Best Christmas Presents for 3-Year-Olds

At the grand age of 3, many young children have a better understanding of Christmas and what this holiday involves! They may start to have requests for gifts or show more interest towards certain activities, which will help to guide you as you start to think about their Christmas presents.

Read on to discover some fantastic gift recommendations for your 3-year-old this Christmas, to make playtime fun-filled and to build on their social and physical development skills.

To learn more about your child’s developmental milestones, check out our article ‘Guide to Your Baby’s Developmental Milestones‘.

Construction Toy Gifts

It’s time to start building! Encourage your little one to construct their own adventures whilst improving their fine motor and creative skills.

Brands like LEGO DUPLO offer an array of vibrant and educational construction kits, with easy-to-hold pieces perfect for 3-year-olds to enjoy during playtime. Many kits also feature fun characters, from LEGO DUPLO Animals of the Ocean to Mickey and Friends, to help inspire imaginative play and develop social and emotional skills.

For children who are just beginning to play with construction toys, the Build It Deluxe Set from Early Learning Centre provides a great starting point to build any exciting creations they can think of! There are over 80 pieces included, like chunky shapes, nuts, bolts and tools, to put the power in their hands. Perhaps they’ll make a trolley, robot or dog?

For more ideas on how to help your child develop key skills, check out our article on ‘How to Help Your Child Develop Fine Motor Skills‘.

Educational Christmas Gifts

Learning doesn’t have to be boring with these gift ideas. Read on to discover sets that combine learning and fun!

Learning to read is an important part of every child’s education and there are plenty of engaging toys to start teaching them the alphabet and words. From magnetic letters to alphabet cards, these sets are great to familiarise your little one with easy words and build their confidence of reading.

Similarly, learning to count is another vital skill we learn from a young age. Make learning numbers exciting for your 3-year-old with activity books, tell the time clocks or stacking toys.

Fantastic gifts that assist with helping to teach both of these learning skills are Early Learning Centre’s Magnetic Playcentre (available in Red and Pink) which holds numbers, letters, chalk and much more in a handy portable playcentre, for your little one to count and spell on-the-go!

The Learning Bumper Pack from Early Learning Centre is perfect at providing exciting and educational playtime for 3-year-olds. The activities test their memory skills, matching, opposites as well as enhancing their language development.

Early Learning Centre’s Count Your Pennies set will help familiarise children with money and counting. With a wallet, coins, banknotes and credit cards included, this set allows your little one to play pretend and develop their imaginative skills.

For more ideas on how to teach phonics, check out our article, ‘The Best Phonics Toys for Preschoolers‘.

Roleplay and Fancy Dress Christmas Gifts

Provide endless adventures and imaginative play for a 3-year-old with a roleplay and fancy-dress gifts. These are fabulous at keeping them occupied for hours in their own make-believe world!

With Early Learning Centre My Little Cash Register (available in blue and pink) children can set up the shop of their dreams in their bedroom. For solo or group play, this cash register encourages roleplay through the use of shopping accessories.

For 3-year-olds who wish to be a doctor or nurse when they are older, bring out their nurturing side with the My Little Medical Case from the Early Learning Centre. They can look after all their teddies and toys with the wooden medical accessories, that come in a handy carry bag!

Soft Toys for Christmas Gifts

A cuddly companion is the perfect gift for your little one this Christmas. In a variety of shapes and sizes, soft toys stimulates senses, encourage imaginative play and are comforting for young children.

The CoComelon Boo Boo JJ Interactive Doll is a soft plush that helps teach young children to say bye bye to boo boos. This soft toy shows you where he is hurt so that they can help to comfort him! With lights, sounds and CoComelon-themed bandages, they can quickly come to the rescue and heal JJ.

Meet Winston, the perfect toy to snuggle up with! From the Snuggle Buddies Endangered Animals range, this 30cm plush has soft embroidered eyes, super-soft fuzzy fur and long arms ready for big cuddles at bedtime! This toy is the perfect way to learn more about the animal kingdom and endangered species.

Musical Christmas Gifts

Bring the sweet sound of music into your home this Christmas with Musical Toys. From wooden musical toys like xylophone’s, rattling shakers and clacking symbols, to fun electronic pianos and microphones, there is an instrument to suit every child!

Whether they grab the microphone or a drum and pretend they’re a global superstar, or develop their fine motor skills on an interactive instrument, musical toys bring excitement and variety to playtime!

For more ideas on how to use music to help develop key skills, check out our article, ‘5 Ways Music Helps Your Child Develop‘.

Action Figures Christmas Gifts

Your 3-year-old can go on all kinds of adventures with action figures and playsets. Awaiting them are playsets of their wildest imaginations to practice pretend play, from palaces and boats to villages and farms!

The Peppa Pig Cruise Ship Playset offers 3 feature-filled levels, 3 recognisable characters and 13 accessories. There are so many places to play! Take the posable Peppa Pig, Rohan Rhino and Captain Otter figures through lots of adventures in the jungle-themed dining room and theatre, the cafeteria, ball pit play space, working elevator or the sleeping quarters. And for play on-the-go, this cruise ship can fold up with everything stored neatly inside.

Fly through Adventure Bay with the Paw Patrol Ultimate Rescue Helicopter! Little ones will love joining Skye and Marshall on all their adventures in the sky. Little ones can pull the pink lever to activate cool features like a moving propeller, flashing lights and real sound effects. Bring the whole gang along, with space for six other Paw Patrol pups on board in addition to the 2 figures included!

Creative Christmas Gifts

Inspire creativity and develop fine motor skills this Christmas with Art and Crafts gifts. From no-mess sets and colourful paints to dough and magnets, there’s a craft kit for every budding artist.

For a brilliant hands-on activity to get your 3-year-old involved in, try Clay and Play Dough! Squishy clay and dough provides hours of sensory fun and can boost their hand eye coordination, imagination, and colour and shape recognition.

You might have a master painter on your hands! With childrens easels, you can help your little artist practice their skills on a dedicated art area. With lots of different colours, styles, and sizes to choose from, these easels allow your child to express themselves and will be full of amazing creations in no time!

For more ways to inspire creative play, check out our article, ‘Picasso Toddlers: 5 Tips to Inspire Creative Play‘.

Outdoor Christmas Gifts

Help your little one jump, hop and explore this Christmas with outdoor toys!

Watch your child scoot around on their very own Blue Zoomer Scooter from Early Learning Centre. This scooter is fantastic for beginners. As well as learning to steer with the lean to steer system, your little one will build confidence and build on their physical development abilities quickly.

Another toy that supports children’s physical development is the Junior 2.6ft Trampoline from Early Learning Centre. Promising plenty of fun, 3-year-olds can bounce to their hearts content on this sturdy blue trampoline. With a padded safety frame, soft-grip handle and suitable for indoor or outdoor use, they can enjoy active play all year round.

For more ideas on outdoor learning, check out our article, ‘Nature’s Adventures: Fun Outdoor Learning for Children’.

Puzzle Game Christmas Gifts

3-year-olds are inquisitive so it’s the perfect time to build their confidence in problem-solving and spatial reasoning with Games and Puzzles.

Keep your little one entertained for hours with Early Learning Centre’s Jitterbugs. With a spider fishing rod, each player tries to pick up moving bugs from the garden base. This great game helps young children to play with others and develops their hand eye coordination.

For a problem-solving gift, why not check out the Early Learning Centre Alphabet Train Puzzle. With lots of bright and colourful alphabet-themed puzzle pieces, little ones can start to put the letters in order and complete the 130cm long puzzle. Once completed, your little one can look at the charming jungle scene they created whilst being introduced to the alphabet!

We hope you find Christmas gift inspiration to make your 3-year-olds’s day extra special while also developing key learning and developmental skills! Whether they love building cool structures, enjoy a cuddly companion or like getting outside, there is a perfect gift for every young child!

Read our disclaimers here.