Looking for the perfect gift for your preschooler? This massive list has over 38 toy ideas for ages 3 and up! From educational toys and puzzles to dress-up, bikes, and building sets—discover toys that spark creativity, learning, and hours of play. Find your child’s next favorite toy here! Well over 38 toy ideas for your preschooler! Find the perfect gift for your preschooler in this massive list of toy ideas.

For me, as the child gets older, they start to play with the toys I envision children playing with.

We move away from the more baby-ish toys and on to the ponies, dolls, stuffed animals, dress up clothes, trains, cars, etc. even more.

Something great about three year olds is that most have something they just love. For Brayden, it was Thomas. For Kaitlyn, it was horses. McKenna loved princesses. Brinley loved animals.

This love makes it really quite easy to think of gifts and toys for your preschooler. Even so, you want a variety of toys for your little one.

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Great Toys for Preschoolers

So what are some great toys for kids at this age?

Old Favorites

Review past posts on the best toys for your child and build on those.

The “best toy” really varies from child to child. The three year old will still like cars, trains, trucks, tractors, lawnmowers, balls, baby furniture, kitchens and accessories, play-doh, Geo Mags, Little People, etc.

If your little one loves trains, this Melissa & Doug Wooden Railway might be just the perfect gift. If you want something smaller, try the Swivel Bridge Train Set.

Build On Favorites (or start new collections!)

Remember to slowly add to your child’s collection if there is something he loves. One example of that for us is Thomas the Tank Engine train toys.

We slowly added new trains and new destinations to Brayden’s set-up. And it is good to note that my girls loved the trains as much as Brayden did.

You can add to your play-doh collection, trains, toy food, aprons, stuffed animals, new Little People sets, ponies, barbies, magformers, figurines, etc.

If you have a kiddo who loves cars and you are looking for an idea, check out these Magic Tracks.

Board Games

This is a great age for games. The three year old is so much more capable to play games. Check out my board games post for my list of games and reviews on each.

Educational Toys

There are lots of things geared toward learning. Children love to learn. You can find some educational toy ideas for preschoolers in this post here. Melissa & Doug have a lot of fun, educational toys.

Dress Up

Dress Up is so fun for children. Dress up was probably the number one favorite thing for my kids to do throughout their young years and into their early elementary school years. A great thing about dress up is there is really very little mess. And don’t think you have to do a full costume for it to count as dress up for kids. You can do something as simple as hats. My children loved their cowboy hats. Accessories work great too, like wands (princess and wizard), capes, or feather boas.

Puzzles

Puzzles are really fun for some children at this age. There are so many amazing puzzles out that I have a whole post on our favorite puzzles. I don’t think you can go wrong with puzzles by Melissa & Doug.

Melissa & Doug African Plains Safari Wooden Jigsaw Puzzle

Books

I always give books at each birthday, Easter, and Christmas. There are more great books out there than you could ever own.

For book help, see these posts:

Plastic Animals

I loved Plastic Animals as a child, and my children do, too. Kaitlyn especially likes them. If you have an animal lover in your home, plastic animals will be a hit.

Ponies

Kaitlyn had a pony obsession, and her third birthday was very much a horse birthday. If your little girl loves ponies, look into the playsets by My Little Pony. They have baby various palace set ups. They have cars. They have this cute train. There are also cute sea pony toys.

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Collection Canterlot Castle Playset

Dolls

Melissa & Doug make these fabulous “paper” dolls out of wood. They are magnetic, so the clothes stay on the dolls. They make everything from princesses to firefighters.

Melissa & Doug Princess & Horse Magnetic Dress-Up

Another really popular doll is the LOL Surprise Dolls and playsets. They have cute little animals, scented playsets, mermaid and fairy dolls, and other types of dolls. There is a lot of variety!

LOL Surprise Loves The World of Strawberry Shortcake Tots Doll

Melissa & Doug Barn

Can you tell I love Melissa & Doug? They have a barn that is darling for your animal loving kiddos.

CoComelon Toys

These are super fun and popular toys with toddlers and preschoolers. They have musical toys, JJ Dolls, and fun playsets. CoComelon is a popular show, so the toys are super popular. If your kiddo enjoys this show, you can get water toys, figures, learning tablets, playsets, musical toys, puzzles, shape sorters, and even bubble machines.

Paw Patrol Toys

Paw Patrol has long been a favorite among preschoolers. There are many fun vehicles, figures, and playsets for your preschooler to play with if they love the show Paw Patrol!

Bluey Toys

Another very popular category of toys based off a show is Bluey Toys. Popular in these toys is playsets, figures, and plush toys. They also have art toys, interactive books, cash registers…there really are a lot of options.

Bluey Heeler Family Stuffed Animal Set of 4

Great toys for your preschooler pinnable image

Table and Chairs

We have a cute little table and chairs set for the kids. They love to sit there and play kitchen, draw, color, and even go camping…I don’t know. It is all in their heads. My kids used this until they were way too big for them.

Humble Crew Kids Wooden Table and 4 Chairs Set

Easel

Easels are fun and they build muscle control in the hands. My kids loved their easel for years and years.

Bike

Both Brayden and Kaitlyn go their first bike at age three. Another great option for a three year old is a balance bike.

Plasma Car

I have talked about this in the past, but we love our Plasma Cars (now Wiggle Cars). A lot. If you don’t have one, consider it. I think you will love it. Every time an adult sees our kids on these, they ask what it is and where we got it. They are lots of fun. When I was buying our first one, a lady came up to me in the store and went on and on about how much she loves them.

Scooter

Scooters are lots of fun, too. We have a radio flyer three wheeled scooter. Kaitlyn loved to ride this.

Sports Toys

I have talked in the past about a basketball hoop and T-ball set. There are g o lf sets and soccer goals. I love toys for outside because I think outside play is great for kids. See our favorite outside toys here.

Building Toys

We LOVE building toys at our house. LEGOs, geomags, magformers…read all about our favorite building toys in this post.

Montessori Toys

Popular Montessori toys include busy boards, sensory toys, and wooden educational toys. These are great toys to help tie in learning and playing at the same time (but remember, all play involves learning for your preschooler).

STEM Toys

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. These toys foster critical thinking skills, problem-solving skills, and creativity by making learning engaging through the play. These really tie in with the building toys like LEGOs and Magna Tiles. But there are even more options beyond building toys (like coding toys and circuit kits).

Sensory Toys

Sensory toys bring a lot of fun sensory play to your kiddo and is a great way to mix up the play in the day. Kinetic Sand kits are popular. They have a variety of types of kits from Construction Sand kits to Baking Sand kits. Water beads are also popular.

You can also buy sensory bins for your child that are pre-made or create your own sensory bin.

Toy Kitchen

If you haven’t gotten a toy kitchen for your kiddo yet, it i a great time to do so! If you have, add some food, dishes, shopping cart, etc.

Toy Stepping Stones

These make great indoor fun and work on balance while getting the wiggles out and working gross motor skills. Check them out here.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Stepping Stones for Kids

Nugget Play Couch

This is a super fun play couch for kids to be able to have building toys and gross motor play. Kids love doing stuff like this and it will keep them busy for a long time and wear them out!