Buying a perfect gift for a first birthday can be rather tricky at times, especially if the child isn’t your own. You’ll want to mark the occasion but may not be sure what they already have and not want to clutter the house with items that won’t be used – or worse still, outgrown/discarded far too quickly.
Here are a few ideas of items that are my go to’s for such occasions, and one’s I would have gotten for my own girl’s/friend’s children – I’ve never had any complaints yet.
Wooden Toys
You certainly can’t go wrong with the traditional style wooden toys, they last well and are very durable which is needed at that age as they will be dropped, thrown or even launched hundreds of times.
There are so many options to choose from – ranging from push along toys, pull along toys, wooden building blocks to carts or even a miniature rocking horse.
It’s these types of toys which can be passed down to future generations too.
SmarTrike or ride-on
These Smartrikes are as much of a present for the parents as they are the child – as they learn to walk and start to refuse the buggy it can make getting anywhere on time rather difficult as the child starts to gain a little independence.
Strap them into this and they are playing/steering and you can actually get to your destination on time.
Of course, they grow with your child too so they can start to peddle themselves when they get a little older, and you’ve a lot more control with the parent handle attached.
Ride-on toys are ones you would generally use inside the house or the garden and kids just love them, they will soon be whizzing around the house – just be careful of your ankles and have an icepack at the ready for when they try to take you off your feet in the process.
Clothing
I always find that you can’t go wrong with clothing as gifts – you can personalise if you want but it’s a lovely excuse to go shopping for small clothing again.
Sleepsuits are still a must at that age while they wriggle about so much in their sleep and there’s loads of baby sleepsuits to choose from, you could get a few in different patterns, styles or colours.
Something to keep
While it’s tempting to choose toys as gifts, another option is something which can be kept and cherished for many years to come
A height chart for their bedroom – this can then become something with is used for years and years to come recording the milestones as your child grows, and bringing tears to parents as they see the growth from baby to toddler, tween to teen and then before you know it your child is towering over you and wearing your clothes.
Silver cutlery sets are always popular – while at 1 they won’t have mastered using a knife and fork but it won’t be long, and they won’t always eat like a farm animal forever!
Money boxes – a lovely keepsake which they can treasure and hopefully somewhere they will keep their money and save something in the future. Let’s face it, one year olds don’t need money just yet but believe me, kids are blooming expensive so start saving early on.