3 years old

Educational Toy Gift Ideas for 3 Year Olds

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Educational Gifts for Three Year Olds

It's that time of year again, and we're all trying to think of the perfect gifts to get the little ones for Christmas (and winter birthdays!) Instead of following the 'something they want, something they need' guidelines I like to find the most fun educational toys that meet the childrens' needs in each of the developmental areas of learning.  That way I know that they are getting toys that they'll enjoy playing with and they'll be learning whilst they play.


educational toy gifts for three year olds collage


This post contains affiliate links.

Mathematical Development Toys

learning resources number bugs toy

It's always easy to find lots of toys to help with math skills, these Number Bugs from Learning Resources are so cute and they'll help Ivy to match up the number of spots on the ladybirds' back to the number on her head.  They're also great for fine motor skills as little ones snap them together and pull them apart.  And they're a whole lot of buggy fun if you're learning about minibeasts in the garden too.

Other mathematical toys that make great gifts are shape puzzles, number books and this Duplo Train set (buy from Amazon US / Amazon UK) which is always one of my go to gifts for any toddler.


Language Development Toys

orchard toys pigs in pants game

At nearly three years old Ivy is talking up a storm, but not always in ways that everyone understands!  A great way to work on language development is through playing games, and I am sure that she is going to love this Pigs in Pants game from Orchard Toys.  The children have to match the pants to those on the cards and get to shout out hilarious things like 'I'm going to pinch your pants' which I know that all three year olds will get a real kick out of!  It's also great for developing social skills like turn taking and playing nicely.

Of course it wouldn't be Christmas without a few books to unwrap as well, this year I've compiled a list of the best Christmas books for Toddlers that we could find, and there's a few in there that will definitely be under the tree for Ivy.

Social Development Toys

disney princess rapunzel doll

It's never difficult to find toys to help with social development, and Ivy is going to love this Disney Princess Hair Glow Rapunzel Doll (buy from Amazon US / Amazon UK) from Jakks Pacific.  She gets to to care for Rapunzel and brush her hair, which glows as the doll sings 'I See the Light' from Tangled.  I am hopeful that brushing Rapunzel's hair will help Ivy to understand the importance of brushing her hair, and that maybe we can play games where we all brush hair together, to make that morning hair battle go away.


twirlywoos visitors toys


Another great gift idea is this Twirlywoos Visitors Gift Pack from Golden Bear Toys.  Any little fans of the show Twirlywoos will be familiar with these characters, and it's a great way of bringing the show to life and bringing the conversation into the game after they've done watching the show.  I don't like to let the kids watch too much tv, but of course we do watch it at times and then we talk about it or play along like the characters so that I know what they've been watching whilst I made dinner and I get to join in the fun too.  This set includes Peekaboo, Ivy's favourite and a little box for him to hide in, so I know that she's going to love it.

Physical Development Toys

sylvanian families cosy cottage

We are big fans of Sylvanian Families and this Cosy Cottage Starter Home is going to be perfect for our collection, but would also be a great introduction to them.  The set comes with one Sylvanian Families character, the cottage, a few pieces of furniture and lots of little pieces for the home.  This is why I think that it is great for physical development, all of those fine motor skills that are needed to play with the tiny little frying pan and little food to go inside it.  So while having fun and playing house the little ones are also exercising those little hands to place all of the tiny items in the different places. 

Another of our favourite toys for physical development at this age is Play Dough (buy from Amazon US / Amazon UK) which is always a hit for rainy days and their are so many different themed sets that you can buy.  The one part that is always true is that they are great for building up that hand strength that little ones need to later develop their writing skills.

Creative Development Toys

cottontail cottage

I am loving this Fuzzikins Craft Cottontail Cottage from Interplay because not only is Ivy going to have so much fun playing with those little bunnies in their house, but she actually gets to decorate it herself and show her creative flair.  She is going to have so much fun colouring those little bunnies herself and deciding where everything in the cottage should go, and of course sticking on all the stickers.  This is going to keep her busy for ages setting it all up, and then playing with her own small world set.


sofia the first castle toy


Finally we have this Sofia the First Deluxe Castle Playset (buy from Amazon US / Amazon UK) from Jakks Pacific which is definitely going to be an instant favourite in our house.  Ivy is going to see this as a fun princess castle, but there is just so much more learning that will be going on while she plays with it.  She will be using her imagination to create stories for Sofia to enact in her castle, while discovering the secret compartments and special features that the castle hides inside.

There are just so many options for educational gifts for three year olds, I could actually write a book about it.  But we're definitely going to have a fun time playing and learning with all of the toys that we've chosen this year.


educational toy gifts for three year olds collage

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* This post contains affiliate links as well as review items that we were sent for the purpose of this post, all opinions are our own.*

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1 comments

  1. You can never go wrong with Sofia the first toys for little girls. My girl is still too small for it but I am sure she would love this once she is at that age. Thanks for linking up again to Christmas Gift Guide linky.

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