Are you looking for gift ideas for a 4-year-old and/or preschooler?! I’ve got some great ideas for you that my kids loved at that age!! From creative gifts to active gifts, there are many fun ideas for girls and boys!
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Create an Amazon Wishlist First
Did you know you can create an Amazon Wishlist that you can share with friends and family? We have one for each child, and ourselves! We add items to the list all year and give the links to family who buy the kids birthday and Christmas presents. It’s great because as people buy from the list it disappears so no one buys a duplicate. To add an item to the wishlist, just click on “Add to List” on any Amazon product page then select the list you’d like to add it to.
- My blog post: How and Why to Create an Amazon Wishlist
Patterned Blocks and Boards
The Melissa & Doug Patterned Blocks and Boards are great for preschool-aged kids. There are several different boards that are two-sided and have different patterns on each side for kids to recreate with the included shapes/blocks. This is great for teaching sorting, colors, shapes, and fine motor skills.
With 120 shapes and 5 double-sided boards, more than one kid can be playing with this set at a time, if needed. Our three boys play with this together often.
EDUCATIONAL WOODEN BLOCK SET: The Melissa & Doug Beginner Wooden Pattern Blocks Educational Toy includes 5 double-sided scenes with 10 recessed design templates and 30 individual shapes.
Color Wonder Mess Free by Crayola
I’ve written about these in a previous post about Mess-Free Activities but I have to include them in here as well. This set is perfect for either one child or two. With one child you could keep one set in the car and one in the house. We have a few sets of these plus some Color Wonder coloring books like Paw Patrol, Peppa Pig, and Mickey Mouse.
They are wonderful for on-the-go, quiet time alone (the markers only draw on the paper so your walls and floors won’t get marked up!), or for occupying kids while you’re cooking, cleaning, or doing whatever else needs to be done around the house.
COLOR WONDER COCOMELON: Includes 18 Color Wonder Coloring Pages and 5 Color Wonder Markers.
CRAYOLA COLOR WONDER SET: Contains a 16 page Blues Clues Activity Pad with 3 Mess Free Markers, a 16 page Paw Patrol Activity Pad with 3 Mess Free Markers, and a 16 page Baby Shark Activity Pad with 3 Mess Free Markers.
COLOR WONDER PAINT SET: Features Magic Light Brush Unit, 6 Color Wonder Paints, and 18 Blank Color Wonder Paper Sheets
Melissa & Doug Play Cookie Set
The Melissa & Doug Slice & Bake Wooden Christmas Cookie Play Food Set is sure to be a family favorite for years to come! The cookies come in a tube like store-bought cookie dough does and kids can take them out and cut them apart then put them onto the cookie sheet.
Colorful wooden play food sets: The Melissa & Doug, slice and bake wooden cookie play foot set includes 12 sliceable cookies, 12 toppings, knife, spatula, cookie sheet, and kitchen mitt; cookies store in a durable dough tube
Lincoln Logs
Who didn’t grow up with Lincoln Logs?! I honestly didn’t have any at home, though I always wanted some, but would race over them to play with them at daycare! There are many different variations of Lincoln Log sets, this one happens to be the 100th Anniversary Tin with 111 pieces.
With Lincoln Logs the opportunities are endless. Starting around age 4 kids are generally able to figure out how to stack these together correctly and reinforce them as needed. Some kids like to follow the directions provided regarding how to build specific buildings, whereas others just like to make up their own buildings. With Lincoln Logs it all can be done!
If you want to see ALL of the Lincoln Logs that Amazon has to offer, visit the Lincoln Log store with this link! It’s amazing how many variations there are!
A LINCOLN LOGS CLASSIC, JUST THE WAY YOU REMEMBER IT – Inspired by one of the original LINCOLN LOGS builds, the "Meeting House," this 100th Anniversary Tin will evoke nostalgia in older generations and bring happiness to children. The manual offers three building ideas: a tall tower, two small houses with a bonfire, and a large cabin. Children can follow these guides or mix and match to build their own structures.
111 ALL-WOOD PIECES – The package includes 111 pieces made of real, high-quality maple wood. Each has indentations that can be used to connect it with others. Pieces are included for the roof, roof facade, walls, chimney, porch, fences, bonfire, and bonfire seats.
137 AUTHENTIC WOODEN PIECES – LINCOLN LOGS Oak Creek Lodge contains 137 parts and pieces made in the U.S. from real maple wood logs. Each log has indentations that can be used to connect it with the others. The package also includes a door, roof eaves and slates, windows, and two plastic figures — a cowboy and a horse.
3 BUILDING IDEAS – Youngsters will enjoy creating three different models with this colorful set. Kids can easily follow the step-by-step instruction sheet that shows them how to build three cabins and two stables. Let your little builders discover the joy of construction with LINCOLN LOGS Oak Creek Lodge.
I Can Write
The Skillmatics I Can Write set is a great set to get kids started with writing. This is one of the great gifts for 4-year-olds to help them prepare for Kindergarten. It’s great to start developing fine motor skills and the ability to hold a pencil the correct way is important to start young. My 5-year-old is in Kindergarten right now and they’re working on writing, which we’ve been working on for a year or so. He’s ahead of some of his peers which is a nice place to be especially since he’s a young Kindergartener.
It’s great to have dry erase boards to be able to practice over and over again.
REUSABLE ACTIVITY MATS - I Can Write has 14 repeatable activities that help children learn through repetition. This unique activity set was designed to enhance reading, writing and problem-solving skills.
INCLUDES - 6 Double-sided activity mats, 2 Skilly Billy dry-erase pens, 1 Duster cloth and 1 Achievement Certificate.
Little Passports Activity Boxes
Looking for an activity to give this year instead of just another toy? Check out Little Passports Activity Boxes. There are several different activity boxes for different ages and interests.
My kids and I have tried out a few different Little Passports Activity Boxes including Animals Wild, Craft Discovery, and Space Quest, which I’ve written blog posts on. We have so much fun with them! It’s great to have something that we can work on together while also learning instead of just another toy that is going to sit on the shelf (or let’s be real, the middle of the floor).
With Little Passports Activity Boxes you can buy one box at a time or you can buy a subscription, which ends up being cheaper per box.
The buttons below include links to my blog posts as well as a 50% off an annual subscription or 20% off any purchase on their site. The other button links to the Little Passports Gift Guide that will help you decide which one to buy for your little one!
Strider Balance Bike
Back in the 1990s I learned how to ride a bike by using a bike with training wheels. Apparently these days, that’s no longer the thing to do. These days kids tend to use balance bikes to figure out how to balance before they figure out how to pedal. The Strider brand seems to be the go-to brand.
12” SPORT BIKE - The Sport is our best all-around model. It features mini rubber grips, a padded seat, a safety pad, the performance footrest, and an 11” starting seat height, so your toddler can easily straddle the bike at a young age.
EASY TO ADJUST - As your child grows, you can adjust the seat & handlebar heights—no tools required. The Sport has a seat height range from 11-19” to fit a huge range of inseam lengths (12-20”). Plus, the foam tires will never go flat!
Geometric Dome Climber
The Geometric Dome Climber would be a great addition to any backyard with young children, I know my kids love it! This would be great for kids to get their energy out on, to build large motor skills by climbing and motor planning in figuring out which step to take next.
The climbing tower could be used indoors as well if you have the space for it. It is 5 ft tall x 10 ft wide with a 6ft radius. We have it on our backyard and we love it! It’s big enough for all 3 of our boys to play on and we could fit even more kids I’m sure. One of my boys loves to climb to the top, the other loves to hang from it upside down, and the other likes to hang out inside of it like a tent.
We live in MN and I’m considering bringing it in for the winter so the boys can continue to climb on it but I’m not too wild about taking it apart again. Ha! Though honestly it wasn’t that hard to put together.
Safety is our #1 priority: Our domes climber has maximum total weight capacity of 800 pounds. Allows up to 6 children to play at the same time. Incredible weight-bearing capacity ensures the safety of children when they have fun. Assembled Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 60 inches
Anti-Rust & UV Resistance
Toy Doctors Kit
The Melissa & Doug Get Well Doctors Kit Play Set has 25-pieces that are sure to bring your kids hours of fun. My kids love giving each other checkups and also giving their stuffed animals checkups.
25-piece doctor’s kit play set with realistic pretend play patient care essentials to examine and treat patients
Includes play stethoscope, blood pressure cuff, hearing tester, syringe, scissors, tweezers, rolling forehead thermometer, reflex hammer, otoscope, eye cover, tongue depressors, bottles, ID badge, activity cards, and more
Art Supplies
Sponges, brushes, etc.
Kids love crafts, especially painting. The different paint sponges, rollers, brushes, and smock are perfect for little ones ready to create wonderful pieces of art!
Early learning: easy-to-do painting with the tools that can help children to unleash their imagination and creativity
Kids Paint
We love the Crayola Washable Kids Paint! This set has regular colors and glitter colors!!
CRAYOLA WASHABLE PROJECT PAINT - BOLD, 6 COUNT: Washable paint in bold colors including Yellow, Green, Yellow Orange, Red Orange, Fuchsia, Teal, and Blue Violet.
Roll Dispenser plus Paper
Once your littes start creating with paints they aren’t going to want to stop! This Wooden Tabletop Paper Roll Dispenser and Bond Paper is perfect for multiple kids to work on at once, to put on the wooden or tile floor, etc.
DURABLE EASEL PAPER DISPENSER: The Melissa & Doug Wooden Tabletop Paper Roll Dispenser features a sturdy wooden base that can be placed on any tabletop or flat surface and fits 12” easel paper rolls.
Princess Dress Up Kit
This Princess Dress Up Kit is perfect for any little girl wanting to pretend to be a fairytale princess! This kit has four pairs of different colored princess shoes, a tiara, necklace, gloves, purse, earrings, and ring, all in a pink box with a carrying handle.
Princess Role Play Package for Your Little Girl: The princess dress up box is a head-to-toe girl role play package includes 3 princess dresses in different colors, 3 pairs of toddler girl sized princess heels shoes, 3 princess necklaces, 3 tiaras and 3 rings. All of these princess accessories are organized in a beautiful and elegant carrying case. Your little one age 3-6 can easily carry their princess set to go to the girl party and enjoy girl time with their friends.
Wooden Dollhouse with Elevator
This dollhouse has it all! Stairs, a bedroom, a balcony, an elevator, kitchen, bathroom, living room, and even a PIANO!! What?!?! So cool!
This dollhouse is built to last and works well for many types of dolls, including Barbies! The dollhouse stands nearly 4 feet tall and includes 17 accessories.
- 3 levels, 4 rooms and a balcony
- Gliding elevator with handle for easy movability
- Detailed scrollwork adds dramatic flair
- Made of wood for long-lasting play
- 17-piece furniture set
- Fits all fashion dolls up to 12" including Barbie, L.O.L. Surprise!, Disney Princess, etc.
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.