first birthday present ideas please!

[nondomesticgoddess]

Ds will be one next week and I have no ideas for what to get him for his birthday. Obviously he's only one and has no idea of what's going on so wouldn't care if he didn't get anything but I'd like to get him something! And friends and family also want ideas.

Dd is 2.9 so we have quite a lot of toys already, including all the obvious 'boy' ones (cars, garage, train set, ride ons) and I'm worried I'll end up buying new toys just for the sake of buying them.

We already have lots of books for his age so I might get some that he can grow into.

At this rate, he's likely to get a lot of clothes!! (Perhaps that's no bad thing...)

money for his savings account!

Trike with parent handle, my DS loved his.

One of those tents and tunnels. I got ours from ELC and mine love it.

Mega bloks do a great rig / transporter thing, which comes with 3 cars.

Little Tikes slide or swing for the garden??

I like things you can keep to remember this special birthday

One of my favourite presents for DS1 was a nice hardback edition of Winnie the Pooh/ The House at Pooh Corner. It has been a constant favourite since he was about 3, and now he can read it himself (he's 8).

A really nice blanket or beadspread that can be handed down as an heirloom.

A Brio trainset (the starter one)

Premium bonds

A nice spoon and bowl

A ride-on fire-engine was DS's favourite 1st birthday present.
It's been passed on to his sister who at 11 months is already whizzing about on it and loving it. It's got 3 buttons with 3 different tunes (they love it, drives me nuts).

One of those stacking boxes - I think ELC does them , they are like the stacking cups but boxes and they go really high, my kids loved them and I often give them as 1st borthday presents as they are so popular

Also how about getting a photo book made from boots or any place like that, of his first year, though is probably more of a present to you!

ds had the fisher price little people farm for his first birthday and used it for years.

What about a 'special' teddy. My DTs have a Steiff each. It's cuddly and cute but not soft enough to be their bedtime bear so it wont get loved to death. I still have my 1st yr bear and it was my travelling ted. It is mohair so not soft enough to be cuddled to pieces and still loooks like new even though it went on every holiday up util my teens.

My DD got a sand pit and a TP eagle swing for her 1st birthday - she absolutely loves both.

Our 3 all got a picture or framed poster for their bedrooms for a first b'day present plus a classic children's book in hardback - ds1 got The Hobbit, dd got Alice in Wonderland and ds2 got Swallows and Amazons.

There are some brilliant idea here - thank you so much! It's good to hear about toys that other children have enjoyed for a long time - doesn't feel like such a waste of money when that happens!

I gave my nephew a 'Ball Basher' from The Handpicked Collectionwww.handpickedcollection.com/toys/ball-basher/ for his first birthday which he LOVED...he's intrigued by the whole thing and it stops him bashing my dog!