But if anybody lands on the dreaded Grumpy Toad space, a cupcake must be removed from the board. Depending on where they land on the board, they may have to sing, perform an activity, or act out a word, à la charades. The object: Players try to collect 14 plastic cupcakes for Pete’s birthday party by working together on preschool-level challenges. But you don’t have to be familiar with the groovy feline and his friends (featured in this book and more) to understand or enjoy this cooperative board game. If your child is a fan of this cool cat, then there might be some added excitement when you break out the Pete the Cat The Missing Cupcakes Game. The first one is included, but it will need to be replaced fairly quickly if your household enjoys robot bugs as much as mine does. (Adults get to just sit back and watch the cats and kids entertain each other.) The only downside is that each critter in this Hexbug Nano Nitro 5 Pack requires an AG13/LR44 button cell battery. (Just use caution around pets who aren’t discriminating about what they swallow.) For kids, the fun is in creating obstacle courses and elaborate containment chambers out of anything you can find, like train tracks, shoes, and boxes. For cats, the challenge is to chase them around. So if-like us-you live somewhere with actual big bugs that race across your floor (hello from Texas!), you might want to warn your family before you let a Hexbug loose. Propelled by the sheer force of their (amusing) vibrations, they skitter around corners, scale small obstacles, and right themselves. These thumb-sized, multi-legged robots are equal parts endearing and frenetic. There’s just something about seeing one another in floppy paper spectacles that brings connection and fun to even our punkiest moments.

The quality of the game itself is also high, with thoughtful touches like a sturdy wooden timer and glasses sized for adults and children. When I’ve given this game to a few of her peers, it’s gotten rave reviews. But younger children can enjoy a looser version, sans timer and maybe with a few extra hints.) Now my daughter is 5, and we still play. (Petit Collage recommends this game for kids ages 4 to 8. And back then, we didn’t worry ourselves over leading questions or a little peeking. My pre-reader daughter, who got the game as a gift for her third birthday, was able to play it right out of the box. The bespectacled person then asks a series of questions to help them guess what’s on their card-there are 50 options in all, ranging from an ice cream cone to a sailboat to a turtle. The concept of Petit Collage’s What Am I? Game is simple: Each player dons a pair of paper glasses and takes a turn tucking a card into the slotted nose bridge, making sure they don’t look at the illustration on the card. And please share your own best ideas in the comments below. (We also have guides to gifts for tweens and teens.) Since kids vary widely in their personalities, interests, and development, we advise that you take these age recommendations with a grain of salt. If you’re looking for more gift ideas for kids, check out our guides to the best gifts 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, and 10-year-olds, as well as wonderful stocking stuffers for kids. And members of our staff added the kind of memory-making gifts that have gone over best with the 3-year-olds in their lives. We’ve included toy suggestions from Singh and other educators. And many kids at this age are ready for speedier, sleeker movement toys-like scooters and trikes-that reward their growing physical confidence. Toys and costumes that allow for role-playing and board games that encourage group interaction will nurture 3-year-olds’ developing social skills. So open-ended playthings that inspire storytelling and creative engagement are better than one-trick ponies. Three-year-olds are ready for toys that foster lots of imaginative play, Singh said. “Often the idea of receiving a gift is what’s exciting for them, not necessarily what the gift is,” said Heather Singh, director of educational programs at the Thinkery, a children’s museum in Austin, Texas, at the time of our interview.

But that doesn’t negate the thrill of a good surprise. Lots of them will have more interests, opinions, and language to express their excitement than they had in the past. Many children in this age group are likely to know what they want. When kids reach the age of 3, the gift-giving game changes.

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