Christmas Ideas - Manhattan, KS

Board books are good for kids at this age. I bought my daughter a set of these great rubber stacking blocks and she loved them (from Target, I think). They were large and easy for her to pick up, and she loved to chew on them. Now that she's a year old, she's starting to stack with them as well - a good, classic toy. If you're looking for something he might play with over the next year, a shape sorter or stacking cups might be appropriate. For my daughters first birthday, I bought her the Peek-a-blocks musical shape sorter. She loves it and still plays with it everyday. I got it at ToysRUs for less than $20. If you're looking to buy something a little bigger, he's almost big enough for a push toy or ride on toy. Also a big soft stuffed animal is always a hit. Have fun and good luck!

Hi M.,
I think kids like things they can't have like a telephone or tv remote! I know they have these in kids toys so maybe something like that. Also, I don't think you can go wrong with a ball--sounds kind of simple but if he just started crawling he would probably go after it. At this age they are usually more impressed with the box and wrapping paper than the gift itself! Good luck and have a great Christmas.

S.

LeapFrog, LeapFrog!!! especially the learning table at this age. not only will it help him start to pullup, and stand on his own, its also very educational, and has bright colors to hold their attention!

LeapFrog Beliver!!!! Mom of two boys, 4 and 6...

Something that rolls - so he can crawl and chase it or a toy table with things he can play with on it (I forget the technical term) could encourage him to pull up and stand.

Books are always a winner. They have lots of soft ones and ones for the tub.

Aaaaaaah you are in the same position I am in with my first Grandson...you children are all grown so it has been a LONG time since you have thought about baby gifts!!! My Grandson absolutely ADORES the wooden rhythm instrument set that I got him at Toys R Us!!! It was about $20...I dont know if that is in your price range or not. It has a wooden "shakey egg" with something in it that makes noise when he shakes it, a "bongo" that he can beat on...and several other things....his Mother has thanked me for giving her a few precious moments to herself as he entertains himself with it. I think at this age anything that "reacts" when he manipulates is is interesting to them...they seem to like the "cause and effect" issues.
Most of all just love that little one...enjoy him!!!

Seriously, books are an excellent choice. This could then become a tradition for you to give! All of the children in my family appreciate books & magazines, with gift cards to Barnes & Noble always high on their lists (they're all teen-21 now!)

And, most early-childhood educators agree: it's never too early for children to be held & read to!

Many brands off something like an intellitable or activity table for when he starts pulling up. Both of my kids loved that. Also, there's a cute 3 sport set for 9 months up by little tikes, or a workshop, also for 9 months up.

Both of my kids love the Fisher-Price dog. He sings songs, teaches colors, abc's, body parts, and he is about the right size for hugging and snuggling. My oldest is almost 3 and he is still one of her favorite toys. I had to buy two so that my kids would stop fighting over him, and I was looking on the internet last night and Toys'R'Us has them on sale for about $13 for today only. After that, they go back up to about $20. Good luck!

I have 3 children and my youngest is an 8 month boy who is walking but anyhow my favorite toy and all my childrens was the leap frog table its the best its called the learn and groove musical table its like 40 bucks at walmart it has went through both my girls and now my son nothing on it has broke and my daughters also still play with it and there 4 and 2 this is an awsome toy good luck

LeapFrog Learning Table would be great for his age. You can keep the legs of for the floor or set it up and soon he will be pulling up to everything anyway so he would love it. There are a ton of educational items made by LeapFrog and others in a variety of price ranges.

Hi M.,

Is your nephew walking yet?

I sell Discovery Toys. we have several toys for that age group. Also toys for children from birth-middle school. www.discoverytoyslink.com/boyoachum

toys that attach to the stroller or car seat. The little remote controls that make noises are fun. Just don't buy those loud talking learning products from vtech at that age. My babies hated those voices and screamed. One of the toys I remember was the vtech talking ball. You would roll it and it would say different things depending on what side it landed on and had an annoying ladies voice on it and my daughter screamed her head off everytime she heard that voice and she was 6 months old. We bought that toy for Christmas and took it back and got quieter toys. We thought the ball was cool teaching colors, shapes and other stuff but I guess she had other ideas. We also had a talking phone which was my older sons and he played with it at about 18 months but didn't really care for it before that age. A lullaby cd might be a good gift. A mirror that attaches to the crib side if they don't already have one. Babies love to look at themselves in the mirror.
My kids had a lot of learning toys and rarely played with them. The best learning tool is what they learn from parents. They look up to the parents and want to mimick what they see so kids learn best from person to person interaction.
those learn to walk toys with activity stuff on the front. I don't remember the name of it but it would also be a great toy. he could play with the activity part now and in a few months when he starts to walk, push it around the house.

My kids, all my relatives kids, and all the kids that age that I have every bought for have received the book "Carl's Christmas" It is available as a small board book or in a larger paper page version (which I have to order). It's about a dog that babysits at Christmas. My kids are 22 and 17 and I still look at this book every Christmas. I say look because it most of the pages have no words.

Hi,
I have my own business with Discovery Toys that has educational toys for your nephew. Please feel free to check out my own personal website and see what we have:

www.discoverytoyslink.com/S.

One of the best things I got at that same age for X-mas was a baby walker that when turned on it's side was a play station. It had balls you could put in the top and would come out the bottom and play all kinds of music. It was also VERY instrumental in getting my son up and walking!

If that is more than you want to spend, I would recommend something that he could move ahead of him and could catch up to via crawling. We played a lot of these "fetch" kind of games with my son and it was good developmentally.

ANYTHING that involves music or making noise (or lights up) thrills the babies. Fisher price has some great musical toys. Even the ones where you push the button and a figure pops up teaches them cause and effect as well as how to figure out problems b/c one you push, one you turn, one you flip, etc.

Best part about this...is even if you give them a noisy toy (with extra batteries) they can't retailiate! LOL... Good luck and happy hunting!

The chunky board books are always nice. They make almost all kids books in the chunky cardboard versions now. They are nice because they hold up well. Anything that makes music will be a pleaser, my son had a little handheld toy that sang several songs, It was made by Fischer Price...he loved it at the crawler stage and still carries it around now ( I love toys that transition with them )It also had a volume control which is a plus for parents = )
He is also at a great age to interduce the educational DVDs anything by Baby Einstien is great.
You can't really go wrong at this age, thay are happy with anything. If you are trying to get something the mom will be impressed with and appreciate, they sell scrap book kits at stores like Michaels that are pre loaded with the binding, pages and stickers...so all a busy mom has to do is add pictures and presto insta-keepsake ( which is nice)
Good luck!
Merry Christmas
B.

I have a 10 month old son, and am also wondering what to get him this year. Some of the toys that he all ready has and loves are, Playskools Busy Ball Popper, Mickey Mouse Club airplane walk behind, Discovery Blocks, and an old remote control that we have taken the batteries out of. Some of the things I have on his Christmas List this year are wooden puzzles, books, mega blocks, toy train, tonka trucks Little Tykes Basket Ball Hoop, and an activity table. We try and purchase toys for our son that are a little older than the reccommended age that way we don't need to go out and buy new toys every few months.
Good Luck in your search.

I love all the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn Toys. I got my son the Laugh and Learn Mirror for his 1st Birthday and he still plays with it a year later. He climbs on it as well as pushes it all over the house. He has abused it and it has lasted through the first year when I was not sure it would. He is just all boy. Both of my kids love anything to do with music. The Little People items are great as well. They do not have a bunch of little pices to keep up with they might have some pieces but there are not too many and they are not small. My son loves anything with wheels. As he got older and started using ride on toys (at age one) if it has wheels he will ride on it even if it is not meant to be a ride on toy. Like the Little Tikes Handle Haulers. I would say anything that he can push, makes music or he could maybe learn to walk with then ride on later would be great. I can not think of the name of it but I bought a car looking walk behind/ ride on toy for her first birthday. Books are another great thing because they can look at pictures of things that they might not see every day. I love the Eric Carle books. Kids love the pictures of authors that use bright colors.
L.

Blocks or balls. They love both and blocks are great for tuning fine motor and spatial skills. There is a set for $15 at Target right now that are wooden and have the alphabet on them. That would be a great gift.

Good morning, M.! I have an 8 month old baby boy, so I will tell you some of the things he likes to play with.

He has a Little Tykes Discover Sounds hammer. It's small but he really likes to band things together or on something else. When he bangs the hammer it makes different noises.

He also likes the FP Crawl Along Drum Roll. Its like a set of electronic bongo drums. It can be used with the child sitting up or and be switched to roll across the floor or table.

Some other great toys for this age are the FP Laugh and Learn toys, me have a L&L Piggy Bank that was my daughter's. Jack is getting a L&L tool belt for Christmas. We also have the L&L puppy. We got Jack something like the busy ball Popper, not that exact one, but I found the toy in the baby dept at Target. Don't know if your nephew likes a bath, but Jack really likes little toys in the bathtub, especially balls. I found him a cute basketball tub toy, I think at Wal-Mart. Jack is getting a FP Dunk & Cheer Basketball; it can be adjusted to play from sitting up to standing, as he grows.

Hope this has given you some ideas of what you might like to buy for your nephew. Good luck finding the perfect gift!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I love love love Little People. I think they grow well with the child. At 8 months, they would be safe for him. By preschool age, the child can use his/her imagination and make up stories with the characters.

They have a toy that he can use to learn to walk. But it really doesn't matter what you get him, at 8 months old they prefer to play with the box instead, hehehehe!!!!!

highlights.com has some great products and they do go by age groups. not sure about the prices we were just looking and i really didn't pay attention to the prices. happy holidays!

I got my son an activity table, I think it's a Leap Frog. I have had it for 4 years, my son still likes it at 4 1/2 and my 2 y/o still loves it. Or get him something that will grow with him. Good luck!

Good Morning M., Everyone gave you awesome gift idea's. But the one I was going to suggest Sophia P beat me to it. ;) Good job Sophia, The gift you give whatever it is will be wonderful, the parents will enjoy it alot more then the child will even notice at first. THE Box and Bows get the childs attention, that is what they will play with for a while.
Hubbys mom ( deceased ) bought our oldest son a flutter ball his first christmas, Clear plasic ball with a twirling butterfly inside when rolled. He played with the box, putting it on his head. shaking it, tossing it across the floor...etc

Have fun and enjoy your Nephews first Christmas
K. Nana of 5

I need the same advice... my son is 8 mos and I have no idea what to get him for christmas! I cannot figure out how to read the responses until I send one so sorry for the waste of your time.... hee hee