(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 that 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. They move surprisingly quickly, 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. 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 kids gift ideas, 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. We included toy suggestions from Singh and other educators below members of our staff added the kind of memory-making gifts that have gone over best with the 3-year-olds in their lives. 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 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 says. “Often the idea of receiving a gift is what’s exciting for them, not necessarily what the gift is,” said Heather Singh, associate director of school and gallery education at the Thinkery, a children’s museum in Austin, Texas. But that doesn’t negate the thrill of a good surprise. Lots of them will have more opinions, interests, and language to express their excitement than they had in the past. Many kids are more likely to know what they want.