The Only Gift Guide for a 3-Year-Old You’ll Ever Need

When we asked Milk Teeth co-founders Catherine Newell-Hanson and Rebecca Calavan about the kind of play their respective 3-year-olds are into at the moment, they responded almost in unison: jumping. “Jumping on the bed, jumping off the couch, jumping on us, jumping on the dog, jumping on the trampoline,” Calavan elaborated. Of course, 3-year-olds also enjoy running, riding a scooter, drawing, playing dress-up, playing with action figures, and building block towers to knock down. Kids are getting more interested in talking at this age, whether that’s narrating pretend play or speaking in the voice their favorite doll or stuffy. “There’s so much language development that’s happening, so talking and having conversations is really important,” says Erica Hill, a consultant at the early-childhood-education research foundation HighScope. And that’s true whether you’re discussing the differences between two Hot Wheels cars or pouring them a cup of invisible tea in the bath.

To help you find the best toys that will give the 3-year-old in your life a chance to jump, chat, and otherwise indulge their many burgeoning interests, we talked to child-development specialists, toy buyers, and stylish parents about the toys they recommend. The 37 expert-approved gifts below are organized by price, so if you already have a budget in mind, you can use the table of contents to jump to that section. Otherwise, read all the way through to get the full picture of what makes an elder toddler tick.

Meanwhile, if you’re also shopping for children in other age groups, we have gift guides for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds, 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 11-year-olds, and 12-year-olds — plus the meticulously curated Strategist Toy Store, filled with all our greatest hits.