Our youngest daughter is turning 3 years old this month. We love to use birthdays and other gift giving occasions to focus on giving our girls items in the categories of “something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read.” Here’s a list of things our youngest daughter has been loving recently, or that we’re gifting for her upcoming birthday. It’s full of items that are perfect gift ideas for 3 year olds, with choices in each category inspired by our littlest girl!

Gift Ideas for 3 Year Olds

We reached out to a few companies to partner with us for this Gift Guide, and we were gifted some of the products. These items would all make great gifts for 3 year olds! Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission for purchases made, with NO additional fee to you. Thank you for supporting our blog!

Something You Want

Sticker Activity Book: A Magical World

Sticker Activity Book: A Magical World – We love this sticker activity book series and were excited to see the “A Magical World” theme. This book is filled with princess, unicorn, and mermaid stickers! The books are spiral bound so it is easy for kids to fully open all the way. The stickers and scenes are side-by-side, so kids don’t have to flip back and forth. There is also a coloring page on the back of each sticker page, so it’s a coloring book and sticker activity book in one!

Wooden Magnetic Dress Up Doll

Wooden Magnetic Dress Up Doll – Our girls love playing with their dolls, and they love dressing up, so this is a fun activity to combine both! The wooden dress up dolls can be put in a stand, and then kids can add magnetic clothing and accessories. This is also great for imaginative play and storytelling!

Magna-Tiles Car Expansion Set

Magna-Tiles Car Expansion Set – Our girls love building with their magnetic tile sets, and we love that it combines imaginative open-ended play with math, science, and spatial building skills. We think this will be a fun expansion set that will help to expand that play even further. They can add pieces to turn the wheel bases into a car, truck, wagon, carriage, and more!

Kid Mini Ukulele

Kid Mini Ukulele – Our girls love to sing, dance, and perform at home in our living room! We have a collection of instruments, but the one thing Margaret has repeatedly and specifically asked for her birthday is her “own guitar”. This mini wooden ukulele is the perfect size for a little one to hold and play!

Something You Need

Hooded Toddler Towel

Hooded Toddler Towel – Margaret still loves using her baby hooded towels, but she is getting too tall for them. We are replacing them with this soft, plush hooded toddler towel. It is thick, warm, and absorbent, and best of all, it is large enough to actually fit her growing “big girl” toddler body! (available at Amazon, Target, Walmart)

Stainless Steel Water Bottle

Stainless Steel Water Bottle – Margaret loves this stainless steel water bottle and uses it every day. We like this style with the straw lid that flips down to close securely. It is leak-proof in our backpack, but easy for her to open. The water bottle has a double wall insulation, and it keeps her water cold all day! The water bottles come in lots of fun designs. Margaret’s is Llama Rainbows, and our older girls have the Stardust Unicorns and Gelato.

Essential Snack Cup

Essential Snack Cup – Margaret loves to eat snacks on the go, and this is a great snack cup designed for toddlers! It is a 4-in-1 snack cup, suction bowl, steamer AND storage cup, made of colorful food-grade silicone. It has a lid and handle, so it’s easy for little ones to hold. It is also dishwasher, microwave, and freezer safe. It is a cute, stylish snack cup that does it all!

Tubby Todd “The Regulars” Bundle

Tubby Todd “The Regulars” Bundle – This 3-piece set includes Hair + Body Wash, Everyday Lotion, and All Over Ointment. Each one is gentle for newborns and toddlers and good for sensitive skin. We like to use gift giving occasions to restock quality bath time essentials that we use every day. Shop through our Tubby Todd link to automatically get 10% off at checkout!

Something to Wear

Twirly Dresses and Comfy Tees

Primary dresses & Primary tees – We like to use gift giving occasions to add a few clothing items for the next size and season. Our daughters love these twirly dresses and the comfy tees with the cute pocket designs. They’re comfortable to play in all day, perfect for spring/summer, and come in lots of fun colors. Use code TIDYDAD20 for 20% off your 1st order + free shipping.

Quality Sunglasses

Quality Sunglasses – These heart sunglasses are ultra-lightweight, flexible, and virtually indestructible. They have polarized shatter-resistant lenses, glare reduction technology, and provide 100% UVA/B/C protection. We love that the arms are bendable, rather than breakable. They even come with a carrying pouch that doubles as polishing cloth. These cute heart sunglasses are perfect for kids all year round!

Comfortable Sneakers

Ten Little shoes – These are the BEST shoes for little ones. They are designed to support natural growth in little feet. Margaret’s very first shoes were the Everyday Original sneakers in candy pink, and when she outgrew them we got a larger size of the Everyday Original sneakers in blush pink! This past winter we got her the Furry High Top sneakers in power purple for playing outside in cold weather, and this spring we’re trying out the Recycled Canvas sneakers in light pink. Each style comes in lots of solid colors and is perfect for walking, running, or climbing at the playground.

Hair Bows and Headbands

Hair Bows and Headbands: Our littlest girl loves to accessorize! This set of 10 bow hair clips and this set of 10 headbands will give her a variety of styles and colors to mix and match with different outfits. The bows have an alligator clip that is gentle and easy to use, and the headbands are soft and stretchy.

Something to Learn/Read

Boxset of Board Books

My First Library: Boxset of 10 Board Books for Kids: Our littlest girl has a lot of hand-me-down books from her big sisters, but this set looks like a perfect addition to her little library. The books cover a wide range of learning topics, including ABC, Numbers, Shapes, Colors, Wild Animals, Farm Animals & Pets, Birds, Fruits, Vegetables, and Transport.

Peek A Book

Peekabook: This Peekabook ring turns an iPad into a digital lift-the-flap book! This is a fun way to make screen time educational and interactive. Kids get to listen to digital books with narration, animation, and sound effects. It’s an engaging and creative way to make the stories come to life! The ring does not require batteries or charging, and the games/books do not require wifi, so this is a great travel activity!

Update: Peekabook has introduced an in-app virtual ring, so you can now choose to play Peekabook with a physical explorer ring OR a virtual ring. With the introduction of the virtual ring, you can have greater flexibility and convenience to fit your learning routine, even if you misplace or forget the ring on a trip.

Lovevery Play Kits

Lovevery Play Kits – These play kits provide stage-based play essentials for your child. This specific kit is designed for 37-39 month olds and looks perfect for Margaret as she turns 3 years old. It includes a visual weather board, modular playhouse with wooden accessories, wooden emotion dolls, and a set of three books about different emotions. We love that these curated kits take the guesswork out of choosing developmentally appropriate toys. They send a box of toys that promotes learning, including an activity guide to support you and your child as you play!

I hope this roundup inspires you to consider some fun gift ideas for 3 year olds, and maybe you’ll incorporate the categories of “something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to learn/read” into your gifting!

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This post contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission for purchases made through these links. We hope you enjoy some of our favorite gift ideas for 3 year olds!

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