Cool gifts for 12 - 24 mo. olds?

[karamel]

Hi Everybody,
This is a spin-off thread from the "cool gifts for kids" thread. I have a niece turning 1 soon, and I have absolutely no idea what to get her. I don't have kids and am feeling clueless as to what a good gift for her would be! I also have a nephew that's 4, and I seem to remember that whatever cool, new-fangled toys we gave him when he was that age- he'd inevitably find drinking straws more exciting. Please help! I really want to be the cool aunt and come up with a gift that she'll love!
TIA!

[Terri_A]

Here's what my daughter got the most mileage out of between ages 1 and 2 -

-a small ride on car that we kept in the house
-board puzzles
-books, books and books!
-anything that mimicked me - kitchen things, vacuum,etc. ( these also help to occupy her when I'm cleaning, cooking, etc.)
-a metal cake pan and animal magnets - I keep the magnets inside the cake pan which has a lid and then she can play with them anywhere!
-little people toys - noah's ark, the zoo, the barn - she loves thems still at 2 1/2
-dolls - I hate to say it, but my daughter loves dolls and this was about the age it kicked in - she still loves to take them for walks in the doll stroller around the house

Anyway - there's a ton of other things that they all love at this age - art supplies are always great ( check out Lakeshore Learning for great washable tempra paints ).

Good Luck!

[erinl]

I whole-heartedly agree with everything Terri suggested. Hanne (now 2) recieved all of those (except the cake pan/magnets, which is just an awesome idea) for her first birthday. She still plays with all of them, too.

[mbrogier]

I'm hearing a lot of parents raving about the Baby Einstein DVDs and Videos. You can pick those up at the price clubs for less that $30 each. I think each package has two or three episodes on it. They're geared towards younger children from what I've heard. They teach colors, animals, etc. I've seen clips on tv, but I haven't actually watched one of the videos yet. The child of the parents I know that has the video isn't old enough to watch the video yet.

My two year old niece LOVES Blues Clues and Dora videos. Its amazing how much she understands of them, but she's already counting to 20. She'll be three in September. (She watched the Dora video that I gave her for Christmas last year. At lunch the next day, she was telling me all the words she had learned in the video...she was also fascinated with making animals out of the straw wrappers. ;) )

[funniegrrl]

My all-purpose gift for children that age is the book Animalia by Graeme Base. I also like the little Sandra Boynton books, most especially But Not the Hippopotomus.

[DebGo]

DD loves the einstein videos and they have gotten her very interested in the moon & stars, ocean & beach, animals in general, her body, etc. they are wonderfully engaging.

my standard 1st bday gift is a swing! you can get them at toys-r-us for under $20. DD got one for her 1st bday and it has been a hit. it is a gift most will not think of either (which I personally like!) so it will be memorable for the child and you!

happy shopping!

debbie

[MrsReber]

I agree with most of these things. My kids (2 and 3) love the little people stuff. we have the farm, the dollhouse, and the garage.

I just got them magnadoodles, which they both absolutely love. The travel size one is great for car trips.

The swing is a great idea, provided they have a place to hang it. Our swing is in a tree in our back yard.

My sister bought DD a Disney princess plate and cup set last Christmas and she insists on using that plate at each meal- so maybe something practical that she'll love? Oneida also makes little silverware place settings that are very nice.

We always welcome books as gifts. My kids love the Maisy books- bright and colorful.

We went to a party for a 2 year old on Saturday. I bought Leap Frog refrigerator letter mangnets. It comes with a holder and you can put the different letters in the holder. If you press the letter, it says what the letter is and what sound it makes. My kids really love it. They're crazy about most of the Leap Frog products.

We also have the Learning pads, or whatever they call them. You can buy different books for them. Once the book is in place, the child can touch the pictures to get words, music, etc. We have one Leap Frog and one Fisher Price one. They're both pretty much the same except for the title that are offered. My kids really like those.

[Luv to Cook]

My DD loves the MegaBlocks that come in the wagon...she will play with these all day long. She just likes to hang on to one of them and walk around the house. All the other suggestions are great too.

I agree on the books, too. Books are always welcome at our house. Asha is really starting to get into them too, which is alot of fun.

Anita

[RunnerKim]

I know i"ve mentioned this a couple of times before on these types of threads but the best gift Lainey received when she was just over 1yr (Christmas) was a membership to the Zoo. I love the freedom of being able to go whenever I want, and to only go for an hour if it's just not working out. Lainey's a month shy of 2 and we've been many times.

The magazine (made of card-stock) Wild Animal Baby was a really good gift too. Something interesting and fun to read every month. otherwise books are always good. 1 might be a little young but Lainey has really been in to "lift the flap" books.

Wood puzzles are also good starting around then - very simple ones (shapes) with big knobs.

Kim

[cangoss]

My favorite gift for 1st birthdays is a push toy. Specifically, I like one called the Quack n Flap, which is a duck that has feet that flap around, but it's kind of hard to find (I get it at a local specialty childrens store). I've given others when I couldn't find the Quack n Flap, and they've been universally well received and it's not something that other people tend to give.

[karamel]

You guys are great!! Thank you for sharing all of these wonderful ideas! I'm off to the toy stores!