First birthday present ideas (critique my list / give me ideas!)

[FightMilkTM]

Hello MN collective,
I’m looking for ideas for first birthday presents for my baby please
Birthday in August, so coming up on 11 months now and very nearly walking.
There are lots of things I want to get at some point but I think she’s a little young now, however as she’ll only be 1 and won’t really know it’s her birthday, I don’t mind getting something that she might ‘grow into’.

Things I’d like to get at some point:

Ikea kitchen - think she’d enjoy opening and closing the doors and emptying the cupboards which would be fun for her as we don’t really have an ‘appropriate’ cupboard that she can empty in the actual kitchen but in general she is too young to use it properly.

Trike - I prefer the more traditional style of trike and would like to get her a balance bike at some point but you can get the trikes that have different stages so I could get one of those. BUT I’ve seen a trike that can be converted into a balance bike and I’m not sure if I should hold off and get that.

Mud kitchen - similar to ikea kitchen but too young I think.

Wooden kitchen helper stand thing - too young.

Indoor ‘sensory’ table - table with sunken trays in the top (see them a lot on insta and Pinterest but they seem quite good as an indoor alternative to a mud kitchen / water table). Maybe a bit young but I could give her age appropriate activities I suppose. She is very confident with standing and cruising.

Garden trampoline - too young and garden needs ‘sorted’ before I do a trampoline as I would prefer a sunken one.

She already had a sandpit as they were on offer in Lidl

Basically, I think she’s too young to properly enjoy anything on the list but equally I don’t want to have to buy everything on the above list for her second or third birthday! (Or whenever is age appropriate - I have no idea )

Help please!

Get the trike but one with a handle, save the kitchen until Christmas, save the trampoline until 3 (though one of the mini ones with a handle would be fine 18 months +), and get a cozy coupe car- every 1 year old loves these!

Does she have musical instruments? My DC over hitting the xylophone or playing with castanets at that age.

A swing was one of the best gifts I got aged 1, got a swing that converts from a baby to a normal seat so he was able to use it straight away & also grow into it

We got the Ikea kitchen for DD 1st birthday and it’s still a hit 1.5 years later. We even got a bargain good condition one in marketplace

For 1st birthdays I’ve twice bought a sturdy furry pushalong dog on wheels.

They’ve been popular well after the learning to walk stage.

Another thing a Gdd and little friends really enjoyed at that age was a baby-sized rocking horse type thing - it was enjoyed until grown out of. Relatives had found it in a charity shop in France for €7!! Talk about a bargain!

My twin boys are going to be 1 in August as well. So far for them we’ve bought

• a trolley with wooden blocks;
• a set of alphabet bricks;
• a tray of wooden food that they can cut with a wooden knife;
• some wooden dinosaurs and a farmyard scene from Lanka Kade;
• a safari truck with sorting shape animals;
• we’re also thinking about some sort of climbing frame and ride on toys - but then also think it may be better to wait till Christmas for them as they’ll be fully mobile by then.

The sensory table thing should be fine.
The kitchen etc might be better at Christmas - I think DS had a kitchen at around 18mths and it was perfect timing.

DS1 has both a swing and a Little Tykes car for his first birthday. The swing was one that came with a baby seat and a normal seat. He is now 7 and still enjoying that. The car is also still in the shed, and our 4 year old still occasionally gets it out.

At 1 DS got a TP climbing frame. It has two heights so was on the lower height for a few years and then put up to full height. He also got a mini trampoline. He wasn't a particularly early walker and couldn't even crawl at 12 months but they can change so quickly at that age and he could still hold on to the trampoline without crawling or walking.

Mistakes we made over the year's:

Buying presents too old for them - by the time they are able to use them appropriately they are sick of them.

Bought a themed scooter for DD which was too heavy & cumbersome. Micro scooters are a much better option and they can get years of use out of them.

DD had a proper bike with stabilisers at 2.5 which she wizzed around on - her older DS had more of a 'fun' bike at that age and it was much harder to ride.

Some of the toys can be moved to Christmas like the to next year, maybe put some money aside. Our neighbours’w DS just turned 2 and got a balancing bike, trampoline and sand water table.

I think Dd got lots of books, building blocks and some musical instruments. The only thing I regretted not getting was a ride on toy like the scuttlebug or similar but we just didn’t have a garden. She loved it at friends’s houses and nursery though.

Grandparents put money towards a new car seat and bought vouchers for shoes.

Definitely the sensory table from that list - tuff trays are great and can be used on the floor until she is old enough to stand at it. Lots of sensory stuff suitable for her age and then different activities as she gets older.

All the other things are definitely too old. If you get her a kitchen now she will not be able to play with it and by the time she is old enough for it it wont be exciting and new and you'll struggle for think of something for her second birthday!

Other ideas for a 1 year old:
Bike seat to go on parents bike (e.g. weeride)
Cosy coupe ride in car
Baby Walker
Mini trampette