Jack's birthday

Jack's birthday is coming in a few more months. For some reason i've been thinking a lot about what to get him. From a few posts back you know we get bored some around here, i want to get him something/s that will help with his boredom, that will help him with his imagination. We have quite a few toys, but we're all sick of them. And they're sort of annoying because most of them are half missing, or broken, or whatever. I want to get him something for his birthday that he'll just love to play with, that will help with his imagination and that he'll enjoy for a long, long time.  I was googleing what to get 3 year old boys and came upon this quote 

"Play kitchens or clubhouses, tents, cars/trucks, empty cans, blocks, pencil and paper, crayons, paint and the like. Anything at all really. At 3, children's imagination will begin to run rampant. The best thing to do is to avoid toys that do too much of the play by themselves (things that move, light up, etc.) Instead choose toys that REQUIRE imagination to enjoy. Blocks don't do anything until you add some imagination. Play food and kitchens don't do much until you PRETEND to cook., Basic cars, trucks don't do anything until you DRIVE them. Pencils, pens, crayons, markers, paper, etc. are useless until a child decides what should be there. At 3 kids LOVE LOVE LOVE to play pretend, so suggest that the couch is a rocketship heading to mars or the recliner is a horse drawn carriage and see where his imagination takes him. Ask him to tell you stories about places he'd like to see (made up or actual). These are all fantastic ways to encourage a child's imagination. Good luck"

I want to get him something that will be timeless, fun, durable so Nellie and our other kids will enjoy it for years to come. I don't want more cheap things that don't last. Or sets that are useless with something missing. I want to get something he'll love. But that i'll love to have around too. I keep watching and hoping to discover interests that Jack just loves, but haven't really come across anything yet. If anybody has and ideas of what we should get him for his birthday, let me know! What have your boys loved? I'd love some suggestions. We've got a kitchen (he doesn't play with it much), he's got a bike (he doesn't ride much) and we just recently got him a train set (that he loves, but will only play with if we're playing with him too). We've got to somehow teach him to play indepently, which he does pretty well outside, but we're stuck indoors quite a bit up here it seems so we need some more distractions... 

Thanks!