Need a budget gift for 3 y.o girl

[NiftyJ88]

My niece's b-day is approaching. She will be 3. I can't for the life of me think what to get her for her b-day. I don't want to get her some junky toy and it has to be safe because she has a younger sister who puts EVERYTHING in her mouth (and destroys things). It needs to be a budget friendly gift. Any ideas?

 

[bas71873]

puzzles! my DD (now 7) still loves puzzles.

bath toys always work too. they sell washable crayons for the bath and tablets that change the water color. my DD used to like the foam bath toys that she could stick to the tub wall. we had a whole set of sleeping beauty once, which I think I found at Toys R Us!

 

[lovesmurfs]

My niece's b-day is approaching. She will be 3. I can't for the life of me think what to get her for her b-day. I don't want to get her some junky toy and it has to be safe because she has a younger sister who puts EVERYTHING in her mouth (and destroys things). It needs to be a budget friendly gift. Any ideas?

Books. Many of the classics are available in paperback, which is a huge savings over hardcover. Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, Olivia, Little Bear, etc.

 

[Perditamarie]

My kids loved the Disney sing-a-long dvds at this age...also the Laurie Berkner Band combo cd/dvd was awesome and the kids danced through the whole thing!

 

[Malibustyle23]

What about outside things? Slip n slide, sprinkler, kiddie pool, anything of that nature? All can usually be found for $10 and under.

Target had a hop scotch sprinkler for $4.99 which I bought recently for 6 and 4 year old brothers joint gift. It was a plastic hop scotch pad and on the entire border was sprinklers to spray the entire time it was on.

 

[leslie826]

Fisher Price Snap n Style dolls. My girls love them still, and they are designed for young girls. They usually have a lot of them at kohls. If you can time it right with a 30% off sale, they will be very reasonable.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

Dress-up clothes are always a hit. Buycostumes.com had alot of costumes on sale a couple weeks ago, you might be able to find a deal there.

 

[PHXscuba]

Go to a thrift store for dress-up costume stuff and jewelry. That's where I got dress-up clothes for my daughters. Girls' dresses about 2 sizes too big (with no buttons, snaps, etc. for mom to have to do up) and some old jewelry would make any girl's day. And it's hard to destroy.

Or what about the gift of your time? Give her an elaborately decorated "gift certificate" (so it looks more like a present) of a special girls' lunch/tea out at a fun restaurant? If she has a little sister, she might want some "big girl attention!"

PHXscuba

 

[PiperPizzaz]

bath stuff and cute towel

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

How about a tutu? My DD received a pink tutu and a Sesame Street book starring Zoe as a ballerina for ther 3rd birthday and LOVED it.

 

[missycj96]

One of the best gifts my DD received when she was about that age was a set of crayola washable paints and a pad of paper to paint on. She loved those paints and used them until they were all gone. I don't know the cost, but it is the type of paint they sell at CVS.

 

[DisneyBrooke81]

My 4 year old DD still plays with the Snap and Style dolls. She really likes them. Crayola Color Wonders stuff is great too. Also, at 3, DD really started liking Barbies.

 

[clh2]

My DD LOVED the dress-up puzzles when she was that age. The attached link is for a bear. This company also has a bear-family dress-up puzzle too. Sorry - I tried to find the shipping charges on their site, and you almost need to sign up before you find out what they are.

Bear Dress-up

OK - I'll give you the family too!

Bear Dress-up family

My DD would play with these for HOURS...and she only had the "bear" set, not the "bear-family" set.

 

[Zoesmama03]

Dress up or pretend stuff is usually a hit. I agree on the puzzles and its great for the brain. I've read that puzzles help with math skills as well as spatial learning. My dds been a fan of puzzles since she was 2.

My dd has been obsessed with Littlest Pet Shop toys since she was 4. They do have some small parts and accessories that come with that are probably too small though. My dd collects the stuffed versions as well. Those come with a code for the online game that she may be interested in but probably not for a year or 2.

I love the book ideas. The Leap Frog tag pen and books looks so cool(Ive seen them on good sales at Target if you have time to watch). I would have got that if it was available when dd was 3-4. They had the hard back design but now dd(almost 7) reads chapter books so those would bore her.

 

[mom2val]

Fisher Price Little People, Board Books, Fisher Price Little Mommy baby doll

 

[mickeymaker2003]

My 3 year old is obsessed with the Disney figurines (playsets) from the Disney Store. They were on sale for 2 sets for $20 and each set has about 6 or 7 characters. She uses all of her Disney friends in her Little People buildings (castle, house, farm, ship, etc).

 

[SunnieRN]

I was at Target tonight and they had a FP Little People, Animal town set on sale for $17 and change. Very cute!

 

[brymolmom]

Buy a container - shoe size or a bit above. Buy crayons, coloring books, glitter and stickers to go in it. On the top or side - use some glue and write her name with it - then sprinkle glitter on top. A personalized coloring container!

And MOST of the above can be bought at the dollar store. But comes across as WAY more than a dollar store gift! And 3 is the perfect age for it, IMO!

 

[Familyof4lovesDW]

Dress up clothes, littlest pet shop, my little ponies or barbies are what my dd likes. She is 5 but has used all of the above for 2 years. How about a Build a Bear gift card. DD (and DS) always want to do it, but I think it is a little expensive.

 

[cel_disney]

I would recommend 'Do A Dot' art supplies - you can get them at amazon and craft stores like Michaels and AC Moore (and use their coupons!)

http://www.amazon.com/Do-Dot-Rainbo...e=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1278512857&sr=8-1

Other alternatives I would recommend (my DS is 3.5) would be a selection of regular and foam stickers and construction paper, a tutu and tiara, a gift certificate (10$ usually covers these) to an experience - like Bounce U, Jump on In, Discovery Stop, Mini-Golf, Plaster Fun Time - if I give a gift certificate like this, I often put it in an inexpensive picture frame so they can capture the fun for their wall or put a package of stickers in the card as well so there is something more immediate as well.