First birthday present

[LittleMilla]

DS is one on Saturday. Don't want to go OTT but would like to mark his birthday with a gift.

Thinking of some building blocks, but don't know which ones - wooden, plastic duplo things?

Any other good presents that will keep him busy. Current fave thing in the house is the washing machine [hmmm] so really don't want to spend more than £20!

TIA

Apart from the washing machine is there anything he likes playing with?
I have four boys and two of them have loved cars from a very early age.

Two of them didnt really play with toys much until they were much older.

I would avoid anything with loads of talking/flashing lights/music. They drive you bonkers after a while.

Duplo are good if he is into blocks.

A simple shape sorter can keep a 1 year old happy for a while.
Playmobil do nice noah's ark but I cant remember how much it cost. Its chunky and has nice animals.

Thankfully he does tend to veer towards his wooden stuff vs. plastic flashing, so that's a relief!

Faves are:

Wooden disks that you put on a pole (ikea one)
Shapes in to the house, but needs my help with this a lot still
Plastic stacking cups - again, likes me to play with him
Cannot even describe this

So generally in to problem solving I think, although sure that this will change. He also has a squidgy red car from JL that he pushes around saying "brmmmm, brmmmm". Very sweet!

Is he walking? My 13 mo is cruising and loves this. She too likes blocks and enjoys playing with the ones this comes with.

I would second shape sorters. I have spent most of last month removing the circle from the shape sorter so DD can put it back in there.

She has mega blocks but they only hold her attention for a minute - maybe someone with an older DC would let you know which are best for longevity.

If he likes problem solving and cars he might like something like this wooden click clack thing

Wooden blocks are a favourite in our house! DD1 has had them for a few years and will still sit for ages building with them (she's nearly 5). DD2 (14 months) loves knocking them down and putting them back in the box then tipping them out again.

Thanks all.

Had been put off buying wooden blocks as they say 2 or even 3 years +? Should I ignore trust my instincts on this one and just get him some from ebay John Lewis/ELC?

Ours say 2 years plus, I think. I think it's a developmental thing as at 12 months they aren't expected to be building towers. There doesn't seem to be any blocks in ours that are small enough to put in their mouths so I don't think that it's a danger issue.

Does he like things with little people in? DD2 got a Little People Noah's ark for Christmas, that she likes.

Or what about a little ride on? They can last quite a while - usually till they're about 3. Might be quite nice when the weather gets warmer too, as it can be used in the garden. You can pick some up for less than £20.

Younger kids can tend towards casting lobbing blocks but they dont pose any danger apart from that.

You could get him an old fashioned walker with blocks in. They are cute and last for years.

My DD is coming up to 1, so I came on this thread to see what great present ideas there were! But then I wanted to say that wooden blocks are great :) DD has the ELC toddle truck, and as well as walking around, she loves sitting down next to it and distributing the blocks all over the floor. And she enthusiastically knocks down any towers I build for her. So definitely wouldn't wait till 2 or 3.

Things that were a hit at first birthday:
Shape sorters. DS had a lovely wooden safari truck one which he quite liked and a noisy Little Tikes one which he LOVED.
Jigsaw-type puzzles where you fit the shape like this one
Baby walker. We had this which is lovely but noisy!

Things that were a hit at first birthday AND are still going strong at 2.5
A garage and cars. Has been played with almost every day. We have the Fisher Price one but there is a Le Toy Van one if wooden is your thing.
A toy bus with people in it, like this one
Megabloks. Actually, he didn't do a lot with these when he was one. But we did used to sort the colours and things like that. Then started to build towers nearer 18 months. Now he makes all sorts of imaginary animals out of them.

FWIW I'm constantly surprised by how often toys that I thought DS had grown out of come back around, played with in a different way.

Also books that have stood the test of time: anything by Julia Donaldson or Alison Jay gets my vote and have been read a hundred times (and the rest) since 1st birthday.

Also, don't pay much attention to ages on toys. Use your judgement on whether it is to do with small parts - obviously things with little pieces should be avoided for another couple of years. But often things say 3+ when there's no good reason for this.

My DS got a spinning top; he was quite good at using it. We have a shape sorter, though rarely do much sorting (he is 16mo). He loved his hammery toy - basically a hammer, 3 balls and 3 slightly tight holes to hammer them through. He can't quite be relied upon not to hammer anything else, though, so watch out for your toes... We have a toddle truck, he loved it for a short while. His fave present was a (how to describe it?) tube, you know, the kind you crawl through. Got it from Gymboree, via his DGM, totally loves it. He is a running round and hooting sort of boy, if that's any help.

Really helpful suggestions all, thank you. x

DD3 has a june birthdayt and she got a paddling pool. ( which her 2 sisters loved!)