toy furniture, stuffed animals, or more inside this little tent. Add a nap pad, and it becomes the ideal place for a little princess to get her beauty rest and have sweet dreams.

Experts in early childhood development highly recommend that children spend some time each day engaged in unstructured imaginative play. It’s critical for cognitive development, socialization, empathy, and creativity. The Orian Princess Playhouse Tent is the perfect place for children to play many imaginative games. The beautiful chiffon curtains can be opened for socialization or closed for privacy, making it the best gift for a 3-year-old to call her own.

This tent is large enough for your child to invite friends for a fun playdate. The glimmering fairy lights and flowing chiffon will be a beloved hideaway for any child. It has been extensively tested for quality of construction and has passed rigorous safety standards. The fabric easily wipes clean.

This tent requires assembly by parents but is more than worth it for the hours of fun your child will enjoy, and the hours of peace for parents!