The 50 Best Gifts for Three-Year-Old Boys
In our attempts as parents to find the best presents for toddler boys over the years, we’ve found some that are major hits — and some that are serious misses. Based on our experiences with toys, games, and other fun toddler gear, we’ve rounded up the 50 best gifts for three-year-old boys, all loved by our own three-year-old son. Whether you’re shopping on a budget or looking for that big-ticket showstopper, read on for a comprehensive list of favorites you won’t regret buying.
The Winning List: The Best Gifts for Three-Year-Old Boys
1. Black + Decker Kids Workbench
The Black + Decker Kids Workbench is one of the most well-loved toys in our house. The workbench comes with a handful of tools, a battery-powered pretend saw and drill, and plastic wood pieces for building a toolbox.
2. Thomas & Friends Multilevel Trains and Cranes Track Set
The Thomas & Friends Multilevel Track Set is a major attraction when our son has friends over to play. It’s a hands-on toy that requires maneuvering of the track’s controls to keep the trains running and delivering their cargo. We’ve also tried the brand’s fun Talking Thomas and Percy Set, as well as its Loop & Launch Maintenance Yard, which packs some serious power in its 360-degree loop.
3. Highlights High Five Magazine Subscription
Few things excite our son more than when his Highlights High Five Magazine arrives in the mail every month. Each issue comes with stories, poems, puzzles, recipes, and crafts for children from ages two to six. The brand also sells a High Five Activity Box, which delivers materials for a craft, a game, a book, and a recipe to our door every three months.
4. Pottery Barn Kids Shaggy Head Bear Sleeping Bag
Pottery Barn Kids sells an array of adorable sleeping bags, including this fun bear-themed one with a shaggy head and paws that makes three-year-olds feel like big kids!
5. Hot Wheels Monster Trucks
These rugged, 1:24 scale Hot Wheels Monster Trucks are perfect for playing inside or pushing around outside on pavement, gravel, and dirt.
6. Taessv Friction Powered Monster Trucks
These Taessv Friction Powered Monster Trucks are more compact and budget-friendly than their Hot Wheels competitors, and they do hilarious stunts when pushed across the floor.
7. SmartMax Building Magnetic Discovery Set
The SmartMax Building Magnetic Discovery Set challenges children to think outside the box when connecting shapes and building new structures. These toys keep our three-year-old occupied for extended periods of time, and parents can add on to their collection with SmartMax safari wildlife, stunt cars, or power vehicles sets.
8. Jigsaw Puzzles
At around age three, kids are ready to move on from chunky wood puzzles to more complex jigsaw-style puzzles. Try the Farm Animals PuzzleTrain, Skillmatics Construction Site Floor Puzzle, and Melissa & Doug’s Wooden Vehicles Puzzles.
9. Fat Brain Toys Go Go Gears! Wooden Puzzle
The Go Go Gears! Wooden Puzzle is another way to level up your toddler’s puzzle game once he turns three. Children can insert the spinning gears in multiple spots and watch as they fill in circular shapes on 10 colorful backdrops.
10. Learning Resources Preschool Mathlink Cubes
There are no rules that say the best gifts can’t be educational, too. Our son builds constantly with his Learning Resources Preschool MathLink Cubes. Toddlers can build freely or follow the included activity cards. The brand also sells a kindergarten math activity set and additional building cubes.
11. Learning Resources Preschool Letters
Learning Resources’ Preschool Letters is a creative tool to get three-year-olds practicing their fine motor skills while learning about the alphabet. The set comes with 91 pieces, including letter beads, picture cards, a game spinner, and multiple activity sheets.
12. Fat Brain Toys Ladybug’s Garden Memory Game
Instead of giving a traditional toy, try a two-person memory game. This wooden Ladybug’s Garden Memory Game by Fat Brain Toys features ten different game themes with varying levels of difficulty.
13. Chutes and Ladders Board Game
For a game that accommodates more players at a time, we love sitting down as a family to play Chutes and Ladders.
14. Power Wheels Hot Wheels Jeep Wrangler
If you’re looking for a big-ticket item that’s guaranteed to wow every three-year-old boy in the neighborhood, you can’t go wrong with the Power Wheels Hot Wheels Jeep Wrangler. This ride-on Jeep has two speed settings, automatic breaks, catchy music, and cool flame accents.
15. Kids Lawn Rakes
It might not seem like a fun toy to adults, but little boys love to join Dad or Mom with yard work. A set of colorful lawn rakes, or a kids snow shovel for the winter, is a great gift for kids who want to help out in the backyard.
16. Kids Crafting Supplies
One of my favorite activities to do with our son is sit down and work on a craft together. Put together a basket with craft sticks, safety scissors, pom poms, and wiggle eyes to get started, or invest in a loaded-up craft kit with everything you’ll need.
17. PicassoTiles Magnet Building Tiles
I could add a set of PicassoTiles Magnet Building Tiles to every best-toys list I write. We also love the brand’s marble run set and mini tiles collection.
18. Cartoon Remote Control Cars
Our three-year-old loves his set of Cartoon Remote Control Cars with drivers included, as well as his remote control monster truck by Monster Jam.
19. Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Clock
Our son is constantly asking us what time it is. Help youngsters develop an understanding of the time of day with this clever Shape Sorting Clock Puzzle from Melissa & Doug.
20. Melissa & Doug Wooden Cube Puzzle
Each face of Melissa & Doug’s Wooden Cube Puzzle pieces contributes to a different puzzle, making a total of six different pet-themed puzzles altogether in one budget-friendly gift.
21. Preschool Backpack
Although they might not carry much around at once, three-year-olds love to pack up their things. Gift them a cute backpack in their favorite character, like Mickey Mouse or Spiderman.
22. Kids Foldable Camp Chair with Carry Bag
For parents or relatives looking for a unique gift that isn’t a toy, a toddler-sized folding chair gives kids a special spot to sit in. Our son uses his chair on camping trips, visits to grandparents’ houses, and in our backyard.
23. Baby Shark Gone Fishing Game
Although parents might not love listening to the tune of Baby Shark on repeat, this Baby Shark Gone Fishing Game creates loads of fun for up to four players.
24. Richard Scarry’s Busy Busy Boxed Book Set
Books always make for cherished children’s gifts. Richard Scarry’s Busy Busy Boxed Set is the perfect choice for three-year-old boys, with four picture-filled stories and a hidden bug that readers need to find on each page.
25. Lascal BuggyBoard Mini Universal Stroller Board
Parents of any three-year-old boy with younger siblings will love receiving Lascal’s BuggyBoard Mini. A stroller board is the perfect way to transport growing toddlers in the standing position while a baby sibling rides in the stroller carriage.
26. Children’s Museum Passes
Sometimes experiences are more valuable than things. Giving a pass to a local children’s museum, zoo, or aquarium gives children a memorable day of adventure with their families.
27. Strider Balance Bike
Kids who are ready to move on from the classic tricycle will appreciate the challenge of a Strider Balance Bike. Read my full review of the Strider bike here.
28. Skillmatics Dot It Sticker Art Set
The crayon-free, marker-free, and mess-free Dot It Sticker Art Set, which also comes in a dinosaur theme, includes over 500 stickers and eight colorful canvases.
29. Disney Toy Story Slippers
We’ve classically purchased our kids’ slippers from L.L. Bean, but when our son spotted these Disney Toy Story Slippers while we were scrolling on Amazon, he convinced us that he needed to have them. He now wears them around the house constantly.
30. Djeco Small Dots Mess-Free Painting Set
This Paint Dots Set from Djeco reduces the mess and makes the painting process easier for toddlers by using four foam-tipped, pre-filled paint markers to decorate the outlined canvases.
31. Little Helpers Toddler Cookbook
We recently gifted our son the Little Helpers Toddler Cookbook and a set of miniature cooking utensils. The cookbook includes 40 recipes with toddler-friendly cooking steps.
32. Pretend Kitchen Kits
When the real kitchen is closed for the day, pretend cooking and food prep sets are awesome gifts for little ones at around age three. The Members Mark Gourmet Kitchen Appliance Set, the Little Tikes Backyard Barbecue Grillin Goodies, and the Melissa & Doug Slice and Bake Wooden Cookie Play Food Set are all high-quality options that our kids love to play with.
33. Loog Mini Acoustic Kids Guitar
The Loog Mini Acoustic Kids Guitar is a real wood guitar designed for small hands. The Loog has three strings and includes video guitar lessons, chord flashcards, and access to the brand’s guitar-learning app.
34. Melissa & Doug Truck Crayon Set and Coloring Books
Toddler boys will love stowing their triangular crayons away in this fun Melissa & Doug Truck Crayon Case. Pair the truck crayons with an age appropriate coloring book (this is our son’s favorite) for a complete gift.
35. Folding Foam Balance Beam
We recently gave our son this Folding Foam Balance Beam, along with a set of sensory balance pods. He and his sister have had an awesome time using both to set up obstacle courses throughout the house.
36. Orsen LCD Writing Tablet
Our green dinosaur-themed Orsen LCD Writing Tablet is always a winner for road trips, restaurant visits, and mess-free quiet play.
37. Nenos Kids Headphones
There’s no guarantee that your child will wear them while sitting quietly to watch a movie, but our son definitely feels like a big kid when he struts through the airport wearing his Nenos Kids Headphones. These lightweight headphones fold in half for storage and feature volume limitation for delicate ears.
38. Fisher-Price Bubble Lawn Mower
The classic Fisher-Price Bubble Lawn Mower — one of the brand’s mainstay toys for many years — has been a favorite toy of our son’s for outdoor play. When loaded with bubble solution, the battery-free lawnmower cranks out bubbles as it’s pushed forward. Our younger daughter also loves this similar music-making mower by Lydaz.
39. Cat Toys Lil’ Movers Remote Control Dump Truck
If you want your three-year-old to have the coolest boy toy on the block, gift him this remote-control Lil’ Movers Dump Truck by Cat Toys. It has working headlights and an easy-to-use remote control.
40. Le Toy Van Noah’s Balancing Ark
The wooden Noah’s Balancing Ark from Le Toy Van is one of those toys our son can sit down and play with for an extended period of time, trying to fit all the colorful animals onto the rocking boat without it falling down.
41. Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Standing Art Easel
If you want to simulate an art studio at home and let your child create without limits, the Melissa & Doug Deluxe Wooden Standing Art Easel is a worthwhile investment. Read my complete review here.
42. Pop-Up Soccer Nets
We love toys that promote physical activity through play. Our son’s set of soccer nets and cones for the backyard remains one of his favorite presents. Don’t forget to throw in a couple soccer balls to complete the gift.
43. Fisher-Price Linkimals Counting Koala
People usually think of Fisher-Price Linkimals as toys for babies, but when we purchased the Counting Koala for our one-year-old daughter, it was our three-year-old son who wanted to play with it nonstop. With catchy songs, entrancing lights, and repetitive counting from 1 to 10, it’s the perfect toy for little ones wanting to master their numbers.
44. Crate & Kids Collapsible Kids Canvas Play Tent
In indoor spaces with room to spare, the Crate & Kids Collapsible Canvas Tent creates a special spot for little kids to escape and play.
45. Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Giddy Buggy Flashlight
There’s something about flashlights that makes them irresistible to toddlers. We love the Melissa & Doug Sunny Patch Giddy Buggy Flashlight, with a chunky handle that’s easy for small hands to grasp.
46. Fisher-Price Make-a-Match Card Game
A simple memory game with matching cards, like the Fisher-Price Make-a-Match Card Game, is the perfect compact travel toy for growing toddlers.
47. Hot Wheels
One of the best things about individual Hot Wheels cars — in addition to their compact size and endless opportunities for imaginative play — is that they cost just over $1 each. Score for Mom and Dad!
48. Finger Puppets
Once kids reach age three, small finger puppets are great toys to bring along for traveling. Little ones will love seeing how many they can fit onto their tiny hands at once.
49. Toy Grabber
It wasn’t until our son saw one of these grabber toys in a local store and fell in love with it that I realized how great of a toy this is for little boys.
50. Melissa & Doug Vroom & Zoom Interactive Steering Wheel
Help that adorable little boy feel like he’s in the driver’s seat with Melissa & Doug’s Vroom & Zoom Interactive Steering Wheel, which is equipped with catchy radio stations, multiple driver’s controls, and an interactive steering game.
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Choosing the perfect present for a three-year-old can be overwhelming. We hope our gift list helped you round out your shopping list for your next holiday event or toddler boy birthday party. For more toys and gift ideas, don’t miss our lists of the best toddler travel toys or best gifts for parents who love to travel.
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