the mommyhood memos: what's the best first birthday gift?

Thursday, January 13, 2011

what's the best first birthday gift?

It's hard to believe... but our little boy is turning one in two weeks! Although my husband jokes that he would like to "spoil" him with toys, I'm more of a believer in kids having a few quality toys... for lots of reasons that I won't get into at the moment.

(By the way, I don't count books or musical instruments in the same category - the more the merrier if you ask me. Levi loooves reading stories and loves, loves, loves his little guitar that he got for Christmas. Correction: he's obsessed with his guitar.)

We've already bought him a wooden Noah's Ark shape sorter toy for his upcoming birthday, and would like to buy him something else as well.

As we're thinking about what to get, I'd love to hear what you think are the best birthday gifts for a one year old! What was the biggest hit at your little one's first birthday?

Here are some of the ideas we've had so far:

love this fire truck by green toys - totally made out of recycled materials!

although we think a ride-on toy would be great, we're up in the air about the
specific one... but thought this pre-tricycle might be a good option.

levi loves the swings! a toddler swing would be a bit hit, no doubt.

is it crazy to consider purchasing a small drum? levi LOVES the drums soooo much.....

little xylophones are so much fun! this one by hohner kids has great reviews for it's tuning,
but is hard to find. of course there's always fischer price or little tykes...

another winner from green toys - made out of fully recycled materials.
a great precursor to the big, metal tonka trucks!

what parent doesn't hope their kid will end up loving legos?!
mega blocks are the prefect start for the little guys.

There also also push toys, wagons, little people toys... the list goes on!

Oh, how to choose?!!! I never really thought that toys were a big deal until I had a child of my own... and now I get it. They are so much fun! I want to choose well, spend our money wisely, and get him something that he enjoys that will also be durable and long-lasting.

Dear friends, what are your best first birthday gift ideas??

sooo excited,

p.s. This is not a sponsored post. All of these toys are just things we're personally thinking of purchasing.

adriel booker | the mommyhood memos | 2010
do not reproduce without written permission

Labels: 1 year old, baby toys, birthdays, educational toys, first birthday, holidays, one year old, what to buy a child for their first birthday

13 Comments:

At January 14, 2011 at 12:51 AM , Greta said...: Our boys wanted nothing to do with the mega blocks...they must have been holding out for the real thing because they love legos. We bought our oldest a trike and that was the hit for sure!! He used it for 2 years. It was a Radio Flyer Scoot but ours was wood; not too sure how that will hold up in mold but they might make them plastic now anyway. Our youngest loved it from 1 to 2 yrs old also and then we switched them to Strider bikes at 2. I vote bike :) Here's one very similar to the one we got:

http://www.amazon.com/Radio-Flyer-20-Scoot-About/dp/B000FIOB2A/ref=sr_1_30?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1294930138&sr=1-30
At January 14, 2011 at 2:42 AM , Lindsey said...: Our daughter just turned one on Monday and we got her a set of the mega bloks. She was so excited about them! We're not a big fan of lots of toys either. In fact, we've already taken half her Christmas toys downstairs (in a bin) to be put away until Summer. We're thinking about getting a membership to the Children's Museum or the Zoo instead of more toys. I agree with you though, you can never have too many books!!!
Lindsey @ GrowingKidsMinistry.com
At January 14, 2011 at 3:02 AM , Rachel said...: Did you ever have one of these as a kid?

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Classic-Pull-Toy/dp/B0009I95RW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1294937279&sr=8-1

I know they probably won't ship to Oz but I sure want one! I love the trucks - just saw them they other day in Whole Foods. Have you heard of Plan Toys or Melissa & Doug? They make good quality wooden toys that last forever if you're into that. Pricey though but sometimes you can pick them up second hand on ebay.
At January 14, 2011 at 3:04 AM , Rachel said...: Scratch that - you should get him a vintage record player!

http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Fun-Fisher-Record-Player/dp/B003CGVCXS/ref=pd_sim_t_3
At January 14, 2011 at 5:07 AM , cooperl788 said...: Georgia got some Melissa and Doug Chunky puzzles that were really great. She could gnaw on the pieces at 1. At 14 months, she could take them out of the board. At 18 months, she liked pointing to where the matching picture was. At 22 months, she could put them back on her own. Now, she still loves them! She does the puzzle, sure, but she also takes the pieces out and plays with them on their own, sorting or lining them up on her table. Best. Present. Ever.
Are you going to throw Levi a party? Do you have a theme picked out?
At January 14, 2011 at 11:24 AM , Tiffany Larson said...: Carter turned 1 in November. The two things he plays with the most are his Little Tikes basketball hoop (SO fun to see him dunk the ball!) and ride-on toys. He has several and just rides them all over the house. He's tooting the horn on his train ride-on right now!
At January 14, 2011 at 11:56 AM , Lisa said...: How about a carrier for your back? My husband hauled our kids everywhere in a nice back carrier, and they were up really high, so as to see everything. Not really a toy, but an excellent way to haul kids around to enjoy the world. :)
At January 14, 2011 at 1:32 PM , Morgan said...: As a mama to three boys who are 6, 4, and 2 I would say the truck or swing, if you want something that he will use now. The others might be a little advanced for a just turned one year old, but I'm sure he'll start using all of them within the next year. We LOVE the recycled trucks. We have a little trike and that same drum and those are fun. The mega blocks are a HUGE hit in my house. The boys love building towers and buildings and my one year loves knocking them down! Great choices!

I'm curious, what guitar did you get? That sounds like a fun gift!
At January 14, 2011 at 2:30 PM , Heather M said...: Landon Loves his ride on toy LOVES it, he walks with it pushes it and turns it over, his is a buzz light year! He also Loves mega blocks, he loves dumping the blocks out and knocking anything mommy and daddy build down!!! but I don't think you can go wrong with any of the toys on your list!!!!!
At January 15, 2011 at 4:22 AM , Unknown said...: Q got that recycled firetruck for Christmas and loves it! But he loves all trucks really. He's also obsessed with his guitar. He and Levi would get along great.

I definitely recommend a ride-on toy. We got one for Q when he was a little over one and he still plays with that thing. It's one of his favorite toys for sure.
At January 15, 2011 at 12:44 PM , JIll said...: When O turned on he got a little slide gym thing and a swing. Both where big hits. With Little B's 1st birthday approaching in April I am not sure what we will do.
At January 15, 2011 at 2:52 PM , Jennifer said...: If you end up with too many toys upstairs, feel free to keep some downstairs for when Levi comes to visit!! I can't wait to see him!!
At March 28, 2011 at 4:45 PM , gifts Philippines said...: Oh' cool gift ideas! I am sure my nephew will gonna love this. I just wonder how much is it? Anyway, thanks for sharing this post. Looking forward for your next post. Keep posting!

toni

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

what's the best first birthday gift?

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