Looking for a 1St Birthday gift...any Ideas?

The best present my son got for his first birthday was a wagon. He is almost 3 and he still loves it. I pull him around a lot and it's great exercise! he will also push it around himself. It is a Radio Flyer ATW.

When this has been posted before, people suggested a single pearl. Then, each year you get her another and by the time she's 18, she has a lovely strand. For her 21st you can get her matching earrings.

I don't even know the brand, but we got ours at Toys R' Us for our daughter for her first birthday and it looked like a lion and said "roar" when you pushed it's nose. Really cute and really stable. It is the kind that you transition yourself. It is a rider, but you can pull the back up and lock it in and it becomes and walker. She loves it.

Other things that we didn't think would be that big a deal but that she loves were her little tikes drum (go figure), a wooden xylophone with mallets and her blocks (like the abc block, but bigger and in pastels) that she loves to stack.

For my son's 1st birthday, we asked my mo-in-law and sis-in-law to get him a nice Little Tikes or Step 2 type of wagon that he could grow with. It was a very nice one and was around the $50-60 price range. He is 11 yrs old and has a 6 yr old sister and they have both had so many wagon rides it's unbelievable. They now alsi use it a lot to help with the outside gardening/yard work and yes, my 6 yr old is still known to "need" a wagon ride quite often, but now a lot of times its her 11 yr old big brother who pulls her!

When my oldest turned 1 we got him this sweet little chair from Fisher Price that has a table connected to it and a lamp. He can turn the pages on the book on the table and it counts and sings. The light turns on and off and the chair detects when the child is sitting in the seat. Its pretty cool. I think it was $30ish. It's been awhile. Hope it helps.

I just found a powerwheels jeep at a garage sale for $15! And a cozy coop for $3!! The kids don't care how much we spend, it's the fun time we spend playing with them that they crave. I nwashed up the car and it's perfect for my 15 month old!

My youngest loves her ball pit, but if you get one, you need to buy extra balls to make it fun. Now we use the pit to switch it up. Sometimes it is all balls, other times it is all stuffed animals, then it can be a block land. Even our 5 and 9 yo girls play in it. For my youngest first b-day we had a big party and cook out. That was her present from us :) We have four children and I don't want the baby being spoiled with gifts that over run my house with gunk like the older kids. Best of Luck with the perfect toy.

Toys that the kids have loved have been Duplo blocks (like big legos), baby dolls and a crib and blanket and toy bottle. Make sure the crib is really sturdy, maybe wooden ,as toddlers love to see if they will fit in there. A pretend kitchen with toy dishes, wooden puzzles with less than ten pieces, and those big books with the buttons down the side that make noises to go with the story, if your nerves can take it. it will get played to death. Small plastic animals that they can carry around while they explore, and a bag full of funny hats are good too.Of course you'll want to get toys recommended for children under three. Happy Birthday !

I sell Usborne Books. Our books are really cool! They are for kids Birth to Highschool. We have touchy- feely books, flap books, board books for the younger kids, phonics, first word books, nursery rhymes. fairytale-princess books,snuggletime board books,Farmyard Tale books (you look for a duck on each page), Talkabout Board books,Look and Say flashcards, jigsaw books,Bathtime Books, cloth books, noisy board books.

The older books allow kids to read books at different levels and we have great reference materials for older family and friends kids (History, Science, Math, Chemistry, Physics, Foreign Languages)etc.

Feel free to check out my website and welcome to pass on my information. (ubah.com/T2267).

Books make great gifts. Can never start to soon to read to your children.

J. R.
Educational Consultant
Usborne Books

Learning Leap Frog has a TON of stuff for all ages. You can NEVER go wrong with books!

Hey A.. My daughter just turned one last week. for her birthday we bought her a sofa that turns into a bed. They were $34 at Toys R Us. They have it in Dora, Backyardigans and disney princess. She loves her chair because it sits right next to daddy's lazy boy. And they both sit in their chairs during the day and talk. She also got a baby doll for her birthday and she loves that thing. She hugs it and kisses it and takes it on her chair. Also books are good gifts so you can build up a library for her. Have fun with her birthday!

We bought a walk and ride for our daughter when she was about 10 mos old (she's 18 mos now) and she barely ever used it. I would get her a little shopping cart or something else to push around that can be used once she is up and walking on her own.

We got her this piano for Christmas (she was 10 mos old) and she still plays with it. http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?e=detail&pcat=bul... It's in really good shape, nothing has broken and she stills love it!

My 3-year old and her neighbor friend both LOVED the Bounce & Spin Zebra when they were one. It is about $40 new (Target, probably more at Toys R Us). You can also get some very nice condition used ones at Once Upon a Child for $15 - $20. I am a big fan of OUAC - great stuff at a discount price (albeit usually more expensive than at a garage sale but less than new). Hey, why they are little, they don't know new from used - they just know fun!

C. Lang

membership to a children's museam, botanical garden etc.

I think that gifts should hold memories. My daughters talked me into Noah's Ark Animal Workshop because they love the stuffed animals, clothes, and accessories. I liked the idea of people having a gift that will last a lifetime.

NAAW is very much like Build-A-Bear at a more reasonable cost. The animals are not sewed (although you can if you want to), but uses a zipper to hold the stuffing in, then a neat snap/velcro system to allow you to take the insides back out so it can be washed without worrying about the stuffing getting icky.

The animal comes with the stuffing (which the kids can usually do themselves, but your one year old will need help), a birth certificate, and a wishing star. My daughter explains to the child how to make the wishing star into something really special, and the kids just love it.

Most toys are played until they are broken or forgotten and put away, but these animals often are a focus for years. My oldest daughter STILL has the first stuffed animal (not NAAW) that my father-in-law gave her 10 years ago. Her "Longnose" (can you tell it's an elephant?) has been to all her doctor visits until recently, has slept with her, been her confidant (and he doesn't squeal), gave her comfort, and played whatever game that she would want to play. He tolerates being dressed up in the most fun and sometimes ridiculous outfits, and never complains.

It is a great thing to see any item treasured when something is special to the child. I know you want to keeps things to a budget, and the animals range between $10 and $18, and the clothes are $10 to $13 (mostly $12, but you don't need clothing until she is able to start changing them on her own, so that will make great future birthday gifts, and they are all velcro)

Best of luck no matter what you choose. We are all fortunate when we see our children get one year older.

--=V. Blackwell
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http://vnae.twistedgem.com/
Serving all your needs with:
Home & Garden Party
Noah's Ark Animal Workshop
Tastefully Simple

Hi there my son got from his Great Aunt the Zebra that you can bounce on and it makes music. He just loves this thing, he loves it so much i just got one for my nephews first birthday! My son is now 15 months old and he still loves it even first thing in the morning...Lol!!! But i did for him a Time capsule. My wonderful husband made and i had all the family bring something that was special to them to put in it! i love it and he will open it when he is 18! Hope this helps!!!

My daughter just turned one and for her birthday I got her some Little People play sets (we got a variety because I actually found them used on craigs list for a good price). I think it was the perfect age to introduce these to her, as she really enjoys the interactive sounds and understands how to put the people on the rides/buildings so it's great interactive play as well as independent for her. Plus, I think we'll use it a while because she can continue to play with them when she's ready for more imagination-based play.

I have a 18 month old girl and a 3 year old girl. The toys that get played with most at my house are 1.) My First Dollhouse from Fisher Price. My older daughter got it for her 2nd bday, but my younger daughter has played with it everyday for hours since right after she was one. 2.) a plastic (sturdy) shopping cart. I'm not sure who made it. Both girls play with it all the time. My younger one loves to push it around ever since she could just barely walk. She loves to put little toys in it and push them around and take them back out. DO NOT buy one of the little cheap wire versions because they WILL climb in it and the wire ones just bend and break. The one year-olds also love little people playset, like the farm or noah's ark, whatever. They just love the little toys that they can hold and put in and out. With the doll house, my one-year old plays with the people separately and in the house. She loves to put them through the door, go to the other side and put them back through the door. As I said, hours of entertainment.

OUr son has a ball popper. I think it is made by playschool and he loves it. Also he has a V-Tech helicopter. I know this is not very girlish but V-Tech has some really neat toys that are fun and educational too! Hope this helps!

How about a shape sorter, and some age appropriate puzzles? Our daughter had been in developmental therapy from 12 months to just this month, and I remember her therapist has told us that both of these are great things for a one year to 18 month old. Also, a walk behind walker is a great gift. Our daughter, who's 22 months loved hers when she was learning to walk. As a matter of fact, if you're interested in buying one, I'd sell you ours cheap!

we got our son an activity table, he was walking, well running i should say & we needed something to help him to sit still or stand still for a few moments. we got him color wonder markers & paper(well worth the extra money), leggos and other age appropriate toys he could play on the table with. good luck.