Gifts for Baby's 1st Birthday

[kendraS]

I am trying to think of something special for my nephew's first birthday. He has so many outfits/toys, I am looking for something creative. I know many of you have children or are about to, so I am turning to you for your expertise!!! Thanks for your help.

Kendra

[ewatkins]

Books!!! There are some great board books that are indestructible. (Don't get anything with flaps--perfect for ripping and chewing) It may seem silly for a one year old, but certainly by 15- 18 mos. they will love books. Anything with animal noises, construction themes, colors, and our favorite: "Go Dogs Go"

[MrsReber]

I don't know how your family is, but my family loves when we give bonds or money for babys birthdays. I try to give a little something to open and then some money for the college fund. Might not be too creative or exciting. My sister gets annoyed with all the little toys and games that the kids don't even play with. Books are always welcome or, as the child gets a little older, a toy that they really want. I'd love to give the perfect surprise gift to my one neice who is 9, but I always call my brother and ask what to buy so they don't get a duplicate or something that my neice doesn't want. I know it's not so creative, but it's much more practical for everyone. Also, as my one neice has gotten older, my mother gives her tickets to see childrens' plays at the local theatres.

[This message has been edited by MrsReber (edited 04-24-2001).]

[Gail]

I vote for music. There are several routes you could take: childrens audio or video tapes (small kids love Sesame Street, plus it's educational) or if you want to spend a bit more money, buy a child's tape player-- Playskool or similar-- to go with it. Here's a bonus I used with my kid: most people follow their kids around with camcorders (which I personally abhor.) I chose to document my child's growth with audio tapes. I have tapes of him pre-speech (gurgling and laughing as I tickled him) and through the years as he began learning words and growing. It's a fun exercise for the kid, listening to himself as he grows, and a wonderful memento for the family. Plus, you can play music on the thing for the child!

[foodiedelite]

Kendra,

We just attended my nephews 1st birthday last month. It was quite a milestone, since he was born at just 1 lb. 9 oz.

He received a spruced up exersaucer (more gadgets on it), an electronic rocking horse and a lot of v-tech toys. He was overwhelmed, or should I say my SIL was overwhelmed by the variety and number of toys.

Books are great. My daughter loved these when she was about that age:
Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambautt
Freight Train by Donald Crews
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Spot by Eric Hill

She also loved a video tape called Bilingual Baby (ages 1-5).

Hope these idea's help. Have a fun B'Day party and take lots of photo's.

[kbucky]

My sweet girl turned the big ONE in February...here's what she's into...

CARS! Anything with wheels that she can push around...but the Fisher Price race car with sound and lights and the little guy that she can put in and take out...that is definitely her favorite.

Musical Toys...If you can find the Embryonics Mozart Magic Cube, it's a winner--you can add and subtract different instruments from the mix, and change songs...Or Target has a wonderful musical toy that is a ladybug whose spots are buttons that play sounds and music, and over top of it all are tracks with beads on them to push around (I've seen it at Target, kind of a generic brand of toy, for $10--it's a steal!)

Balls are fun, grippable, textured...

Stackable things...a plain set of wooden blocks

BOOKS, as others have suggested...she sits and 'reads' them aloud, turning the pages again and again (Board books, only!) The Sandra Boynton books are great. And KMart has the BEST little flap books series called "Who is hiding (in the garden, under the sea, etc)

Those are Baby Claire's picks for you! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[HARRYET]

How about starting a train set for him, "brio" makes a very nice simple wooden train with many accessories to go with it (brio is expensive though). My nephews have brio trains and some years it's just one or two little cars or extra track, but I know they don't know the value and they appreciate the added extra to their trains.

2 of my other nephews have the "thomas the tank engine" train set, that is just like "brio" may even be interchangable and they absolutely LOVE it, because of Thomas of course!

I know you can get both of these train sets at Hobby Bench, and Imaginarium, usually some type of specialty store.

Good Luck Ann

[This message has been edited by HARRYET (edited 04-24-2001).]

[Susan]

Wonderful suggestions so far! I am especially fond of the music/book ideas! If you know of something that the child really likes (dogs, birds, etc.), you could find books with those themes.

How about a simple wooden puzzle? They have great ones with a small handle on each piece.

Here's another thought...don't know how much you want to spend, but how about passes to their local zoo or other toddler-friendly place (hands-on museums are wonderful)???

My dd adores looking at photos of friends and family over and over again, so a gift of a childrens photo album (with or w/o photos included)would be an appropriate gift for a little one too!

~~Susan~~

[gobluem82]

I think books are great for gifts--you can make it a yearly tradition and build up a nice library that maybe, someday, he will pass along to his kids. Be sure to write an inscription in the book--it will mean a lot later on! One of my (and my kids') favorite books is "No, David" by David Shannon; very appropriate for a one-year old!

[mb]

I always like to give books & I inscribe something nice on the inside cover. I still have most of my books from when I was little, and it's nice to see what people wrote for me.

A Note to Gail about the tape-recordings: when I was younger, there were no camcorders (but i'm not THAT old!), so my dad would sometimes tape record me (and of course, he saved the tapes). One christmas, he got me started in front of the little microphone, and I had a field day, singing songs (and even making up some of my own songs as i went along!). Now every year around the holidays, he takes the tape out and plays it - my DH thinks it's especially cute, and he likes to tease me about the songs I made up (i was only about 4 years old!).

So while the tape-recording can be a nice memento, keep in mind the child might be embarrassed by some of those especially 'cute' recordings later on!!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[clairea]

Originally posted by HARRYET:
How about starting a train set for him, "brio" makes a very nice simple wooden train with many accessories to go with it (brio is expensive though). My nephews have brio trains and some years it's just one or two little cars or extra track, but I know they don't know the value and they appreciate the added extra to their trains.

2 of my other nephews have the "thomas the tank engine" train set, that is just like "brio" may even be interchangable and they absolutely LOVE it, because of Thomas of course!

I know you can get both of these train sets at Hobby Bench, and Imaginarium, usually some type of specialty store.

Good Luck Ann

[This message has been edited by HARRYET (edited 04-24-2001).]

This is a great idea! My son (3 1/2) has a huge Thomas train set that has been built up over the years. My husband and I frequently joke that next to our house and our cars, this is one of the most valuable assets we have! But it gets played with every single day, usually for a couple of hours (amazing for a preschooler) In addition to the places Ann mentioned, you can get these online at Amazon, also at places like Zany Brainy or FAO Schwarz if there is one near you. I have even seen them occasionally at Toys R Us. Prices seem to be pretty comparable wherever I get them.

I also like getting books for my kids. There are so many great children's books out there that invariably we are given something I was not familiar with.

Also, since a 1 year old is not really old enough to know the difference, sometimes I think it is nice to give a "keepsake" sort of thing that he may not enjoy now but that will be nice for him to have later. For example, my daughter was given some simple gold jewelry for her first birthday, which she will be able to wear and appreciate when she gets older, and also has been given a couple of Madame Alexander dolls which can be the start of a collection later if she wants. (I can't think of anything along these lines for boys right now, but maybe someone else can, or I will post again if anything comes to mind).

Claire

[kendraS]

Thank you everyone for your wonderful suggestions! I will be doing some book shopping this weekend!