ISO: Main Birthday Gift for 1 year old

March 21, 2018 1:00 PM

My baby will be turning 1 and I need a main gift for him (i.e. the "biggish" gift of something he will enjoy for at least a few months but longer is obviously better. Difficulty level: He has everything!

He already has or will soon have:

A walker
Activity cubes include an awesome hape one
A rocking horse
An activity table (the kind with doodads to stand at, not the kind for sitting and drawing)
A ride-on toy
Floor mats
A toy box
Toy cars
Two really nice dolls
Blocks
Megablocks
Too many stuffed animals
train set (purchased, he will receive for xmas when he's 2.5 because he's too little for it now).
A drumset, xylophone, concertina, and assorted percussion instruments


Additional difficulty: We don't have any outdoor space, and our indoor space is limited. I am not a fan of electronic toys. If I could disappear all V-tech from my home I would be thrilled, but it just keeps appearing. So now leap frog or anything else where the primary game is pushing buttons which is rewarded with lights and noise. I plan to get him a balance bike for Christmas when he will be 20 months. He is screen-free, so no DVDs.

In addition to the main gift, I have for him a couple of books that I expect will become keepsakes and a small toy that I also expect will be a keepsake.

posted by If only I had a penguin... to Shopping (41 answers total)

I know he will be too young to remember this, but what about a membership to a children's museum or science center? It will give the whole family something to do on days when weather is particularly tricky, or when you want to get out and explore?
posted by something_witty at 1:03 PM on March 21, 2018 [11 favorites]

You may wish to consult this thread; I know it's for an almost-2-year-old, but there will likely be substantial overlap between the recommendations there and here.

I stand by the toy kitchen that I recommended in that thread. My son got his for Christmas when he was 14 months old. It's among the smallest of toy kitchens and we have never regretted making space for it in our kitchens.
posted by telepanda at 1:07 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Toy kitchen or toy work bench.
posted by amro at 1:14 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

You know what? Your 1 year old will absolutely not understand the concept of a 'gift', not necessarily recognize it as different from his existing toys, not be able to unwrap it himself, and almost certainly not remember receiving it. It is super fun to get gifts for kids but it is really not necessary for it to be perfect or even close. For example, I'm betting that a cardboard box of appropriate sitting-in size, with a medium-sized beach ball inside, will be a HUGE hit. Ditto a bottle of quality bubble mix. Ditto a tray of fingerpaint and a roll of butcher paper. This is the time in your life when gift-choosing is EASY PEASY, revel in it!
posted by Ausamor at 1:15 PM on March 21, 2018 [44 favorites]

I may be too practical for my own good, but I really don't think that a big gift for a first birthday is needed. Take the money and put it into a college plan, and your kiddo will reap the benefits later.

You know he'll get plenty of presents from other people for birthday #1, so just roll with it.
posted by hydra77 at 1:18 PM on March 21, 2018 [14 favorites]

I got my similarly aged nephew an age-appropriate magazine subscription. They like 'getting mail' and the magazines are sturdier than your normal airport fare. As he gets older I'll move up to the next age-appropriate edition. The gift that keeps on giving!
posted by matrixclown at 1:18 PM on March 21, 2018 [4 favorites]

My children (now ages 17, 14 and 11) all got small silver cups with their name engraved on it. It’s a lovely keepsake, absolutely useful - all three of my kids still use theirs and it’s easy/small to keep and attach the story of how they got it for their first birthday. PLUS, it’ll last forever pretty much - instead of a toy or article of clothing that will be outgrown and eventually tossed.
posted by Sassyfras at 1:19 PM on March 21, 2018 [3 favorites]

Make him a book with pictures of his family members and favorite people or toys on each page.
posted by dpx.mfx at 1:19 PM on March 21, 2018 [4 favorites]

Swimming "lessons"!
posted by Kriesa at 1:20 PM on March 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

I know a little boy who was thrilled and delighted by getting a kid-size armchair at that age. (one example, but there are a lot, branded and plain etc)
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:21 PM on March 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

I got all my grandkids dish sets, like this one. Except I stupidly got them the fancy-pants china ones, and they're almost all broken now.

Does he have Duplos yet? He'll play with those for years.
posted by FencingGal at 1:23 PM on March 21, 2018

We filled a box with crumpled up colorful tissue paper. That was literally it. He was DELIGHTED and we kept it around as a fun toy for weeks.
posted by tchemgrrl at 1:23 PM on March 21, 2018 [12 favorites]

My neice LOVED a photo book full of pictures of herself and her family members at that age. Months and months worth of sheer delight.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 1:24 PM on March 21, 2018 [4 favorites]

Unless you are really well set up for books, some interactive board books just above his level might be nice. There's a whole set of chunky flap books that are newish and kids love them.
posted by BibiRose at 1:26 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

seconding the recommendation for a kid-sized chair. my now 5-year-old got the pottery barn anywhere chair for his first birthday and still sits in it daily (as does his 2.5 year old sister).
posted by sabh at 1:30 PM on March 21, 2018

Membership to some sort of kids place: zoo, museum, play place etc.

Play kitchen is huge in our house - and our three year old still plays with it.
posted by Toddles at 1:31 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

A crawling tunnel folds to nearly flat, and stores under a sofa/chair. 1 is the perfect age for things to 'crawl' thru. Ikea sells a reasonably priced one. :-)
posted by Northbysomewhatcrazy at 1:42 PM on March 21, 2018

Yes on the kid sized chair! We got my oldest one for Christmas when she was 1 and all the kids still use it. It’s comical because they’re all(almost all) teenaged now!
posted by Sassyfras at 1:42 PM on March 21, 2018

The fisher price barn is awesome and kids love dropping things down the silo (animals, hot wheels etc.) I second a small kitchen... also Thomas the tank engine track master trains are very attractive to little boys. And also the fisher price school bus- they love filling it up (with animals, hot wheels etc.) those toys are in constant use in my house of two toddler boys.
posted by catspajammies at 1:44 PM on March 21, 2018

OH! Also the gigantic foam blocks they have in daycare- we got a set for our house and they get a lot of use! Nothing runner tan building a tower and knocking it down ;-)
posted by catspajammies at 1:46 PM on March 21, 2018

My standard First Birthday gift is a Tupperware Shape-O.
posted by rhizome at 2:02 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

A busy board? (not sure if that's the same thing as the activity table you mention).

We made one for our son's first birthday using odds and ends we found at the hardware store: a twangy door stopper, locks, switches, wheels, latches, LED lights, etc. You can also buy high quality ones on Etsy.
posted by castlebravo at 2:16 PM on March 21, 2018 [3 favorites]

I didn't give my kid a gift for his first birthday; he got a ton of stuff from the grandparents and had no idea what a gift was anyway. Keepsakes are nice because he'll remember it as a gift later, but you give him everything; giving him something on his birthday will not seem different or special at this age.

So a keepsake and a couple of books seems like a great choice to me.
posted by gideonfrog at 2:18 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Lots of good answers in this thread - especially the PBKids Anywhere Chair, Duplos, & Kitchen - all of which can be used for many years after their 1st birthday.

Our kids each got a Name Puzzle Stool for their first birthdays or Christmas, that they continue to use years later.
posted by stovenator at 2:20 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

A family membership to some place you will all enjoy. Children's museum, zoo, arbitrary, etc....
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:25 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Um, not "arbitrary", autocorrect. Arboretum.
posted by soren_lorensen at 2:54 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Keep in mind that the kid armchairs are AWESOME until the kids decide to tip off the back for fun and crack their heads on the ground repeatedly. There’s a danger age with them roughly 18months-30months where I’ve had to take them away for their own good.
posted by lydhre at 2:58 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Print colour photos of the faces of all the people he likes, cut the photos all to the same size, and laminate them. Do all the people he sees regularly, and peop;e who you want him to feel connected to (like his parents, relatives, family friends, neighbours, teacher, doctor, even himself!) to make a set of personalized flashcards.

You can do all kinds of fun activities with these:

Hide them around the room
Tape them to one side of a glass door so they show through on the other side, and cover with shaving cream for him to swipe off and reveal (here's a mom doing this as a physio exercise for her three year old)
Play memory games with them
Invent games where you give the baby simple directions: "Find Mummy and put Mummy on your head!" "Find Lisa and give her to Mummy!" "Put Grandma and Grandpa together!" "Look under the rug to find Billy!"
Use them to prep him for visits with those people "Auntie Jean is coming to visit, where will she sleep? Let's choose a spot for her!"
posted by pseudostrabismus at 3:04 PM on March 21, 2018 [5 favorites]

Pop-up tent.
posted by lakeroon at 3:10 PM on March 21, 2018

I gave my son a fire truck and firefighter helmet for his 1st birthday. The truck was a huge hit, the helmet made it a great picture. We had a party, we were pretty broke, most of the money was spent on food and drink and ice cream. If you feel the need to mark the occasion, any vehicle with figures that go in it will be a hit; at that age, it's typical to love putting things in, taking things out. Stacking and sorting toys are good, too. The box of tissue is a great idea. Get a banana box, make sure it's clean, paint it. Boxes are fun, and then useful for storing toys.
posted by theora55 at 3:51 PM on March 21, 2018

I agree so hard with getting a photo album or laminated photos of the important people in his life. My child got a photo album as a first-birthday present and has spent many happy hours with it naming the people, pointing out things in the pictures, flipping back and forth... it's one of the biggest hits of all the things they have, which is saying something. It also seems to have been genuinely useful at helping them sort out who is who and what they should call each person.
posted by Rush-That-Speaks at 4:39 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, all!

I've actually made him some custom board books that include pictures of him and the important people in his life (that's what I was thinking of as the book that will be a keepsake...got two copies so he can eat one and still have the other in good shape when he's old enough to appreciate it) but I like the idea of getting him some laminated pictures, too.

The busy board is a great, idea, too. I'm thinking I might make one. For those of you who've made one, what do you do to be absolutely confident no choking hazards (i.e. screws) can come off?

Keep the ideas coming. I'm a little short on room for a kitchen right at this moment, but it's definitely something on the radar for a future gift. Maybe for Christmas (yes, he's getting a balance bike, but I'll need a gift from me and a gift from Santa!)
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 5:00 PM on March 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

We got our 1 y/o nephew a fisher price food truck for Christmas, along with a bunch of wooden condiments and canned goods. My brother & his wife are foodies, so there’s some context there, but it’s been a huge hit - and the food truck folds up so it’s easy to store.
posted by okayokayigive at 5:05 PM on March 21, 2018

His first library card!
posted by Mesaverdian at 6:50 PM on March 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

What about investing in some high quality outdoor gear to make outside play as comfortable as possible? Softshell trousers or overall, rain gear, snow suit, kid umbrella, toddler balaclava.
posted by brambory at 7:19 PM on March 21, 2018

A tiny post-bath robe!

It sounds like your kiddo has plenty of toys, so this one’s just for you. There’s nothing cuter than a toddler in a robe.
posted by punchtothehead at 8:48 PM on March 21, 2018

Seconding "baby-proofing" swim lessons. The Mom 'N' Me type at the YMCA were not only fun and valuable, it gave us a chance to meet our daughters' future actual swimming instructor.
posted by TrishaU at 2:58 AM on March 22, 2018

Response by poster: Two things i was considering that no one has mentioned: a ball pit, a little plastic indoor slide. Any thoughts in those?

Swim lessons are a great idea! But I only have a year of mat leave and I go back to work when he turns 1 so I dont think I can manage it.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:51 AM on March 22, 2018

Our 2.5 y/o son enjoyed his little plastic indoor slide from approximately 10 months to 28 months or so. I only moved it out of the living room after Christmas this year to make room for new stuff, but he was still using it occasionally. Mostly to send cars down as a ramp by then. He received this one as a gift sometime before he turned 1.

He received a busy board from my parents for his first birthday and enjoyed it for a fair amount of time. It doesn't hold his interest much now. HOWEVER. We almost had a terrible freak accident with ours, and I feel compelled to warn others. The board had one of those springy door stoppers, a very common inclusion. He would sit in front of it on the floor and play with it, as he was very wobbly on his feet and still toddling more than walking when he got it. One night he stumbled forward and fell face first towards the board. He very narrowly missed very serious eye damage from falling on the springy door stopper. He got a startle and a bump, but it could have been very, very bad. He just BARELY missed it. So if you do that, watch for things that stand up off the board or be careful about keeping it up on a table until he's more stable on his feet. (There was no lack of supervision in this case, my husband and I were both in the room; my husband was right next to him).

Our gift to him was the VTech Go! Go! Smart Wheels Spinning Spiral Tower and he still plays with it on a daily basis. The "correct" cars do sing annoying little songs, but he loves them all. He'll also send hotwheels or other toys down the ramp. We have other pieces of these Go! Go! Smart Wheels sets, but the tower is his favorite. For cost v. playtime, I'm sure this is the best $30 we've spent.
posted by terilou at 9:59 AM on March 22, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Yesterday someone in my building posted to FB toys that they were clearing out and giving away for free. This included a giant slide in great condition, so given that I've already spent a tonne of money on the keepsake gifts, his toy gift will be a slide. I'll keep these suggestions for Christmas and the next birthday, though!
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 1:03 PM on March 23, 2018

Mine just had his first birthday - the biggest hit was a helium balloon, but we also got him some bath toys which he loves (and other things you already have like a walker, xylophone, flap books). He has a lovely Brio pull-along duck which I’ll be hanging onto once he’s grown out of it.

We are making him a photo album and a footprint keepsake, and he also had cake, clothes, our favourite childhood books (Spot the Dog, the Very Hungry Caterpillar, Funny Bones), and a toy workbench.

He already had a nice set of toddler cutlery, but that might be a nice idea?
posted by tinkletown at 2:26 PM on March 25, 2018