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Best outdoor gifts for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and 5-year-olds
These ages are perfect for a whole new set of fun outdoor toys with excellent gift potential.
Ali Y.
Editor-in-chief
Starting around 3-years-old (and especially at ages 4 and 5), children develop better hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. They can take on more complex tasks and have a longer attention span. These ages are perfect for a whole new set of fun outdoor toys—with excellent gift potential.
This outdoor gift guide is specifically for 3-year old, 4-year-old, and 5-year-old boys and girls. If you need gift ideas for a broader age range, check out our comprehensive guide to best outdoor gifts for kids, a separate article with gift ideas for kids of all ages.
In a hurry or just want the top picks? Here are some of best outdoor gifts for 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and 5-year-olds:
- Top overall pick: Balance bike
- Best value: Foam Airplane launcher
- For Christmas and birthdays: Outdoor playhouse or Bounce house
- For curious little minds: Bug catcher kit
- For 3-5-year-olds who love the outdoors: Camping set
Top 20 outdoor gifts for 3, 4, and 5-year-olds
Stomp rocket (and alternatives)
The rockets are made of foam so they are a safe option for kids 4-years-old and up. While the rockets end up on our roof from time to time, this toy has outlasted almost every other outdoor item in our garage, and you have some options for how fancy or high-tech you want to go.
Camping set
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. If a child has outdoorsy parents who love to hike and camp, odds are they will fall in love with the outdoors, too. Why not fuel their imagination with a kid-size camping set, fully equipped with a pop-up tent, a pretend campfire, and camping cookware?
Set it up in the backyard for some pretend camping or bring it to the campsite when it’s time to truly experience the great outdoors.
Meland Kids Camping Set with Tent, Campfire, and Camping Toys
Buy on Amazon
$35.69
11/20/2024 09:49 pm GMT
National Geographic bug catcher kit
3, 4, and 5-year-olds are intensely curious and, for some, this extends to every little creepy crawly they come across. Now you can give your kiddo the toolkit to create the perfect bug habitat, which comes with a bug catcher, net, tweezers, and two magnifiers for the ultimate nature observation.
National Geographic Bug Catcher Kit with Magnifier, Bug Catcher, Tweezers
Buy on Amazon
$15.99
11/20/2024 09:48 pm GMT
Balance bike
I wish I could tell you I taught my kids how to ride their bikes. Truth is their balance bikes did 90% of the work. A balance bike is one of the rare gifts that teaches your child a life skill. Once they have mastered how to ride one, the transition to a pedal bike (with no training wheels) is a breeze.
Strider 12 No Pedal Balance Bicycle for Kids (8 Color Options)
Buy on Amazon
$129.99
11/20/2024 09:59 pm GMT
Easy-to-fly kite for beginners
If you have access to an area or park with lots of open space and a consistent breeze, a kite can be an awesome gift for kids (and parents) who love to be outside. I highly recommend starting with one that’s easy to handle, like the Mint’s kite. It comes as a pack of three—great in case not everything goes according to plan.
Mint's Colorful, Easy to Fly Delta Kites, Best Kite for Beginners (3pc)
Buy on Amazon
$39.99
11/20/2024 09:59 pm GMT
Consider also ordering a string reel/line winder for the kite, which will be a game changer especially as your kids get older and need help reeling their kite back in.
Splash pad & Sprinkler
As your kid outgrows simple splash pads, a sprinkler like the HydroSwirl is going to be the ideal upgrade. This outdoor gift is here to help you fight the next heat wave. Labeled for kids 3-years-old and older.
Big wheel tricycle
Even after they learned how to ride a bike, my kids fought over the big wheel. Around the age of three, riding a big wheel is a workout. As kids get older, it’s like the gift grows up with them and it’s all about speed and fast turns. This Radio Flyer brand has an adjustable seat so you can get many years of outdoor play out of your gift.
Kids’ gardening tools set
I am the gardener in our household. One year for Christmas my wife bought gardening tools for our kids so they could get their hands dirty along with dad. It’s incredible how much kids love to mirror a parent’s behavior. It took no time before I had little hands helping me rake and plant sugar snap peas.
Kids' Gardening Tool Set, Shovel, Rake, Hoe, Rake, Gardening Gloves
Buy on Amazon
$30.99
11/21/2024 01:07 pm GMT
Outdoor playhouse
Kids love forts, they love treehouses, and they LOOOVE playhouses. Playhouses offer children a space they can claim as their own. For outdoor imaginative play, having a structure like a playhouse will be a huge draw, not just for your child, but also for their playdate friends.
You have great options with prices ranging from value to expensive. All have some serious Santa gift potential.
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Best value
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Wood construction
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Biggest size
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42.8"D x 35"W x 49"H |
46"D x 42"W x 55"H |
50.13"D x 58.75"W x 58"H |
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$139.99
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$299.00
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$429.98
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Best value
Wood construction
Biggest size
Snow tube
If you are weary of hard plastic sleds that break after a few uses, you should give snow tubes a try. I know what you’re thinking: Won’t the tubes tear easily? Rest assured these inflatable snow tubes/sleds are made of thick PVC material that is both tear-resistant and cold-resistant.
And unlike some of the other items on our list of outdoor gifts for 3-5-year-olds, your kids won’t age out of snow tubes anytime soon. They’re rated up to 220 lbs (100 kgs) and still work well for my 6th grader. This gift also made it to our outdoor gift list for 6-8-year-olds.
Inflatable Snow Tubes, 3-Pack, Heavy Duty Hard Bottom, Handles
Buy on Amazon
$39.99
11/21/2024 01:08 pm GMT
Foam airplane launcher and glider
Something about launching things into the air is still entertaining to me in my 40s. These foam airplane launchers make great outdoor gifts, whether you’re packing them for a family trip or simply playing in the backyard. I can pretty much guarantee it will be a hit for more than the 4–5-year-old crowd.
Bounce house or castle
If you’ve ever tried to rent a bounce house (sometimes spelled bouncy house) for a birthday party, seeing how much it costs to buy one might make you reconsider. These aren’t the commercial grade options to be fair, but they are good enough to keep your kids entertained and outside till sunset.
Finding the best gift boils down to how much space you have and how many years of use you’re hoping to get.
Best for young kids
Best for multiple ages
Kinetic sand construction sandbox
Kids aged 3-5 are at the peak of imaginative play. They will make engine sounds and have no qualms about moving something from one place to another, again and again. My wife used to say, “I’ve never seen someone work so hard and accomplish so little” when describing our 4 year old “build” something. This outdoor gift is highly recommended for kids who are in awe of large machinery.
Construction Site Folding Sandbox with Toy Truck and Play Sand (2 lbs)
Buy on Amazon
$17.99
11/20/2024 05:05 pm GMT
Snow and sand brick mold
As a parent, you buy or receive so many toys and it’s always a crapshoot which ones will stand the test of time. I’ve found there is no correlation between the amount you spend on an outdoor toy and the mileage you get out of it.
This snow/sand mold is the prime example. If it snows where you live, these molds make FANTASTIC gifts. You and your kiddo can spend HOURS outside as you build igloos and snow fortresses.
Baseball batting tee set
This is one of several baseball-related gifts on our list and it’s the beginner version of the batting set we recommend for older kids. These things take a beating and are never going to be family heirlooms, but the Franklin Sports MLB Kids Baseball Batting Tee Set is one of the most durable around.
Big bouncy ball
A large bouncy ball makes a great outdoor gift idea. You’ll just want to make sure it has solid construction and can take a beating, like the Little Tikes 18″ Inflatable Hopper Ball.
Little Tikes Blue Hopper 18" Inflatable, Durable, Vinyl Ball (Blue or Red)
Buy on Amazon
$18.98
11/20/2024 09:57 pm GMT
Nerf pro foam football
Some kids develop an interest in playing football early on, but that doesn’t mean you’re ready to hand them the pig skin. Nerf brand foam footballs are the perfect size and softness for some beginning backyard fun. Despite my wife’s objections, we do also bring the game inside at times.
Sidewalk chalk
One of the essentials of outside play is sidewalk chalk. It’s great if you have artistically inclined kids like ours or for quick games of tic-tac-toe or hopscotch.
A box of sidewalk chalk makes a great stocking stuffer. These guys are hard workers–every few months, they come out of the box and get treated like royalty in the driveway. If only I could get my kids to pick up the chalk so dad’s car doesn’t pulverize them.
Flying disk toy
Keeping up with the theme of launching things in the air, this flying disk toy makes for one super fun outdoor gift. Frankly, I’m not sure who enjoys this more—the kids, the parents, or the dogs? This set includes two dinosaur-shaped launchers, eight saucers, and 10 LED flying saucers and gyros.
Kids Outdoor Flying Disc Spinner Toy
Buy on Amazon
2 Flying Saucer Guns, 8 Flying Saucers, 6 LED Flying Saucer, and 4 LED Gyro
Outdoor scavenger hunt game
If you think scavenger hunts are just for Easter, think again. This is an awesome outdoor gift that keeps children (particularly around the ages of 4 to 6) occupied for hours. The best part is you don’t have to hide anything yourself–the cards do all the work engaging kids with prompts like “find something that smells good” or “something as light as a feather.”
It’s my top pick for an educational outdoor gift for kids because it teaches measurement, opposites, comparisons, spatial concepts, rhyming, etc.
Toss and catch game
If you’re looking for the most versatile outdoor gift that’s liked by most kids, it’s hard to beat a toss and catch game with fuzzy balls and Velcro-like material. It’s easy to pack for a day at the park or the beach, or handy just for everyday backyard fun.
This game is also great for building hand-eye coordination. Be sure to get a package with multiple balls (they lose their stickiness over time), a storage bag, and one that’s relatively durable.
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