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

dear God, thank you that learning is not only fun... but tastes so good.

who’s the cutest baby on the block? (give-away!)

This give-away is now closed.

Do you have the cutest baby on the block? Maybe your "babies" are now grown up... or your “babies” have their own babies. Or maybe you’ve not yet entered into babyville yet at all. Whatever the case may be, there’s surely a sweet little one in your life that would love a set of hand-made, adorably funky wooden blocks.

Well, you’re in luck!

Magens Bay Designs is offering one reader from The Mommyhood Memos a $36.00 gift certificate, which will get you either a large set of alphabet blocks or two smaller sets of blocks! This could be you, dear readers...

Let me give you ten reasons why I loooove these wooden blocks from Magens Bay Designs:

• They come in some of the cutest colors and patterns you can imagine – everything from super girly to all boy, from funky retro to ultra modern, from bright and cheerful, to subdued and earthy. (I’ll be honest, this is what caught my eye in the first place... and probably what I love most about them. Gotta love a good design! *grin*)

• They are a great educational tool, especially the sets that come with the alphabet and numbers on them. (Perfect for little developing brains!)

• They encourage creativity. (What little kid—and mommy or daddy or auntie or grandma—doesn’t love to get hands-on in designing and building towers and castles?!)

• They are individually hand-crafted and uniquely designed. (Can we say oh-so-artsy?)

• They are made by a local small business, meaning profit made from them goes right back to the family that crafted them. (Love supporting small family businesses and the local economy!)

• They have sanded edges and are covered several times over with non-toxic varnish. (No need to worry about what we’re exposing the kiddos to!)

• They are easily cleaned with a damp cloth. (Mmmmm, so essential!)

• They come with a free canvas bag to store them in. (Very practical!)

• They can be customized for free. (What?! Yeah, really... for free!)

• They come from Portland, Oregon. (Ok, so that part’s irrelevant... but since that’s my home state in America... it makes me like ‘em even more.)

Now I personally love wooden toys because of the “timeless” feel they have to them. (Love classic toys!) But I also love them because they are great to chomp on (for the younger set) and they offer an alternative to cluttering up the house with lots of tacky plastic.

These blocks would be great for any little one between the ages of a couple months old (supervised of course) right through to school age kids learning to spell words, practice counting, and do simple math. 

I’ve poured through Magens Bay Designs website many times trying to figure out my own favorite, and I’ve found it really hard since there’s so many I love. I think my fave is the Alphabet Wooden Blocks set of 30 Cars and Traffic Signs... but I also really like the Grass and Sunshine Plaid (perfect for both boys and girls - bonus), the Robot Madness, and the Girly Bliss. (And I could list at least five others that I really like... but thought I should stop at four!)

 

What are your favorites?

 

Oh, and the other good news is that Magens Bay Designs is offering a 20% discount to all my readers from now until the end of June! (Just mention that you found them through The Mommyhood Memos in your order.)

Here’s how you can enter to win:

1) If you’d like to win this gift certificate for blocks for your little one (or as a super-cool gift for another little one in your life), just visit Magens Bay Designs, choose the set you like best, and leave a comment here on this post. (Counts for one entry.)

Example comment: I would choose the “girly bliss” blocks!

If you’d like additional entries to win, there are several ways you can increase your chances of winning:

2) Follow The Mommyhood Memos on google connect, and leave a comment that you’ve done so. (Counts for one entry.)

Example comment: I follow The Mommyhood Memos!

3) Subscribe to The Mommyhood Memos by email, and leave a comment that you've done so. (Counts for one entry.)

Example comment: I subscribe to The Mommyhood Memos by email!

4) Vote for me on Top Baby Blogs by clicking the graphic link below and then leave a comment here that you did so. (You can vote once per day until the contest finishes. Leave a comment for each day you vote. Each vote-and-comment will be counted as one entry. This one’s based on the honor system guys, so no cheating please!)

Example comment after voting: I voted for you on Top Baby Blogs!

 5) Vote for me on Top Mommy Blogs by clicking the graphic link below and then leave a comment here that you did so. (You can vote once per day until the contest finishes. Leave a comment for each day you vote. Each vote-and-comment will be counted as one entry. This one’s also based on the honor system, so keep it above board!)

Example comment after voting: I voted for you on Top Mommy Blogs!

 6) Blog about this give-away on your own blog (linking back to The Mommyhood Memos) and comment here with the link. (Counts as five entries.)

Example comment after blogging: I blogged about The Mommyhood Memos give-away on my blog: www. yourbloghere .com!

Contest details:

This give-away will close at 12:00 midnight on Wednesday June 16th, Pacific Standard Time, USA (5:00pm Thursday, June 17th Eastern Australian Standard Time). The winner will be chosen by random.org and will be announced here on the Mommyhood Memos shortly after. Once announced you will have 48 hours to contact me via email and claim your prize! (If you don’t claim within 48 hours, I will select another winner through random.org.)

And don't forget mommy-friends (and friends)... if you mention The Mommyhood Memos when placing your order at Magens Bay Designs you'll receive a 20% discount for a limited time!

Good luck!

P.S. Make sure to leave a separate comment for each entry so that all your entries will be counted/considered in the random.org draw. AND... make sure to leave your name somewhere in your comment if you don't have a google account so that I know who the winner is if it lands on an "anonymous" comment! :D