What Is a Good Present for a 3 Year Old?

When my children were that age, I loved getting them creative toys, dress-up stuff, art supplies kitchen sets/forts, music and musical instruments (yes, it would get loud!). A small puppet theatre would be nice and it could be converted into a lemonade stand in the summer. When my kids were that age, before they went to bed, I would do a 5 minute, impromptu puppet show with their stuffed animals and there would always be some silly problem that needed to be resolved(i.e. bullying, not sharing, eating too much,...). To this day, my 12 and 9 year old are good, problem solvers and very creative and musically inclined.

Both of mine love the V-Smile. They are 6yrs. and 3 yrs. There are games for lots of ages and ones of special characters that they may be into. My 3 yr. old daughter also loves her princess kitchen. Even my 6yr. old son enjoys playing with her with it. The First Leap Pad is also one that they both enjoyed. My son has now moved on to the bigger Leapfrog Learning items, but my daughter loves playing with it.

I really like the v tech learning game system and the smartcycle. But by you having twins they could play the vtech together and would have to share the smart cycle. My son has both and bought him about 5 learning games and activities for each and he really enjoys them.

Definitely a kitchen! Also, if they are girly-girls, how about dress up clothes or dancing clothes? Boa, tutu, crowns, etc.

I have heard that the Leapfrog My First LeapPad. Is wonderful. I plan on asking for this when my daughter turns 3 next month. Also, if you check the Leapfrog web site, they have been having a big sale on the books for a while. A couple other good ones are the Vtech Vsmile or Tote and Go Laptop. The vsmile could be shared between the two and only costs about $50.

Hi! I am a SAHM of a 2 1/2 year old boy and a 6 mo. old boy. We gave my son a Vtech Learn and Explore Laptop. It has ABC's, letter sounds, numbers, and directions. He has the thomas and friends one but I think they have all sorts of characters. He needed a little help at first but now he knows almost all the letters and numbers and love playing along side of thomas.

My 3 year old LOVES his LeapPad book, there are lots of games and activities that teach a variety of things and it also tells stories and he gets to use the "pen" which is helping him learn to hold a pencil correctly. He also loves his Word Whammer wich is a toy on the fridge that helps you learn letters and sounds and three letter words. Both are made by the Leap Frog company.

an inexpensive and super gift would be to give a box of craft stuff.. markers, paints & brushes, crayons & coloring books, paper, stampers & ink, safety sissors, stickers, craft foam shapes, glue, pompoms, pipecleaners, clay and or playdough, beads & strings.... etc.. all of this stuff can be found at the dollar store including a plastic storage bin to keep it all in! & if the Mother is funny about a mess... a drop cloth can be purchased too!
This is perfect for when they are climbing up the walls & the momma will love you.

Hello A.,

Leap frogs are the best toys for kids

Check out the "Leap Frog" line of learning toys if you are not familiar with them. They are great learning toys and are durable.

I second the easel idea. My daughter got one for Christmas when she was three and two years later, it is still used regularly. Also, both of my toddlers really started enjoying puzzles when they neared their three year old birthdays. My son who turned three in December loves those 24 piece puzzles of Diego, Dora, Mickey Mouse, etc.

my son is 3 and he is really into puzzles and stickers. so i've been stocking up on those big floor puzzles and a couple small travel size ones for restaurants. i've also been getting him lee publication magic pen books that come with stickers to match the blocks you color in. my son LOVES those--keeps him quiet and occupied in the car, at church, anywhere we need to keep him distracted. then i've gotten just regular sticker books where he can match the stickers with a picture.

I think a kitchen set is a great role playing toy. My twins will be turning 2 next month, but they play with their big sister's all the time now. She is 6 now, but I believe we got it for her when she was almost 3. You'll be served many a plastic meal! Ours is a Step 2. I think outside active toys are great, too, like tricycles. For my daughter's 3rd birthday, we got her an art easel from Ikea and she still loves it. It's double sided with a white board and a chalk board. I believe both sides are magnetic, and it also uses the rolls of paper. Your twins could use it at the same time. It's only about $20-25, too!

How about a Sand and Water table for the yard? My 1 and 3 year old spent a good our playing with ours the other day when it was warm.

My son is turning 3 in two weeks!! I just invested in pretend-play toys---a play kitchen and play farm. I hadn't equipped our house with that yet and he is definitely craving playing house and using his imagination more with dolls. Happy birthday!!

I also have twin girls and they loved the My first Leap pad. It comes with one book but there are so many others that can be purchased over time. It is also a great travel toy. We worked on it together and now they are real good at pressing the green go circle on every page and following the simple instructions. Another great gift is cash registers. Get two!!! This is a great role playing toy I just got my girls and wish I had gotton it earlier. They mimick being the "checker man". They now ask for certain amounts of money, tell me how much items cost and tell me what department the product I need comes from. And the cutest thing about it is they tell me to have a good day when I leave the store. It has been a great bonding toy. (If this is a choice for you but you have received other good ideas there is always the Holidays)

My brother bought my three year old daughter the Dream Petal Cottage for Christmas and she loves it! It comes with a little stove and all the other accessories are sold separately, which can be quite costly. The Easter Bunny brought her the sink and she is hoping that Santa will bring her the washing machine. ;-) She loves to play in it closed up, but it also opens up like a doll house.

My 3 year old LOVES her kitchen set. She plays with it at least once a day. She cooks for her babies and for me. I also bought her a high chair to put her dolls in to feed. Keeps her occupied for hours. I would suggest getting a wood kitchen set if you have the money. It doesn't get as dirty and the food last a lot longer. I originally had plastic food and they were horrible. They were always getting smooshed and a lot were breaking early on. So now all I buy is wood food for her kitchen set.

She has a huge imagination, so anything that allows her to make things up she really enjoys. She's not big into the dress up clothes quite yet because she doesn't have anyone to dress up with her. Her younger sister is only 7 months old right now. But having twins might be a different story. IF one sees the other dressing up, I'm sure the other will join in and they would have a blast.

We got my son a V Tech V smile game system and he learned a ton using that. We got it when he turned 3, and he still plays it. They have great educational games that are spot on for what the kids need to know for preschool and up. My son also liked the Learn Through Music system that he could play in the car and learn numbers and letters.