Gift Suggestions for Three- to Five-Year-Olds
Around the third birthday, many children start enjoying doing projects on their own, and parents make the transition from helpers to playing partners. This is the time for the first 3-D puzzle, the first basic chemistry set, and the first mini-garden project.
At Home
- Board Games: Lotti Carotti, The Little Polar Bear, Fishing Kitty
- Cards: Memory cards
- Bedroom: Magnetic wall calendars. They teach the children about their daily program; they’re fun and usually very nice illustrated. (Our favorite is My Week by Djeco.)
- Planets that can hang from the ceiling
- Magic set
- Interactive globe
- Puzzles
- Wooden food stands
- “My restaurant” set
- Classics: Dolls, Lego, Playmobil, dressing up costumes, airplanes, trains, cars.
Outdoors
Sports: roller blades, ice-skates, scooter, ski equipment
Culture
- Tickets to “Paddington” (the movie), puppet shows, circus
- Musical instruments.
Books
- Non-fiction books: letters and numbers books (magnetic, 3D, colouring books)
- Books with animals, the human body, the planet, simple history facts
- My first encyclopedia
- Classic Christmas books
- 365 Stories books (one story for each day)
- Family tree albums
Nature & Science
- “My First Garden” kit
- Magnifying glass for examining insects and other things outside
- A first, simple chemistry set
Creativity
- Craft sets: simple jewelry making, cardboard animals set, make your own castle or farm set.
- Simple origami set
- Baking set.
- A first, simple camera.
Text by Laura Munteanu
Laura has studied Journalism and Advertising, and has been working as a journalist and an illustrator. She has been illustrating for magazines, websites, charity and different campaigns. She lives in Zurich with her husband and their six-year-old daughter.
Photo by Cloudia Chen
Cloudia Chen is a portrait photographer specializing in family and children’s photography. Before settling in Zurich, she lived in Mainland China, Hong Kong, London and South of France. Her photos and articles have been published in various social media and popular travel magazines in China. To contact her please visit her website www.cloudiachen.com.
