Next up – 3 year olds. I have to admit, I found it hard to control myself with this particular gift guide. My first list of ideas was getting out a control. Mr TT and all of his friends are currently threenagers so I am well and truly in the thick of it!
If you are stuck with what to buy a 3 year old tornado this Christmas, here are some fun and practical gift ideas. As with all my Christmas gift guides, nothing is sponsored here. All ideas are items I love giving or would love to give. Let’s do this!
I love a beautiful night light. These little pear night lights are adorable and make an affordable gift for little ones. I have also fallen in love this year with the Little Belle toadstool night lights. Handcrafted in New Zealand from earthenware clay, they are simply magical.
Made from natural soy and developed by occupational therapists to teach children proper pencil grip, these Soy Crayon Rocks make a unique, colourful and practical gift. Available in a muslin bag of 8, bag of 16 or box of 64.
A great gift idea for the little car lover. My First Autobahn Road Tape comes off most surfaces easily and is packaged in a see through box complete with a little car to drive on the new road. For the train lover, “My First Train Tape” is also available. As well as for play at home, Mr TT’s little friend found a great use for his road tape on a long flight from Perth to New Zealand this year – he set up a car track for his cars on his tray table!
My Little Play Packs make fantastic gifts for pre-schoolers. Owner Amy is a teacher and mum of 3 who started the business to promote play as a valuable tool for learning. Packs are available that encourage literacy, sensory, fine motor and numeracy play.
Mr TT loves rocking his t-shirts from Perth label Iggy Little. The designs on the baby and kids t-shirts and sweaters are unique and super cool – yes, that is a turtle riding a jet ski and taking a selfie on the blue t-shirt.
Great for out and about, these drawing sets are just beautiful. Handcrafted in Australia, each contain a notepad and your choice of either 5 crayons or 5 pencils in cosy little pockets. I love the ballerina and fox designs.
With removable velcro pieces, the Today is… fabric wall calendar is a great way to introduce the days of the week, months, seasons and weather. My Mum has given one of these to each of her grandchildren as a 3rd birthday gift.
Melissa & Doug’s magnetic dress up sets were a favourite activity when Miss T was at kindergarten. The magnetic wooden dress up figure comes with a wooden stand and magnetic clothing pieces. I especially love the Joey and petal fairy sets.
This cute Hape Happy Hour Clock is a 12 piece wooden puzzle that helps kids with colours, numbers and learning the time.
Sand toys make a great Summer gift. Hape sand moulds are a cool alternative to the usual standard bucket moulds. Available in Parthenon, Mayan Pyramid, Taj Mahal, Pyramid, Colosseum and new Eiffel Tower.
I love the bright colours of these Hape Wooden String Along Shapes and the sweet illustrations on the Alimrose Learn to Sew cards.
The Orchard Toys Shopping List Game is a fantastic memory game. I’ve lost count the amount of times I have played this with my tornadoes. The aim of the game is to be the first to fill your trolley with all of the items on your shopping list.
One of Miss T’s friends brought a Tiger Tribe boxset along on holiday a few years ago and it was a big hit with all the kids. All items in this set are part of an easy-carry, compact wooden box. Just fold out and play. The fairies, car and airport sets are super cute.
Of course I can’t forget books! Books make fantastic gifts.
The Very Cranky Bear is a lovely rhyming tale about 4 animal friends who encounter a bear who just wants to get some sleep. Great messages about being kind and thoughtful and perfect for kids 3+.
A mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood. A fox saw the mouse and the mouse looked good….Always on high rotation in our house, The Gruffalo is one of Miss T and Mr TT’s very favourite books and one that I can recite by heart!
A classic for over 50 years, Harry The Dirty Dog is the story of Harry, the dog who gets so dirty he actually wants a bath so that his owners will recognise him.
One of my favourite kids books. I Want My Hat Back is a very funny tale with a cheeky twist and great illustrations.
Richard Scarry’s Please And Thank You Book contains a series of stories featuring Huckle, Lowly, Pig Will, Pig Won’t and other animal residents of Busytown who learn useful lessons about manners, thoughtfulness and caring. “Lowly Worm’s Horrid Pests” is Miss T’s favourite story in this book.
Earlier this year Mr TT and I reviewed his favourite Amazing Machines books – all 10 titles in this series are perfect for machine-mad pre-schoolers aged 3 to 5 who like to know how things work.
Be sure to also check out the great picture book round-up that Shannon from Oh Creative Day does on her blog each month. So many beautiful titles for toddlers that would make fantastic gifts.
Stay tuned to the blog for more bumper gift guides coming your way this month. You can also stay up to date with gift ideas on Facebook, Pinterest (I’ve got 80+ gift ideas pinned to my Gift Ideas: Age 3 board!) or Instagram.
Happy gift hunting!
Tash xx
What gifts do you love to give a threenager?
What’s your favourite picture book for kids?
If you want to check out my other gift guides, you can find them here:
Gift Grapevine gift guide # 1 – Christmas themed gifts
Gift Grapevine gift guide # 2 – Gifts for baby
Gift Grapevine gift guide # 3 – Gifts for 1 year olds
Gift Grapevine gift guide # 4 – Gifts for 2 year olds
