Toys for 3 year olds

Starting to shop ahead now since we have Christmas and our birthdays in Dec. Thought I'd see what toys your 3 year olds really enjoy? I'm thinking about selling their little people toys at the upcoming twin sale. We play with them a ton still, but our friend who is 3 doesn't touch his anymore. Do yours still play with them?

 

We have a lot of Little People toys, but they were never a huge fan to begin with so at age 3...there isn't much difference. They play with them about as much as they always have. We do have a 3 year 11 month old niece that does play with hers. I guess it's just a personal, not age, preference.

As for 3rd birthday ideas...here's a few that are favorites in our house:
1. Vtech's KidiJamz Studio - they absolutely love this! It's essentially a fancy keyboard. They can do so many different things on it and even record their own voices to music.
2. Barbie stuff
3. Dress up clothes
4. Play doll accessories - Fisher Price 5 in 1 Stroller - I don't know whether I would recommend this particular one because it falls apart easily.
5. Bounce House - yes, they can be expensive...but we've definitely gotten our money's worth!
6. Board games - Zingo game - we just purchased this. It's like Bingo, but only with pictures. They can play it by themselves, too.
7. Imaginext's Batman Cave - our DS loves this. There are a lot of other super hero figurines that you can buy, too.
8. Geotrax - this is made very well...just be prepared to make a lot of track configurations!

 

Oh, we have the bounce house! That has been THE best purchase! I'll check out the keyboard! Thanks! That sounds like it would be right up their alley!

 

Mine never really played with Little People toys. We had a lot of them as hand-me-downs, but the only thing they do with them is cart them around, just as if they were beads or loose keys or any other random object. So I've been giving those away.

Mine are HUGELY into pretend play right now (starting just before age 3.5). I don't know how much boys and girls differ in this, but if we had the gear for them to dress up as something different every day (princesses, doctors, fire fighters, cowboys, pirates, gymnasts, waitresses(!), etc.) they would be thrilled. They also love playing with babies and taking care of them. And they play a lot with their kitchen and pretend food.

They are still sporadically into trains, although I wish I hadn't gotten them quite as much train stuff as I did.

And they love art supplies. They still don't use them very purposefully -- it's like, squirt some glitter glue on a piece of paper, stick one pom pom on, and wander away -- but they do enjoy them.

There's a board game called Cariboo that is perfect for their age -- I was skeptical, but they really do get it and love playing it.

They also have a soccer goal and two balls (we had to buy the second ball separately -- hint: Target) that they're getting into. If they had a mini basketball hoop they'd probably love it. And they always enjoy a variety of wheeled things to push/pull around and carry things in: wagon, pretend golf bag, shopping cart, doll stroller, etc.

 

Mine still love the little people. But, we get it all out at once, and they mix and match all the houses, farms, people and animals, bus, etc. They can really spend a good hour or two playing with that.

They also love:
trains
tractors and wagons
actually, any farming type toy
their horses and fences and horse trailers
their sisters' barbies and polly pockets
magnetics
puzzles
coloring/cutting/gluing
riding their bikes
sandbox toys

 

-Geotrax!!!!!! They are so much fun, I think DH and I like to play with it as much as (or more) than DS!! :lol:
-Legos are a huge hit in our house, we have the mega blok mini's (not compatible with the lego duplo's BTW)
-Playdoh
-Books are still a huge hit and mine are really into the seek and find ones and the longer story ones like the little golden books.
-crayola color wonder stuff
-puzzles, like these Melissa and Doug ones
-3 wheel scooters, mine love their Radio Flyer: My 1st Scooter

Good luck hunting!

 

Just wanted to let you know that I just ordered the Vtech KidiJamz for my niece and found a pretty good price. It's $39.99 and then you get an additional 20% off if you use the coupon code: BIGSAVINGS. Here is the link: $39.99 KidiJamz Studio

One other birthday gift idea is the Vtech KidiZoom Plus Camera. It's very easy to use and you can also play games on it and record videos. We have the KidiZoom Camera (not "Plus") and they love it. I'm pretty amazed at what good photographers they are!

 

My girls love color wonder stuff, dress ups, kid scissors, play doh, barbies, baby dolls, "Step 2 The Write Desk" (little desks with a tiny light and places to store art supplies in the seat, desk and desk top) and our newest fun toy is the step 2 play sink. It's got a basin and faucet, which pumps water through like a real sink. We keep it set up on the back porch, and the girls love to play in water, filling their little pots & pans, "cooking". We actually moved their kitchen to the porch to place it beside their big sink. Great purchase! Oh, they also love to play with the Loving Family Twin Doll House. Three is such a fun age.

FWIW: We have lots of Little People things, but they don't get played with much these days.

 

Well, I asked mine just now what their favorite toys are & dd said: "Baby bottles & princesses" and ds said: "Spiderman" Otherwise, the big hits around here have been:

* bikes or tricycles
* barbies
* trains & tracks
* play food & cooking stuff
* art supplies