My son is about to have his 3rd birthday and for some reason I have no idea what to get him!! I feel very silly asking this question - since he is my 3rd child, it's not like I haven't been through this before. But I am still stumped. I would like to get him at least one thing to open! I was thinking about the GeoTrax - but not sure which one, and we already have the wooden Brio tracks so maybe another track would just be a waste of money, but don't know what else to get. Any suggestions are helpful - please!
TINKER TOYS!!!!! DS (now 5) still plays with his all the time. His train fascination was gone by 3. He still loves play doh. He liked moon dough but I personally HATE it - it gets everywhere and is not easy to clean up. We only use it outside and happily there is a bit less of it each time he plays with it.
MY 3 year old grandson loves Thomas The Train....Dinosaurs ( books, and individual dinosaurs so he can be king of his own Dinosaur Kingdom!!) He is also getting into playing board games with his Mom and Dad.
My daughter just receivd a game called Zingo for her 3rd B-Day. She loves it and so do we. It's basically Bingo, but with cool "chips" that have photos on them to match the Zingo boards. The nice thing is, we can all play together, or she can play on her own...which she does often. We took it on vacation with us too, compact to travel. It's only a $12 game or something close to that on Amazon, but semi-educational and fun!
I also bought MindWare Imaginets (from Amazon) for my 3 & 5 year old for X-Mas. Fun, imaginative and a bit educational. They are magnets that you turn into pictures. They come in a sturdy wooden carrying cas and the inside is magnetic, so they work right inside the case.
I am all about buying stuff they will use rather than just buying to buy!
We started to get my son some fun board games at this age. Also 3 is when he got his Vtech Mobigo game system (there is also the Leapfrog Leapster) and he LOVES it. Another option is the Leapfrog Tag Reader system - you buy the reader then just add books as you go. You have to load any books you buy to the Reader on your computer...it's super easy. He really loves that too. My son is 4 now and just really into learning and reading so these were perfect for him.
I'd take him to Toys R Us or Target and walk around with him and see what he's most fascinated with.
We got ours a stand-up work bench. We have the Black & Decker one from Costco. There is also one by Home Depot you can get at Toys'R'Us. It has been a hit.
my son is turning 3 soon and we are going to get him the Vtech Kidijamz Studio ($50 at TRUs). He loves music and this does everything... great reviews too!
Hey C.,
I agree with Tina about the board games. This is an exciting age because they can start to grasp the concept of board games. and ther eare so many out there for young children - I actually find it hard now to find games for my 8 year old. Most are too young for him or too advanced.
However I do have my own suggestion which I do every year with my son. About a month before his birthday we go shopping at Target like we normally do every once and a while, but I let him go down the toy isles but this time we go slowly and i write down what he likes. You might be in that toy lane for an hour - but at least you'll know what he wants. I still do this and it's a benefit for when other people ask what to buy him as well - since you'll already have idea's handy.
Hope this helps.
My son has Thomas train stuff, so he would love more engines or track. He enjoys building as long of a train and track as possible!
Any toys marked 3+ would be appropriate. You know your son's likes and dislikes better than anyone. Go to the toystore and look around. Maybe take him and say you are getting something else, or looking for ideas. I did that when looking for ideas to tell my parents what to get my son, since they have a different budget than I do for him.
You mentioned GeoTrax. Funny....I got a free GeoTrax DVD with four stories on it, and my son LOVES it - I think as much as he does his Thomas movies! Then again, he likes trains. And fire engines.
my 4 year old loves his Mobigo. It's an electronic device by by Vtech. Not sure what the minium age limit is on this. It has diffrent educational games that you can choose. It also comes with one game.
My 3 year old was thrilled most with his board games that we got him: candyland, memory games and such. He also liked the leapster that my mom found at a local thrift store. It is the handheld one. My son is big into Thomas and loves his Thomas laptop. Other ideas is playdough, moon dough, Martha speaks dvd. We just kept his birthday very simple and gave him several small gifts.
