Gift Ideas for a 3 Year Old Boy

I just bought a toy story shirt and a buzz lightyear toy to go with it for a 3 yo bday party we are going to tonight. My 3yo son loves disneys cars, hotwheels, color changing cars, Thomas trains, his train table, any construction vehicles, play tools, any sports things for outside, things like that. He shows no signs of stopping in this life time :) He also likes zhu zhu pets, books, play food set, puzzles, age appropriate games, his bike, oh and he loves his bubble lawn mower (been playing with it nonstop for 1.5 yrs!). There are also htings like a ball pit, small pool, trampoline, depending on budget and how much room you have. Stuffed animals are the worst only the special few get played with and the rest get ignored.

Chuckee Cheese gift card .......... sometimes we get too many toys.

I only have girls, but some universal toys that all kids seem to like are building blocks, art supplies, Play Doh, puzzles, Tinker Toys, board games (Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, Hi Ho Cheerio are good for his age) and of course books! All of these items are great for him developmentally too!

Edit: I just remembered another great game for that age is Uno Moo (same concept as Uno for younger kids with cute farm animals) My girls are 2.5 & 5.5 and they both love it! My oldest has always liked Memory too, but I haven't tried it with my little one yet.

Disney Pixar Cars movie. My son switched from firefrucks to Cars stuff as soon as he saw that. There are TONS of toys for that to go along with it. :)
Craft stuff would be good too - coloring books, paints, playdough.
Books are always good too.

cars, playdough, and legos.....these are my number one choices for boys 3 to 5

Books are always a great idea. I am a teacher and think that kids can never have enough books. Other than that look on the internet for recommended toys for three year olds. There are alot of educational toys that are fun.

Ice skating class, preschooler gym classes - anything or anywhere he can run around and get crazy, a toy tool box, fireman dress-up stuff - I've seen raincoats that look like fireman coats, paints/fingerpaints/stuff for drawing, play-doh, music he can dance to, savings bonds (I like those more than my son does), balls of all sizes, tunnels and play tents, cars, a flashlight, a tricycle and helmet, a three-wheeled scooter, cardboard boxes, etc. My son (3 1/2) is not nearly as picky with toys as my 6 yo daughter is. I've seen him entertain himself with a piece of thread. But iIf someone wants to get him a game I can recommend Cariboo by Cranium. It's a number, color, and letter recognition game where you get to find treasure. Doesn't take a very long time to play, there are no cards to hold, and there aren't too many pieces to it. Both he and his older sister loved it. Not sure where or if they still sell it, though.

Building toys are great for this age. I discovered these neat wooden car building things for my nephew and now its my standard little boy gift (I do home childcare, so lots of boys to work thru for this gift now!)

They are called Automoblox Mini's. They are very cool and made of wood and come apart and if they have several of them they can create their own cars and creations. I see you are in Mpls... I am in Brooklyn Park...so I first saw them at Creative Kids stuff (they had them out so I could hold them and play with them). I have also gotten them at the local Barnes and Noble (ones that have a toy section). About $10 for one or a set of 3 is about $28? Minimal variety in local stores, but TONS of cool ones can be ordered online. Here is the link to the site. I highly recommend you check them out. Very cool..different, etc. You will need a tote or pail with no holes (some pieces are smaller, so 3 is the minimum age I would recommend them for..wheels come off, etc for creating new vehicles)

http://www.automoblox.com/automoblox-originals.html