Best Birthday and Christmas Gift Ideas for a Three Year Old Boy

It can be tricky buying gifts for children. What do kids this age really play with? Will this toy have staying power, or will it be thrown in the closet after a week? Whether you are buying a gift for a son, grandson, nephew or family friend, this list will help you out. This list is full of kid-tested, mother approved toys for 3 year old boys for all budgets. Always keep in mind that quality is more important than quantity. One toy that will last 20 years is better than 20 toys that will last one year. Most kids don't have a shortage of toys, but they do have a shortage of quality toys!

One of the toys that every little boy should have and will enjoy is a Train Set. A train set spurs the imagination and can entertain a little on for hours at a time. There are a ton of different types of train sets. There are electric train sets, Wooden train sets, plastic train sets and Thomas the Train sets. How do you know which train set is right for the 3 year old in your life?

Personally, my favorite is the wooden train sets. These don't require batteries or any special items to set them up. All you need to set up a wooden train set are the pieces and imagination. These types of set also last forever and can be added to with ease. If your son is wild about Thomas, you can use buy wooden Thomas pieces too.

Fisher-Price GeoTrax is a popular toy train option for boys this age too, and we've had them at our house and the kids enjoy them. There are tons of expansion options and you can really get a large train world set up if you have enough pieces. The only problem with these is you have to keep batteries on hand all the time and the engines can be ruined as with all battery operated toys.

This goes with the previous idea. IF you have a train set, AND you have the space, a train table is a useful investment. A train table is nice because you have a place to store all your train pieces and also a contained place to play with the train set so it doesn't wind up taking over the entire family room or his entire bedroom. Also, the train set can be "left out" every day on the train table without it appearing messy which is an advantage for both mom and boy. These tables do take up quite a bit of space, however, so make sure you are willing to give up the floor space before buying one of these as a gift.

Nothing will get played with as often and last as long as a QUALITY wooden block set. These sets tend to be quite expensive, but they are timeless and will last for generations. If you can get a large set of cheap blocks, or a small set of expensive blocks I would go with the small set of expensive blocks every time. Just add to it at every birthday/Christmas and soon the little boy in your life will have the kind of wooden block set that all the neighborhood kids will want to play with.

3 is about the youngest age that I would recommend for Hot wheels cars, but three year old boys LOVE these little cars! If there are wood floors in the house expect all of them to become racetracks once the 3 year old boy in your life starts collecting these little buggers. Hot Wheels come in every variety imaginable and usually can be found for about $1.00 each. A great gift topper too.

Little boys like playing with these cars until they are 10 or 11 or so. Heck if you buy these cars, don't be surprised if you find 30 year old men crawling around the floor making vroom noises and playing with the racetracks. Plus these cars seem to last a lifetime! My son plays with Hot Wheels from way back when they first began that my grandmother had, they truly stand the test of time!

Farm animals should be a staple for any little boy. Farm animals can be just the start of it, however. Imagine a tub of long-lasting farm animals, fences, a toy barn and even some zoo-type animals. The little boy can play with hours setting up farms, pens, zoos, vet clinics, etc.

Growing up I remember playing for entire afternoons creating an elaborate farm with the farm animals, fences and barn that I played with at my grandmothers house. This was one of the greatest joys of my childhood. Once again, the higher the quality the farm animal, the longer it tends to last. Yes, we have horses and cows at our house that cost up to $8.00 each, but I plan on having them forever and I expect that someday MY grandchildren will enjoy playing with these animals.

I am going to recommend Schleich animal. These are amazing quality. They are heavy, they stand on their own, even on carpet, and they last FOREVER. The detail work on them is fantastic. There is NO better quality animal out there. They are well worth the money. You will realize this when you see and feel them. Once you buy a Schleich animal, all the other ones seem junky in comparison.