Best toys for a one year old

[mountainmonkey]

Its nearly DSs 1st birthday and I intend to buy him some lovely new toys.

I need advice on what to buy though as I don't want to waste my money on things he won't play with or things that won't last long.

So what have been your DCs favourite toys?

My son is 18 months now and he doesn't play with many of his toys.
2 that have been a hit are the Bounce n Spin Zebra (takes up a lot of room tho!) and the VTech Playtime bus.

Can you maybe let him loose in ELC or Mothercare and see what he goes for? Usually a fight to get back out again though hee!

These have all really passed the test of time with my two:

Stacking cups
Ball
Pull along toy
Trike
Wheelybug
Musical stuff - xylophone, drum (gah), maracas, tambourine, bottle with rice in, recorder (used as whistle and good to help learn nose-blowing too), toy piano, you get the drift
Blocks / bricks

Wooden trainset on a play table. My ds had loads of brio and thomas stuff for his 1st birthday....he's now over 2yrs old and still plays with his trains every day. Its a toy that will just grow and grow.

Play table is fab once they are cruising/walking and keeps trains up off the floor. We also use ours to give him meals at, and cover with a plastic sheet for craft time.

Money well spent!

My DS is now 2 and still loves to play with:

Brio/bigjigs/ikea whatever wooden train sets. DS loves his and it can be added to as he gets older
Plastic wheely ride on (DS hates his wheely bug, but loves playing on plastic ride ons at nursery/toddler groups etc)
Pop up tent/tunnel
Wooden trike (although those scuttlebugs look fab)

Other toys he still plays with a lot are garage and cars, the fisher price little people bus and his building blocks. He's also got a lot of happyland stuff, but he was probably about 18 months old before he got into that.

Its funny isn't it, how the simple toys are the ones that hold their interest for longest. DS isn't all that interested in things with flashing lights and silly noises but loves his wooden bricks.

wheelybug
first train set
tea set
aqua draw mat set
push along wooden trolley
wooden trike
duplo
stacking cups - get some with holes in the bottom so they are good in the bath too.

All of above plus a tommy doodle (like an etcher scetcher).

Simple toys like the odd cuddly toy or ball get alot of play/ pound.

pringles tube.
(You said you didn't want to waste money )

When you say lovely toys I am incredibly biased as I have a wooden and educational toy shop in Wilmslow (Little Nut Tree Toys) and online - so lovely to me means wooden all the way (until a little older, when I think Lego is fantastic!) and no batteries.
Simple toys where kids can repeat actions over and over again are fantastic - toys like the Click Clack slope (our version is the Glutting Giraffe by I'm Toys which is one of our best sellers).
Speaking from a mother of a 3 year old who still plays with the Giraffe now and watching countless toddlers coming into my shop and SITTING down watching the spinners glide down the slope - I would definitely recommend a repetitive toy. The Glutting Giraffe goes a lot slower than a Click Clack car slope which gives your child a much better chance of catching the spinner which obviously helps with hand-eye coordination.
If you're looking for a more traditional, heirloom quality toy, you could go for something like the John Crane Rocking Horse which has safety bars until they can be reliably left to their own devices. We don't stock anymore as we have moved to Janod - but I love the feature on the Pintoy horse (John Crane).
However - the all time favourite of my son, daughter and all the toddlers that come to my shop is the wooden push alongs. They're ridiculously cheap and kids just LOVE them!