The Only Gift Guide for a 3-Year-Old You’ll Ever Need

Part dress-up accessory, part sensory toy, these glitter wands have become a daily obsession in my home. They can be used to make things magically
“disappear” just as easily as they can be waved around like a glow stick at a toddler rave. I have also found them useful as a calming toy that can help dissipate a meltdown.

Susie Allison, a mom, former teacher, and the creator of BusyToddler.com, loves gifting Kinetic Sand to 3-year-olds because it is so satisfying to play with. Kinetic Sand isn’t gritty like real sand — it has a velvety-smooth texture that’s easy to mold, and it’s way less likely to end up in someone’s eyes.

Strategist contributor and early-childhood literacy specialist Maggie Yolen recommends this set of alphabet lacing beads for children who are learning to recognize letters and how to spell their own names, two skills my son mastered this year. The set also helps kids practice using their fine motor skills, an important precursor to writing.

Read more:The Best Art Supplies, Sensory Toys, and More to Help Kids Learn to Write.

At 3 years old, Milk Teeth co-founder Rebecca Calavan’s son was so obsessed with Hot Wheels cars that he would even sleep with them sometimes. So she always kept a few on hand as cheap, small gifts, in case she needed to “negotiate a deal.” My son loves them so much we bought multipacks like this to use as potty-training rewards. They can also be used as stocking or Easter basket stuffers, party favors, or Hanukkah gifts.

Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang and I both bought Blu Track flexible race tracks for our 3-year-old sons this year. And both of our kids have spent hours launching their collections of toy cars down the two-sided tracks. I have seen them at multiple friends’ houses too and convinced one pair of fellow toddler parents to buy one for their kid after it occupied our children for an entire playdate this past winter. The track attaches to a window or tile wall via a suction cup and then can be draped over chairs and other objects to create more complex downhill fun.

Despite it being rated for younger toddlers (ages 12 months and up), this has been one of my son’s absolute favorite bath toys for months and months. It’s also my favorite bath toy because it holds his attention, doesn’t require me to do the voice of a toy car or truck, and gets him excited about “doing the laundry.”

Kwik Stix are a parent and preschool-kid favorite because they can be used on lots of different surfaces, from cardboard and paper to wood and plastic. Plus they go on smooth like paint with little effort and dry in 90 seconds.

Wikki Stix are kind of like pipe cleaners, except they’re made from string covered in colored wax instead of wire covered in soft fuzz. They are satisfying for this age, letting little hands create elaborate sculptures simply by sticking and twisting the sticks together. This tube of 24 makes a wonderful and mess-free on-the-go craft.

My elementary-school-teacher husband brought this 20-sided foam die home from work as a fun way to practice number recognition with our son, who quickly declared it his new favorite toy and insisted we bring it with us on a family trip. Then I mentioned it to Yang, who bought one for her own number-obsessed son. My family mostly uses it to play catch, all of us shouting out the number on top each time it comes our way. Little does our son know, it’s also encouraging early math skills.

Read more:Our 3-Year-Olds Are Obsessed With This Gigantic Dungeons & Dragons Die

I have lots of tea parties with my son, who insists on actually drinking out of the cups. So around the time he turned 3, I went looking for a nonplastic set and settled on this stainless-steel one from Melissa & Doug. It comes with a teapot, sugar bowl, mini milk pitcher, tongs, and pairs of cups, plates, and spoons, plus a convenient storage rack to hold it all.

If you’re looking for a unique outdoor toy that’ll keep kids busy for long stretches, this one’s a classic. Kids jump or stomp down on the air-filled bladder to blast foam rockets into the air. Just be warned, it will draw crowds of other children desperate for a turn.

Mega Bloks are extra-chunky for toddlers with smaller hands and still-developing fine motor skills. This green energy-themed set comes with 92 pieces including four figures, two bicycles, an electric car, and wind turbines,all made of recycled plastic.

Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio told me about this monster-themed math scale that’s fun for multiple ages. “A friend of mine bought this for her twins when they turned 3 and says that her then-5- and -7-year-old kids were also into it because they were learning basic addition in school at the time,” she says. Whether they understand the equations or not, trying to get the two sides to balance out is a great introduction to early math concepts.

Read more: The Best Games, Puzzles, and More to Help Kids Learn Math

Dr. Roberta Golinkoff, a professor of child psychology at the University of Delaware and co-author of Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children says encouraging imaginative play and social interaction is a fabulous way to nurture any 3-year-old. We featured parent favorite Sarah’s Silks in our guide to the best expensive toys that are worth it because the high quality and open-ended nature mean they will last for years.

Super Smalls has been recommended to us many times; its realistic-looking play jewels and dress-up toys are a favorite of stylish parents and more than a few celebrities because they’re cute enough for adults to want to wear. These over-the-top toddler heels make getting into character easy and a lot of fun. Plus the clomping sound they make when a 3-year-old walks in them is hilariously cute.

You don’t need to shell out for a coding robot to gift a STEM toy. This simple wooden bug hotel, which is home to 13 realistically painted insects, teaches kids about science, math, and spelling. Kids can match the critters to their silhouettes on the shelf, learn where each one lives outdoors, and start to recognize their names written on the undersides. Plus each bug can be added to a tower of blocks or a bin of kinetic sand as toddlers imagine a day in the life of the snail, worm, or bee.

Though we also recommend them in our guide to the best gifts for 2-year-olds, DUPLOs are great for 3-year-olds as well — especially more advanced sets that give them lots of options to play pretend and licensed sets that feature their favorite characters.

I recently noticed this Buddha Board–esque magic canvas hanging on the wall at my son’s best friend’s apartment. I like that it’s easel-size and allows kids to make a “mess” while painting without truly making a mess because it’s just water.

A more colorful and portable version of the paint-with-water canvas above, Melissa & Doug’s Water Wow! reusable coloring books come with a paintbrush-like pen that you fill with water to magically “paint” colors onto each page; as pages dry, the colors disappear, so kids can paint them all over again. Sarah Gregory, a mom of twin boys and a girl, explains that as they play with the books, kids learn to feel a mastery over them, which 3-year-olds hardly ever feel with anything else in their life. Perhaps more importantly, she adds, there was “instant quiet in our house when they would get going on them.”

Lastwinter, my husband and I discovered the many wonderful (and chaotic) indoor play spaces that have popped up all over Brooklyn, which is how we also discovered these squishy stepping stones. My son was transfixed by the feeling of the liquid-filled discs under his feet and the way each step made the colors mix beneath him. The stones are also durable and long-lasting, as evidenced by the hordes of children I’ve seen stomping all over them.

When I told New York features editor Julia Edelstein that I was updating this guide, she recommended adding this Lakeshore Learning fire truck — “the epitome of a dream fire truck, with parts that move” — because it’s indestructible and lasted longer than most of her sons’ many vehicle toys. “Lakeshore Learning is an expert in classroom toys, so their stuff is truly well-made and easy to clean with no small parts,” she adds.

When toy historians look back at this moment in time, Magna-Tiles (and their many competitors) will surely rank among the 10 or 20 best toys of the era, and they’ll probably still be popular even in a hundred years. The magnetic shapes improve fine motor skills, spatial reasoning, planning, and, when a structure collapses, resilience. Once toddlers are hooked on Magna-Tiles, they can continue to add to their collection with a variety of expansion packs like this pastel castle, a construction site, a spaceship, and a set of racetracks — making the imaginative possibilities endless.

Parents and kids alike love the Toniebox, and now you can get the screen-free smart speaker for less money and in a smaller, more portable size. Like the original and the Toniebox 2, the Toniebox Lite plays stories and songs when you place a magnetized figurine, or Tonie, on top. And there are dozens of characters to choose from, including Elmo, Winnie the Pooh, Peppa Pig, Curious George, and more 3-year-old favorites. I have tested every iteration of the Toniebox to date, and my son still listens to his favorite Tonies on an almost daily basis. And I can’t imagine giving it up anytime soon, since the Tonies library now includes a wide range of chapter books from Captain Underpants and Ramona Quimby to Wings of Fire and even Goosebumps for older kids. The only drawback of the Toniebox Lite is that it’s not compatible with any of the brand’s interactive Tonieplay games like Guess Who? or Monopoly. But that is far from a deal-breaker in my opinion, since the audio offerings have always been more interesting.

Read more:The Toniebox Lite Is My New Favorite Toniebox

Nugget modular play couches come in lots of bright colors and provide ample cushion for active 3-year-olds, whether they’re jumping up and down, wrestling a sibling, or trying out gymnastics for the first time. Milk Teeth’s other co-founder Catherine Newell-Hanson says the Nugget helped her kids with spatial skills and imaginative play — lots of fort-building — while supporting their crash landings too.

PlasmaCars promote plenty of outdoor fun, getting kids excited and keeping them moving — without any batteries or even pedals needed. They are great for exercise and help youngsters burn off energy for easier evenings and bedtimes. Former toy-store owner Holly Magelof says they always sold well and are durable enough to make great hand-me-downs.

The train sets in preschool classrooms and children’s libraries are often the most popular toys among 3-year-olds, and BRIO train sets are some of the best you can buy. This recently released outer-space train set combines two beloved preschool play themes, allowing children to build a space station and use freight trains to deliver supplies, then launch the large space shuttle with suited-up astronauts inside.

Kids go nuts for the Jungle Jumparoo and its detachable rope swing that can be used to zoom from one side to the other. My favorite thing about it, though, is the safety factor. Because it can’t create a double bounce like a traditional trampoline, you don’t have to worry about multiple kids jumping on it together.

You can certainly buy specific dress-up costumes to help your 3-year-old channel the characters from their favorite books and movies or reuse old clothing instead of throwing it away, says Golinkoff. But if you’re looking for a gift with more wow factor, this dress-up closet will delight them while also keeping everything organized. It has a garment rod, four shelf compartments, and a built-in shatterproof safety mirror so they can practice lasso tricks, spell casting, princess waving, or robot dance moves.

I recently added Early Rider’s Big Foot balance bike to the Strategist Toy Hall of Fame because of both its sturdiness and its ability to induce joy in toddlers and their grown-ups. It has hefty, knobby, air-filled tires and a shiny brushed aluminum frame that’s light enough for my son to drag up a few steps or walk up hills that are too steep for riding. We call it his off-road bike and like to take it on small grassy hills in Prospect Park, watching as he confidently races down them with his feet up. It also gets us tons of compliments, and because it looks like a mountain bike, I can tell it makes my son feel more like a big kid.