Joint birthday/Christmas present/experience for a 3 year old

[Kate223344]

I'd be grateful for ideas for a birthday/Christmas present for our daughter's 3rd birthday in early January.

We need three presents/experiences in total as her grandparents have also asked for ideas.

So far we are thinking:

1. Balance bike (second hand if we can find one).
2. Local theatre tickets to a children's show.
3. A voucher for music or art classes.

Any other suggestions?! By way of context, we are fairly minimalist and generally prefer experiences to things. Our budget is flexible but preferably max £50 per gift.

CBeebies magazine subscription
Trip to the zoo
Membership or money to be spent on Audible audio books. They have an amazing selection of excellent preschool books.

Brilliant ideas, Rice Krispie! Hadn't thought about audio books but that would be good for the car.

If you have gift-givers who are still attached to giving things then clothes can be a good option.

Mine are nearly nine and ten and there are a few toys that still get played with like wooden blocks (as well as building, we’ve used these for maths homework on fractions, tens and units, square numbers, etc), bean bags, bucket, pulley, sand tray.

We had a city farm near by that ran a children’s gardening club which was brilliant. Also a pass to the a local swimming pool is great fun even before they are old enough for lessons proper.

i think a balance bike is a great idea. you could also consider a scooter (we got dd a micro scooter) as they go down a treat too.

also, if you are looking for an experience gift then maybe legoland or chessington world of adventures? you could give him a box of lego/ stuffed animal with a note telling him, so he has something to unwrap

Sleep, good idea to give something small to unwrap with an experience voucher. Thanks again!

At 3 this won't matter too much, but I have an early January birthday. I hated joint presents. Because they weren't really joint presents at all, it was just an expensive time of year. And because they were always joint presents. I never got to open any presents on my birthday. (I didn't have any extended family or birthday parties, it was all down to my mum to make my birthday special.)

Now I don't ever really want fuss in my birthday. It just feels all wrong. Please let your DD have her special day. Change decorations for birthday ones and so on.

Granny gave our dd a years soft play membership last year. Ace idea!

Lego, I will certainly bear that in mind for the future - thanks.

I'm with @legocardsagain 😩 My birthday and Christmas are days apart, and 'joint presents' are hideous! As you get older, people pull the "Oh, I forgot it was your birthday too...it's so close to Christmas" line. Before you know it, your birthday has vanished into thin air, while everyone else gets a lovely day.

Bitter rant over...😂

Pass to trampoline place (most do preschool sessions so it's not too wild)?
Pottery painting place (our sludgy green mugs are much cherished)?
Audio books are fabulous - Audible has a membership so you can pick new ones regularly