Help me choose a gift for my 1 year old nephew.

September 6, 2006 4:45 AM

I'd like to get something extravagant as a gift for my (to be) 1 year old nephew.

It's to be an xmas/birthday gift. This is serious forward planning on my part, but if I get it now I'll have more cash to spend on it (I'm a little disorganised like that). He was born 2 days before xmas last year so ideally there will be at least two great gift suggestions in the thread to follow! He is of course gorgeous and hugely intelligent, if that helps any.

posted by handee to shopping (22 comments total)

Why not a nice book of the kind he'll appreciate (or that you can read from) in coming years? I've bought (used) early hardcover editions of The Wind in the Willows for my kids, and as gifts for others (I realize that's not as extravagant as you may be prepared to be). When the child is 2 and up, the need to "play with it now" makes giving a gift like this something of a tease, but at 1 yr, he'll be thrilled with the wrapping paper, and Mom and Dad can whisk the book away to be trotted out at bedtime a few years hence.
posted by BT at 5:07 AM on September 6, 2006

A case of port is an excellent present that will get better with age.

Corney & Barrow are excellent London-based brokers that will be able to advise on a suitable vintage that would be ready for consumption in about 20 years.

You should expect to pay upwards of GBP300 (~USD550) for 6 bottles of a good quality wine.
posted by mooders at 5:10 AM on September 6, 2006 [3 favorites has favorites]

A nice hand-made quilt perhaps? Chuck in some very nice floor cushion as well. Basically something that will stick around in his room for a while (so don't go for kiddy designs, but something that is warm and classy and can stand the test of time).
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 5:44 AM on September 6, 2006

ooh, seconding the port suggestion - a friend of mine recently opened the port that was laid down when he was born, and it was one of the most amazing things I have ever tasted. As for things to play with on the day - not sure.
posted by altolinguistic at 5:49 AM on September 6, 2006

If you're going the textiles route, I think a nice rug would be pretty awesome!
posted by Jahaza at 5:52 AM on September 6, 2006

I got my niece a stuffed animal chair (lulu the lamb), for her first birthday and she loved it. It served as a big stuffed animal to hug when she was smaller, and now she does use it as a chair when the grownups sit around and talk.

Near-full size toy cars are pretty cool as well.
posted by buddha9090 at 5:59 AM on September 6, 2006

Memberships to all of the local parks/museums. (My daughter is 20 months old and she loves going to the zoo, the botanical gardens, etc.)

A solid-wood bookshelf to be filled with books in the coming years.

Savings bonds

A good quality kite (to be flown with help by Mom and Dad now)

One of those car DVD players

A train table and assorted accessories

Playmobil sets
posted by Ostara at 6:19 AM on September 6, 2006

A playstand and silks from Rosie Hippo
posted by Biblio at 6:27 AM on September 6, 2006

I second the idea of quality hardcover classic children's books with vivid illustrations.

Some of my happiest childhood memories are of Wind in the Willows (with full color plate pictures of the claymation film), Kipling's Just So Stories (intricate black and white illustration), the Butterfly Ball (rich color plate paintings of insects in costume), and Roald Dahl books with Quentin Blake's crazy-ass drawings. I still have these books today and reread them frequently, or just flip through them and look at the lovely pictures.
posted by cadge at 6:35 AM on September 6, 2006

I love the port idea. I was given a (1) share of stock when I was born. I had the certificate, framed on my wall. I became fascinated with it as I got older. I eventually became a stock trader by profession.

I would give a small gift of a toy for the immediate impact of a 1 year old looking at a rattle and loving it and someting that will (excuse the pun) pay dividends down the road.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 6:59 AM on September 6, 2006

Start a college fund.
posted by scheptech at 7:03 AM on September 6, 2006

Yes, a college fund. Or the port--6 bottles with instructions to be opened on his 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th, 60th and 70th birthdays.
posted by LarryC at 7:11 AM on September 6, 2006

Do not give a combined birthday / Christmas gift. At one year old, he'll be too young to notice or care, really, but it's a tremendously bad habit to get into. That poor child is never going to get to have a birthday that isn't overshadowed by Christmas, and getting combined gifts is going to be a big part of what makes being born near Christmas suck. Definitely pick two separate things to give him.

As for extravagant gifts, I'm with the people who suggest something that can help him in the future. A 1 year old will have only the vaguest concept of what a gift even is. Get them a book or a toy or something simple that they're likely to enjoy at that age, and then if you want to be extravagant, get them something valuable for the future - a college fund is always a nice touch.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:18 AM on September 6, 2006

A child's first Xmas & first birthday will be filled with many many tosy and books and clothes, and the kid will be overwhelmed with it all. He will be busy playing with the wrapping from the first gift and may not notice any of the ones that follow. In light of this, I support all those suggesting you give him somethinig that will be useful or valuable in the future. We really appreciate contributions to our kids college fund, and since the $$ has 16 or more years to grow, it will be worth a lot by the time he needs it.

Or - what kind of financial position are the parents in? If they aren't well-off & established, perhaps you can ask them if there is anything they really need or want from him. Various friends and family members have given us really useful things that we need (like a new bed for the munchkin or a car seat) that we have gotten so much use out of and the gifts were much better quality than anything we could have afforded ourselves.

/parent of a 3 year old
posted by raedyn at 7:31 AM on September 6, 2006

While a college fund is very generous and certainly helpful, I think buying specific shares in a company and getting the certificates is more useful. Rather than just being this conceptual investment, the child will have a tangible thing to look at, understand and follow. If you get him a share of Disney for example, as he gets older he will start to understand how spending money at disney or the ESPN store will benefit him. He will learn about stocks rather than trying to follow the price of a mutual fund or the like. He will learn that he has direct ownership in a company. He can see where specific news will affect a companies prospects.

If you give the port, include a bottle to his parents to be opened on his 18th birthday when he legally becomes an adult.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 7:31 AM on September 6, 2006

One may be a little young for this, maybe not. I got my niece a set of small, variously shaped precut, polished pieces of clear plexiglass. Over the years I've added cylinders, cubes, and spheres. (The spheres are mainly for knocking down constructions.)

As the set of "diamond blocks" grew larger it became the favorite toy for her and her friends, and definitely helped my ranking among the other uncles.

One caution: when adding particularly special pieces, like spheres or cylinders, include two identical ones to avoid fights with playmates.
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:36 AM on September 6, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

"understand how spending money at disney or the ESPN store will benefit him."

Ummm, teaching him to spend money on stuff he doesn't need and that is likely to be throw-away quality might "help" him if he's got a huge trust fund and doesn't need savings for things like college and buying a home. Otherwise, that 20 bucks for a disney mug is better socked away.

There is also the small chance that the stock of any one company could totally tank just when he needs the money he thinks he's worth (collge, house, major medical treatment), but I still vote for one small fun thing if the parents are ok with that and an extravagant investment, like a contribution to a 539 education plan, or even a retirement fund.
posted by bilabial at 9:56 AM on September 6, 2006

For 1st Christmas and Birthday gifts we bought each of our children a quality piece of furniture (I like the bookcase idea) and artwork. With the idea being that these would be life time lasting gifts, perhaps passed onto their own children. I also like the idea of a nice quality set of children's books for the same reasons.

Our kids have an Uncle who always send coin sets; our oldest is getting very interested in these.
posted by LadyBonita at 10:26 AM on September 6, 2006

Do they have a yard? If so, I'd go with a swingset or a cool playhouse.
posted by jrossi4r at 10:44 AM on September 6, 2006

Seconding the museum membership - especially if it's a children's museum, and aquarium and zoo memberships. Some friends and I just went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, and the little ones LOVED it.
posted by IndigoRain at 4:38 PM on September 6, 2006

How about some silk diapers?
posted by JamesMessick at 6:07 PM on September 6, 2006

Pirate Treehouse.
posted by Freen at 5:31 PM on December 7, 2006