three year old girl gifts

I tend to recommend toys that require thinking as in puzzles-the wooden kind with cut out pieces, AND imaginary play items- fairy princess dress-up clothes, cooking set, house cleaning set, or tools. Kids at this age like to imitate their parents , so anything that she might use to do that. There are also some simple computer type toys that play music, sing the alphabet or say words, that are worth while and they are not expensive either. I use the word "exploration" for this age.

My daughter turned 3 in April and she loves this kind of stuff. She got several princess dresses for her birthday and wasn't interested at all for a month or two. But then she got into those in a big way. She plays with her tea set and her brothers' tool set every day. She has several Memory games that she asks often to play (where you turn cards over and have to match them up). What about vouchers for activity classes? We started our DD in a dance class at three years old and she really likes it. She asks me daily to put on music so she can dance and often wants to dress up in her tutu.

I know it may sound odd, but have you thought of trucks for her? I am a firm believer in girls having trucks (I loved mine) and boys having dolls. I remember spending hours playing with my brother with the trucks and hours with my sister playing with teen dolls (ie: Barbie, Tammy). Does she have a tricycle or small bike (be sure to include safety gear)?

I am a firm believer in the make believe and memory game stuff, but I also like the coolest new toys. I tend to love the "thrill" of the hunt for that perfect gift. I have already started looking for my dd Christmas and she will turn 3 the next week. Here are some things I have come up with. 1. Leapster/Leapster 2 handheld learning game system. They say 4 and up but everyone that has told me about them got them for their kids 3rd birthday 2. The new Leapster game that is interacted with tv. They stand on a mat and their is a 3 foot joy stick they use. It actually is only coming available next week (I think) I had thought about the vteck motion (little kids version of wii) because it said 3 and up, but everyone I talked to with a three year old said it was over their head. We do have playdoe kits and actually a toolbench and all the doll accessories like high chair and such. Good luck

Thanks. K does love the dress up--she likes the princess things, and is now into mermaids. We are still looking for a kitchen, I know she would love that and gravitates toward it when others have one. I'd love to say that she likes puzzles, but she doesn't. Once in a while I can get her to do one with me, but not often. Same with the Memory game, or any other sit down and do thing. Although she does love to paint, cut, glue, draw. It seems that the more open ended the activity--art, dress up, kitchen play--the more she likes it. She seems not to like activities with a set goal--like a puzzle or memory game. At least not now. Voucher for an activity class is a good idea--was just thinking the other day about looking into gymnastics. I have put out and keep out things like cars and trucks and blocks and balls. But those seem to be for friends, as she will really not play much with those either. I wonder if she would like a computer game like mentioned as the Leapster, since she likes to pretend she is using the computer. We did get her a dollhouse and hope she likes it! Thanks for the ideas! I am curious if I browsed with her at the store what she would want to see and I could tuck that into my memory for ideas too!