Presents for 3 Years Old Boy

puzzles are good. the 25-40 piece ones. Melissa and Doug make some beautiful ones. Works on spacial ability and problem solving and fine motor skills.
Duplo legos or even regular legos if he is good about keeping things out of his mouth and you feel he would be safe with them. My 3yo daughter loves them. Again, works on problem solving, fine motor skills, imagination...Legos are so fun.
Games - Hi ho Cherry Oh or Chutes and Ladders and Memory. Classic kid games that help with counting, taking turns, colors, shapes.
Books, books, books!!! Did I mentions books? LOL
I am not big on the electronic educational games - leapfrog, tag or zippity, but people do like them. I am just kind of weird about that stuff and won't share my views on it. But my mom got my daughter this little laptop computer thing with Little Einsteins on it. I was kind of not happy about it and it still isn't my favorite thing for her to play but It has about 15 learning games such as letter recognition, counting, what comes next, etc....and I can say that my daughter really likes it and for what it is, it seems to have some educational value. But I don't let her play with it much....special times only.

What about a leapster - educational video game about $50. My three year old can do it- I was shocked!
Puzzles, dress up, all these imaginative toys are great for a child's development.
Many parents underestimate the power of play in education. Leapster toys are great too, but anything he can be creative with and not have done for him is essential for a child development. Music is awesome as well.
Soory to rant I am an early childhood major!
Good luck!
M.

http://www.WorkingGreenMoms.com

If you don't mind him playing on the computer you could get him a WebkinzJr. pet. You buy the stuffed animal, and the animal has a code to make him a member on the WebkinzJr. website for one year. This site is developed for 3-6 year olds. You can check it out at www.webkinzjr.com if you like.

leap frog and a card matching game. dominoes will teach him his numbers.

Beginner Dinner Games. We play with our 4 yr old at dinner time and they are so much fun. He begs to play even though we incorporate taking bites of broccoli and asparagus inbetween answers.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Family-Time-Fun-Beginner-Dinner...
i also recommend Leapster hand held game system. Our son learned how to write letters with the Letter Factory game cartridge. He just got the Star Wars math and is starting to dabble in simple addition. If you go this route, get the $30 battery charger too. This is also great for traveling, trips to the grocery, etc. He might not really start to get it until more like 3.5, but it is a great learning tool and since it can be a little pricey, bday time is a good time to get it and ask for game cartridges from relatives asking for ideas. Diego & Backyardigans are two of his first games. Have fun!

Things that encourage pretend play are great for this age--house, store, construction, doctor, cooking, automotive, etc. You also could look for things that fit his interests. My son was really in to bugs, so we got him an ant farm, a bug magnifier, a bug "house," and some plastic bugs. When he was into cars we got him tons of books on cars (he already had tons of cars and tools to "work" on his cars and bikes), but he's now the only three-year-old I know who understands how a combustion engine works. Ha ha. You've got some good suggestions here, but you might also want to check out Constructive Playthings, Discovery Toys, or other catalogs that sell educational toys.

Our youngest guy turned 3 last week... We have a big sand box so he got a variety of sand toys and buckets, water guns, etc... (Out side toys) We also bought him a Nerf gun that uses foam darts with velcro on the end... His older (6 yrs old) brother has one and now they can have wars without really injuring themselves. (they came with targets and glasses)...
Construction toys, trucks, etc are also played with ALOT!