Birthday gift for 1st birthday?

[mcrlover]

My DD is about to turn 1 and the family is asking for gift suggestions! What are the best birthday gifts for a 1-year-old your kids have received, please?

Putting on AIBU as can't think of what category it'd fit in and for traffic

Money into a kids ISA

Agree with first poster, money for savings and a small token gift of a book or a toy if they want to.

If it helps them to feel the savings have a purpose say it’s so they can buy their first car when the time comes or something similar.

I always like outside toys and stuff like that when they’re so young as they will get years of use out of them. Toy kitchen and play food etc is always a good shout too. Scuttlebug. Water table.

Savings is good, but I suspect you’re going to get some push back from people who want to give her a gift.

• Clothing and shoes in bigger sizes
• Indestructible books (designed for babies upwards, can recommend them, even adults couldn’t tear them and you can put them in the bath, wash them etc) and under £5 each. Seriously good idea.
• A book set, like Beatrix Potter or Mr Men. Something you can read to her, keep safe and she can pass down to any children she might have
• A snowglobe.
• Anything interactive to help her build her motor skills, like those wooden activity blocks with spinning flaps and wires with beads on etc
• one of those red cars with the yellow roof and the door they can open and close. Years of stay and play groups has convinced me that there’s not a child alive who doesn’t like them!
• Season tickets for something, like a local zoo or petting farm

I agree with the pps, money for savings would be amazing and also something that would be kept and she would look at years later would be nice as well. Perry jewellery is usually the right answer, something like a pendant or a bracelet would be better than earrings imo (just in case she never wants to pierce her ears).
You can also book a photographer and take professional photos of her first birthday and then make a collage or a photo book with them and keep it further. For relatives you can make photo calendars with these images too, so that they'd have something from that day as well.

Toys are always a hit and you can think ahead, so could be something she'll be playing with later.
Clothes are tricky at that age but gift cards to clothing stores might be a good idea.

We got my daughter a xylophone for her first birthday. We went with a proper one rather than a toy one and she's still using at almost 6. She can now play nursery rhymes to herself with it.

Pick a theme for toys. We did a farm theme between 1 and 3 she got a farm shape sorter, farm threading game, farm train set, insect Jigsaw (alphabet jigsaws are absolutely lovely) and she now plays with all the individual pieces/animals as a large farm.

We did need, want, wear, read for our presents and asked my family between them to it as well.

Experiences are better than gifts at this age imo, they tend to get overrun with toys. Ask for swimming lessons or something.

Clarks shoe vouchers.

Little slide for the garden?
A little silver necklace with her initial to keep till she's a bit older?
Book set? (Costco do some lovely book sets in cases if you know anyone who goes there)
Photo frame or photo session with photographer?

Bath toys?

A moneybox is a lovely keepsake gift that can be used as she gets older.

Duplo - we got years of use out of it.

Agree with pp about outdoor toys if you have space. Water table was a huge hit, tuff table plus stand would give more versatility.

Books!
Magnet tiles.

Premium bonds or savings.
Depends who is asking and how many ?

You will be soon over run with toys.

I'm not one for keepsakes, it's clutter. DD is now 17 and the amount of small delicate jewellery she has and will never wear is ridiculous. Same with the money boxes and other cute items.

Either go practical, clothes, toys for the garden or savings for the future.

Bothy DC have about £5000 in the bank from birthdays and Christmas that GP and family gave them over the years.

The best things for our 1yo (at the time) - my mum bought us one of those soft ball pits and it was used literally every day for years. My in laws got us a voucher for a family photo shoot which is something we would never have spent money on ourselves but they are some of my favourite photos now

Awesome ideas, thank you everyone!