Presents for a 1 year old

[Monnie]

DS will be 1 in August and I am looking for original present ideas.

I have just given up work so hopefully all you Mumsnetters can come up with some cheap, but cheerful present ideas.

I have looked at various toys, but all they seem to do is play tunes (and he has LOT of toys that already do that).

Thanks

Monnie, we bought dd a second-hand Little Tikes playcube (or I should say I bought it, as dp is a garden fascist and would never countenance having such a horror in his garden), it cost £20 from the local paper and was a real success for about a year. Garden toys are brilliant and get you both out of the house.

Monnie, we bought dd a Little Tikes rocking horse for £10.00 from Tesco although have seen it in Toys R Us. It is all plastic so can be left in the garden and she loves it as it is easy to get on and off on her own. We also bought her for Christmas one of those coordination toys - don't know the name, but it has the beads on wire frame - however just getting interested in it now at 20 mths - they come in various sizes and prices ranges.

A few months ago I got a Bumblebee playtent at ikea for £15. Not only does my 18 mo. old love it, but his playmates love it and my step kids (8,9,13) all love playing with him in it. AND it folds up flat into nothing and can be stored under a couch.

A bead wire thingy to thread the beads along - about £15 from the ELC - my dd is 2.5 and she got it when she was 1 and has played with it ever since!!

If you haven't got a Little Tikes Cosy Coupe (feet to floor car)then you need one. I got one for a fiver from a Car Boot several years ago. It lives in the garden and is virtually indestructible. All kids love it. Best fiver I ever spent.

We got the £10 tent from Ikea it's very large, but dd loves it. My mum bought a Little Tike slide £20 from Toy R Us that's another fav as is a Winnie the Pooh truck? £15 Argos.

Mothercare has a Megabloks castle with 3 figures (ghost, knight and something) for half-price £9.99. Brilliant bargain as they'll last for years and be played with a lot. Other favourites are a wooden school bus with little people,( Little Tikes does a plastic version for about£10) a Fisher-Price crocodile that's a xylophone and a piano (£12) and books.

A general thing that all mine have loved is a cheap, small photo album with pics of themselves, animals, relatives, friends in it. Invaluable on long journeys!

Another vote for the car, my ds still loves his at 3 and 3/4!

another vote for the car my 8yr old drives, one 5 yr old sits in the tray at the back and the other twin hangs onto the roof!!! They are brilliant for wheeling round as they aren't too low to do your back in!!!
is ds walking yet - is so any thing you can push like ducks on wheels or prams (love taking favourite toys for walks)

We got dd one of those little cars you can sit on or push along, and it has a removable base with a rocker on it for when they are too little to ride it properly. It is still in use almost 5 yrs later (outdoors now!) by ds. It was great! Otherwise my vote goes to Duplo, the larger type of Lego. Excellent blocks and have lots of learning benefits as well as being fun, tho they are a little expensive - I think Megablocks are similar and may be a bit cheaper. Or how about a few hard board books with lots of bright pictures? I know my kids love to get lots of smaller presents instead of one bigger one (since they have no concept of what things cost!)

Thanks very much for all your suggestions.

At 10 months, DS is not even crawling yet (although making very determined efforts).

Really like the idea of the little car and the tent.

We'll probably get him two large pressies and a few little ones, like plastic cars and books.

And as you probably all know, relatives and friends will buy him too much anyway (lol)

Monnie, my mum bought dd a set of cardboard boxes which slot into each other (a bit like Russian dolls) they are decorated with pictures of a bear & they were her absolute favourite thing around 18 mths, introducing her to the wonderful concept of building towers and more excitingly knocking them down. v cheap too

We got DS a trike with parent handle and seat belt which he enjoys (and will eventually be able to pedal). But the biggest winner was his sandpit - I think £20odd from Argos(my sister bought it) but also from Mothercare, ELC etc. It comes with loads of accessories and you can put water in half and it is on legs. This was good for when DS first started walking because he could potter around the sides of it and get some confidence outdoors. Unfortunately the legs are hollow and a fair proportion of my clothes pegs have disappeared down them!!!