1 year old birthday party and present - what did you do?

[Babydreaming]

Hello,

It's a little while before my little boys 1st birthday but just trying to think of ideas of things to do/buy for 1st birthday.

My mum has offered to host a small party for close family so I think I'll do that with a birthday cake.

Present...did you bother?! I will put some money in his bank account but wonder what to buy him? I know he won't remember or appreciate it!

We bought 2 packs of squash blocks. They're big soft pads with velcro edges and came in a giant box which was her favourite toy for weeks! We still use them daily a year on, for building forts and making tunnels and all sorts of things.

Balloons. A ball and a bubble machine. anything else is a waste.

ELC sell the best bubble machines

For their first birthday our twins got inundated by gifts from family (we held a huge joint party with 4 other babies/mums I'd become close to through our local baby group). The best ones were an inflatable ball pool, small slide (which we used indoors into the ball pool) and ride ons. They were also given books and wooden toys, etc which they were too old for them at the time but they have attempted to play with them periodically since and we have loved seeing their progress.

Oh, they also got a swing set with toddler swing seats and loved that too and it's grown with them as we've just changed to normal seats

We bought DS a teepee (really it was for me, hehe). Didn't bother with a party. Sure I'll need to suffer though enough of them when he's older.

DD got a ball pit and a Pip & Posy book, which she loved (The Scary Monster, she found the roaring hilarious).

We didn't do a party, just a visit to a farm on the day with lunch out. As a gift we got him a trike, and let everyone else spoil him with clothes and toys.