Christmas Gifts for a 3 Year Old

I love these two cataglogs for toys.
Contructive Playthings and Sesational Beginnings.
I have ordered from both companies since my child was 2 yrs. old. Now that he is 7 he takes a marker and circles the items he wants himself.
Also I love any games from Cranium. Hullabaloo is really fun and interactive for 3 year olds. Kids love it. I highly recommend it.
Have fun. When my child was three it was the best Christmas
in my entire life. The feelings of that Christmas are echted in my soul. It was so magical. It is a perfect age for all the wonder and magic of the holidays to come alive.
Have the best season ever.
M.

A membership to the zoo, or the Henry Ford or something like that. It doesn't take up any room, you can use it over and over again throughout the year and it is fun for the whole family.

My daughter will be 3 next month and we LOVE Barefoot Books! In fact, we loved them so much I started selling them last winter. I like that, as far as TOYS go, books will last forever and they don't take up much room in your house like the big plastic toys!!

Check out the full catalog via my website at www.mybarefootbooks.com/LoriHachenski and/or e-mail me for some product recommendations.

At our house, we like: Animal Boogie (comes with a great singalong CD!), The Gigantic Turnip, Farmyard Jamboree (another one with a singalong CD), Storytime, and SO many more.

Good luck with your search . . .
L.

The perfect gift for 3 year olds is Cariboo from Cranium. The gift is also good for 4/5 year olds. There is a basic and advanced side of the game. My son calls it the "treasure game". Its a matching game that uses shapes, alphabet and numbers. Kids love it and don't even realize it's educational. It's sold at all major retail stores for $15 or less. Another good one is LeapFrog bingo. Same thing, educational matching game. Good luck

If you really think your child has everything, try giving her the gift of giving. Have her cull old toys, books, clothing out to be given to Salvation Army or St. Vincent dePaul. Have her write letters to the well-wishers in her life and let them know to give her gifts (new, unwrapped) that she will collect and donate to Toys-for-Tots this year or Coats-for-Kids.
Help her make some cookies/brownies and take them to the area Police Station and/or Firehouse on Thanksgiving, Christmas etc. to let the officers know she appreciates them.
Contact the USO to "adopt" a service person for Christmas and make cards and send gifts.

The problem with these types of gifts of kindness is that it will become a habit and you may never get her to stop :)

My aughter is also 3 yo and needs nothing so I am thinking about having my family buy her ballet or gymnastic lessons. She currently takes gymnastics and loves it and she dances around the house all the time so I was thinking ablut dance classes as well. I know it won't put a ton of presents under the tree but since that's not the meaning of Christmas it doesn't matter to us. I'm sure they will still get her a couple other things as well but she doesn't need alot of toys.
Good Luck and I hope this helps.
J.

lessons: gymnastics or swimming, or art, if you have that option near you.
My daughter loves her trike
She recently has really been into coloring.
My mom made a special photo album of pictures of my daughther and other family and friends. It was reallys simple and special.

One of the best gifts my daughter got were those foam stickers that come in alphabets, shapes, animals, etc. and paper. She plays forever and creates pictures to send to family and friends. Plus, it's cheap!! The foam stickers can be picked up at any craft store. Good luck!

Something to think about for the future, your daughter is getting old enough to remember this Christmas next year. So my suggestion is to not over-do it. We decided to cut back last year and my 4 year old complained that he didn't get as many presents as he had the previous year.

A really great idea was to give new sheets/blanket but to change them while your child is sleeping and tell her that Santa must have done it.

Good luck!

Hi N.

Around that age was when my son started to get interested in creating things. Art supplies and playdough, stuff like that. Maybe LEgo's too.

Also, sports. A soccer ball or t-ball set, maybe?

Does she have a Big Wheel? My son had one , but got a new one around that ae that had a bigger wheel in front so he could go faster (the other one was one of those rock and roll ones)

Memory games of simple games like HiHo Cherrio or Candy Land or Elefun are a ton of fun, too!

He also got a small c.d. player (in the shape of lightning mcQueen) and his first c.d. (Hannah Montana, what can I say? He loves her!)

It is such a great age... they get thrilled by anything. My son and I went through the sales ads and he made a collage for Santa with ideas on it. I was sure to explain that he would not get everything on it, just some though.

Have fun!!!

She's at just the right age to introduce to computer games that are educational! Reader Rabbit and Disney have some great ones! Have fun!

S.

my daughter will be 3 in december

we plan on getting her a game.. maybe candy land or hi ho cherry o..

a doctor kit.

- Do you like near Lakeshore toys??

that is a great toy store...

They are alos online and have a great selection of toys - a bit expensive but good quality.

Go to Target, Meijer, etc. the week after Halloween and buy any costume in her size (or a little bigger), then put together a "dress up" trunk. I did the same thing for my daughter when she was 3 and she still uses it. You only end up paying $2-$3 for each costume and they LOVE IT!!!!

Here's what my husband and I did with our children when they were small and we're so glad we did. In addition to our weekly church attendance and special holiday activities, we wanted to further the lesson of Christmas with our kids. They wrote letters to Santa and listed the gifts they would like him to bring. It was Santa who chose which three and only three gifts he would put under the tree. Jesus only received three gifts when he was born so why should anyone else receive more? A fourth gift from their wish list was given to the church for a child in need along with a new hat, gloves, scarf etc. On Christmas Eve, the kids received new pajamas, a new book and a Hallmark collectible ornament from us. Those ornaments bring back a lot of memories each year and each child will have something to place on their own tree when they move out. Now is the time to start family traditions and teach, practice and live your daily lives with the TRUE meaning of Christmas. God Bless

P.S. After looking at the other responses, I see that Maria suggested savings bonds. I would encourage a savings account or something other than bonds. Right now they take 17 years to mature and the interest in minimal. A lot of banks won't even sell them anymore. We learned the hard way when we went to cash some on for our daughter's college tuition!!!!!

2 words: Savings Bonds. They don't take up any room!

My husband has a huge family, and as a result, my son has a lot of toys. I've chosen to ask some of them this year for bonds for my son instead of toys. When the bonds mature, he should be old enough and able to get a car with them. This way, my husband and I are the one's who decides what toys he does get from Santa Clause.

When my daughter turned 3, some of her favorite gifts were.... a doctor kit (the white doctor coat is essential, look at Toys R Us), a baby doll (Baby Annabel from Toys R Us is good - but every 3 year old girl cannot get enough of baby dolls!), Pet Shop kits, a big bag of washable crayola markers with a big stack of white paper, a big art easel that is white board on 1 side chalk board on 1 side and a big roll of paper (we got one at Ikea for under $20 - it has gotten used every day for 2 years - good for teaching letters too), a power wheels jeep (got one off of EBay for $50), princess dress up stuff, and a little purse filled with lip gloss.