Eco-friendly but inexpensive, gender-neutral gifts for a 3 year-old?

January 26, 2022 6:26 PM

Looking for suggestions on what to buy a soon-to-be three-year-old for his birthday. Difficulty level: I am on a budget of £10-£20 and I don't know his particular interests, nor am I a parent. I do know his mum and I would both prefer something eco-friendly, or at least not a piece of easily-broken plastic tat. Not a book, because I always buy him those, and nothing stereotypically masculine like toy cars or soccer stuff. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!
posted by guessthis to Shopping (24 answers total)

Giant puzzles are fun, especially if the final picture is something he enjoys.
posted by greatalleycat at 6:36 PM on January 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Art supplies? Recently my slightly older child was entertained for several hours with a large cardboard box and a small roll of colourful masking tape. Kids that age also tend to really like pretend play, so pretend food, a pretend cash register, or pretend vet equipment would probably get good use and can have a lot of funny kid-directed open ended play.
posted by ice-cream forever at 6:39 PM on January 26, 2022 [5 favorites]

Best answer: Crocodile Dentist induced non-stop laughter combined with reasonable fear in my niece. She also loved these chef, construction worker and gardener costumes.
posted by chuke at 6:47 PM on January 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

The biggest box you can find. We had a box from an oversized trashcan that we kept for yeaaaars. It was eventually decorated inside and out and I think even had some holes cut into it.

If you have a local hardware store, they might have a box to just give you and then you can buy markers and stickers to decorate it.
posted by noloveforned at 6:52 PM on January 26, 2022 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Can you get a cheap dress up set? My kid loves doctor, spy, etc costumes. They are very inexpensive in the US.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 7:05 PM on January 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

How about a small backpack?
posted by smorgasbord at 7:10 PM on January 26, 2022

Seconding all the good suggestions above.

Another option: Our oldest received a set as a toddler and we have since enjoyed gifting “Jungle Crayons” - carved balsa wood crayons with colorful animals at the top.

https://www.fairtraderoots.com/ecuador-balsa-wood-crayons.html

https://www.connectedfairtrade.com/products/jungle-crayons
posted by subwaytiles at 7:33 PM on January 26, 2022

His very own wallet and a small purse to put it in. Fill the wallet with homemade ID/license (with photo), membership cards, play money, etc. Bonus if you can take him to get his very own (real) library card.

(I'm suggesting this from personal experience - my son LOVED his wallet and purse, and spent many years carrying them around.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:42 PM on January 26, 2022 [2 favorites]

A sketch book, big plastic magnifying glass, and some twistable colored pencils. Call it an adventure bag (heck, look at a thrift store for a cool looking backpack.. and maybe even the art supplies). My kiddo would bring his bag on hikes, to gardens, the zoo and would draw and make cool observations. Look for a biiiiig colorful magnifying glass. It will keep the kiddo occupied wherever.

Kids that age start getting really into bugs, too. You might be able to find some sort of cool bug magnifier and a little insect identification card (or thrift some binoculars and find a bird ID card).
posted by adorap0621 at 8:42 PM on January 26, 2022 [1 favorite]

Lincoln logs
posted by brujita at 9:14 PM on January 26, 2022

Kids musical instruments such as a ukelele or maracas?
posted by piyushnz at 11:01 PM on January 26, 2022

A kaleidoscope?
posted by Too-Ticky at 11:16 PM on January 26, 2022

I really like seed bombs for planting/throwing, maybe a bug hotel too!
posted by socky_puppy at 12:28 AM on January 27, 2022

Response by poster: Thanks so much for the ideas so far everyone! One other point I forgot to mention: kiddo lives far away, so this needs to be something I can send in the post and not something big like a box or something we can play with together, unfortunately. Costumes and pretend-play stuff is a wonderful idea! Art supplies I also love, but his mum finds 'mess' hard to manage and is stressed right now, so I don't want to add to that accidentally.
posted by guessthis at 1:22 AM on January 27, 2022

Best answer: "color wonder" markers only make marks on the corresponding special paper - potentially a good gift for non-messy art supplies. Make sure you get both the pens and paper though, or a set with both! https://shop.crayola.com/brands/color-wonder-mess-free
posted by february at 5:44 AM on January 27, 2022 [2 favorites]

Kids that age, boy or girl, love toy strollers. It’s the same wheels and pushing fun as a truck, and it lets them mimic the adults they see around them pushing babies and toddlers in strollers.
posted by LizardBreath at 6:53 AM on January 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

I have gotten way too much time out of those felt kids' masks of different animals. But yes, any cheap costumes are cool. my kid loved this dragon costume, and also loves tutus. Any one thing only holds attention for a certain amount of time, but it usually doesn't have to be too complicated--there was a fuzzy "Elmo" hat that was just a simple cowl pattern and eyes that was a hit for a while.

So a costuming kit is kind of ideal, with masks and hats being good for winter. maybe a set of different costumes. They grow so fast, and lose attention on things so fast i wish there was a co-op where we could just mail each other costumes back and forth.

But, blocks are incredible, and not to be underestimated. Blocks of all kinds. I really loved lincoln logs as a kid, so i'm going to look those up.

I really like the Magnet Tiles that someone bought us, but they are expensive.

I think that sketch books and the big crayon box are pretty ideal for "low mess" play, but i suppose it varies by kid.
posted by eustatic at 7:24 AM on January 27, 2022

I have a kid of a similar age - definitely Magnatiles, Duplo (little kid Lego), and similar blocks. Also, Schleich animals are very popular and have decent resell value for your friend in a few years.
posted by epanalepsis at 8:54 AM on January 27, 2022

Browse Melissa & Doug or HAPE for that age group. They’re toys, but wooden and well-made. My 2.5 year old is really into her calendar, for example.
posted by redlines at 10:29 AM on January 27, 2022

The 3 year old in my life loves Color Wonder! And he sent me one of his "drawings" in the mail, and he was really proud of himself!
posted by decathecting at 4:57 PM on January 27, 2022 [1 favorite]

Eco-friendly (maybe?) Amazon.com: Brown Kraft Paper Roll - 18" x 1,200" (100) Made in The USA - Ideal for Packing, Moving, Gift Wrapping, Postal, Shipping, Parcel, Wall Art, Crafts, Bulletin Boards, Floor Covering, Table Runner : Arts, Crafts & Sewing. And some (ask the art store) right kind of tape that won't rip the paint off the walls. Endless paper, draw on walls (keep it on the paper), roll them up and keep them, more paper than you need at least for a couple of years maybe.

Same could maybe be said about a few thousand sheets of copy paper. There are drawings, airplanes, origami, letters/notes, etc.... but there's a shit ton of paper that lasts years.

Get a hole-punch and they can keep things in a notebook. Maybe staple them together and make a book. Or flipbook animation. Endless paper.
posted by zengargoyle at 6:33 PM on January 27, 2022

Also stamps of the ink pad sort. Maybe a bit to early for their signature but one of the maybe scrabble like customizable stamps or a little set of icon like things and an ink pad. Same deal, if it hits it lasts for years and years and is best present ever long term.

(OMG I'm grown ass adult and still have/use/replaced that thing that some random family friend got me for my 3rd birthday. Priceless.)
posted by zengargoyle at 7:12 PM on January 27, 2022

Playsilks (also DIYable).
posted by oceano at 9:31 AM on January 28, 2022

A flashlight.
posted by Lay Off The Books at 3:07 PM on January 28, 2022