1Year Old Birthday Gift?

Last year I got my one year old niece one of the little inflatable ball pits. She LOVED that thing and I got that and the balls for under $50!!

I would get some sort of ride toy - where they sit on it and use their legs to go. If you have room the Little Tykes Car is great. She may have to grow into these a little, but she will play with these 2-3 years.

This is priness theme
http://www.target.com/Disney-Princess-Ride-On-Toy/dp/B000...

Little Tykes Car
http://www.littletikes.com/toys/cozy-coupe-30th-anniversa...

I am also a bad parent. I didn't buy any of my kids anything for their first b days. They have no idea what is going on, so I figure the money is better spent elsewhere. We opened a savings account for them on their first b day.

We had family parties for each first, and the family members brought gifts. I think I may have wrapped up some diapers for one of the kids so they could open them - the joy on their face! lol

Books and balls are always a hit with kids that age.

We also did something really neat for each child on their first - we did a time capsule, where each guest wrote a little something about/to the child, anything they wanted, something meaningful to them, and dropped it in the box I had decorated for the event. When the child is older, I will give them the box and they can read what each family member had to say. I am sure if you google the idea you will find more/similar ideas.

Have fun!

We honestly (bad parents) didn't buy our children anything for either of their 1st birthdays. They both got SO much from grandparents and the people that came to their party, plus, at that age, it seemed we were buying clothes and developmental toys ALL the time, so we just figured it was better to put a little extra money into their college savings account, and save the gifts for the next years when they were "into" something and we could get them things they "had to have". :)

Busy ball popper. 19 bucks and my daughter who is 2 still loves the thing. I think it says 18 mos + but there are NO little parts and it's ridiculously easy for them to figure out. Just be ready to chase balls all over the house!

I gave my kids a token gift each birthday up to 7 yrs old because I knew they would get bombarded with gifts from family. Then I put the money I would have wasted on gifts into a savings acct/piggy bank for each of them. Eventually the grandparents got on board & would give gift & a cheque. Now I have an 8 & 6 year old with a pretty substantial bank acct & my 8 year old is proud of what's in it. He has learned to save his money to see if he can get it to the next big number........Now I know that's not your question.....but a cute decorative piggy bank(maybe silver) makes a great 1st birthday gift & it's a keepsake. It also beats hauling all the useless toys out to the yard sale every spring & trying to sell some of the junk.

A ball. My little guy started walking @ 14 mos and does his best to "run" after the ball with a big grin on his face. Simple, inexpensive (under $5) and fun

Ditto on the Sand Box. We have a sand and water table we got off of craigslist, and my son who is now almost three plays with it every day. My daughter just turned one, and she loves it too. If you are out in your yard much, I highly recommend it.

Other fun gifts - busyball popper and the little people bus.

A kiddie pool for the summer!

We bought both our kids a toy bin for toys for when they got older. They are 7 and 4 and still use them. We got the one with bins you can remove and they love to sort toys and be able to take the "barbie bin" or "pokemon bin" out to play. My MIL bought both kids piggy banks with their names on them and some coins to put in them. They still have those and use them. Other things my kids got for their 1st birthday was toys, books, clothes. I have the plastic radio flyer wagon and we used it a lot when the kids were younger, now I use it to haul plants in when I'm planting my garden.

Other ideas would be outdoor toys like a kiddie pool and a sprinkler or a bubble machine. All are not that expensive and with summer coming up she'll probably use them.

Does she have any Fisher Price little people stuff? When my son turned one, he got the little people farm, and that was a huge hit for years for him!

One of my daughter's favorite gifts was a musical tea set:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3304530
We play with it all the time.
Another good idea is anything that she can push around. Our in-laws got her a shopping cart, and she can put anything in it, including her baby dolls. She also has a ride on toy that converts to a push toy, and she pushes that all over the neighborhood on walks.
I would also agree with the person who mentioned the Little People sets. We have the Happy Sounds home, and my daughter is forever ringing the doorbell, flushing the toilet, and making the bath sounds, along with having the little people go in and out the front door.

My son loves this push car! We take it instead of the stroller all the time.
http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1155
or
http://www.littletikes.com/toys/tikes-mobile-girls-versio...

He also loves the Little Tikes grocery cart.

We got our son a musical table, I think it was the Fisher Price Move and Groove one. It was a big hit and he still likes it 10 months later!

Push Around Buggy from Step 2 is AWESOME. Our 1st daughter received one for her 1st b-day....6 years later, we are still getting use out of it with our 3 year old.

Any walk behind toys are good to.

A nice outfit or a toy with very few pieces!

A token little doll so she can open something up. But at that age they usually dont like to open gifts, after a couple they are tired and move on to playing with their usual toys. I'm sure you buy her clothes constantly, how can you refuse they are all so cute. I would have a family outing that is special to her, make it a tradition. Buy a balloon (they love balloons at that age) and take her to a fun place to eat, a park, and have it be mommy and daddys outing for her birthday. Its the memories they have in these outings that stay with them much longer than any toy you could get. :) Have fun. Happy first Birthday to your little one ;)

Sandbox!!! My DD LOOVES playing in the sandbox at the park. The 'affordable' sandboxes are really small... and the nice ones are too expensive... so we bought a $10 hard plastic pool, some sand, and a tarp to use as a lid. She loves that thing!

We bought our son a shopping cart with grocery items for his 1 year BD. He was just learning to walk - so this was helpful.