First Birthday Ideas

All of the boys seem to love the kitchens with the cute little dishes and food, etc. Great way to get it cheap is thrift stores (the Unique Thrift store chain is pretty good), craigslist, and garage sales.

At this age my son loved anything he could ride on and move with his feet and his little push lawn mower.

I agree with the idea of a riding toy, if you don't have one. Especially with spring coming. We have a small wooden bike that has 4 wheels that was a huge hit when my older son was 1, and now is a favorite with my second son. I got it at a garage sale for $5, so I'd check out Craigslist and Ebay for used items. We have a yellow truck that is ridable for outside, and also a Fisher Price "Tractor" to ride inside. ALL of them get a TON of use from my 2 boys. My older son is nearly 3 and he still rides them all.

Good luck!
J.

My daughter received the Little Tikes climb and slide castle for her first birthday. She loved it and our second daughter loved it as well. http://store.babycenter.com/product/code/4009.do?scid=SSE...

I also like the idea of a membership to the Children's museum or the MN zoo, if either are close enough. We use both of those memberships a lot.

Other ideas: good kids music (we love Dan Zanes and Putamayo kids), a bike trailer (what we got our oldest for her first b-day), a subscription to a baby magazine like Babybug, some art supplies like fingerpaints and paper (maybe frame the painting he did on his first bday as a keepsake), toy storage (you're going to need it!), a bubble machine, bath toys, a toy vacuum or lawn mower, a child-size table and chairs (Ikea has good, affordable ones), a pop-up play tent, a toy piano, child-size soft foam chair or beanbag...

That's all I can think of right now, but those are things that have gotten a LOT of use in our house over time and that are enjoyed by children of different ages.

For my first son's first birthday we bought him a bunch of Little People toys. They have cars and accessories that are the right size for little hands, but too big to choke on. You can even buy a large bunch of them for a low price on eBay if you don't mind getting them used.
For my second son's birthday in December we got a fun ride-on car by Chicco. Both of my kids love it!
We also bought both of the board books, something you can never have enough of.
Something that we all play with, and every child should have, are blocks. The good, old-fashioned wooden blocks are the best but any kind is totally worth having. You can even get bigger Legos designed for young toddlers (my oldest got a set for his 1st birthday from a friend).
Our all-time FAVORITE line of battery operated toys is by Leap Frog. We have all the videos, most of the fridge magnets, the drum, caterpillar, radio, and My First Leap Pad. We LOVE all of them!
Whatever you do, do not go overboard. It's hard to restrain yourself, but we were weak and did too much too many times- it's a waste of money and energy. Just pick one or two things he'll really enjoy and then stop shopping. =)

Wagon
Outdoor Climber or Slide
Sandbox
Play Structure is a great idea!
Little Boys workshop
ToyBox

I know you asked for toy ideas, but I see that you are a stay at home mom, so I will give you a gift idea that I got and absolutely LOVE...a membership to the Childrens museum in St Paul. (If it isnt too far to drive) Even for little kids it is a blast and over the next year your little guy will love it more and more. I have a 2 and 1/2 year old who loves it and my daughter (9 months) loves the Habitot room. It is $80 annually for a family membership (but you can easily pay for that with 6 visits.) We got it for a Christmas present and it was such a nice change from toys. You can go there over and over again and see something new each time. http://www.mcm.org/

We have a little tikes castle climber thing. It's a "climbing wall" with a platform and a slide. The trouble we had with it was that my son had a hard time climbing up on his own, but I liked that it had a platform to stand on and look around. It came with a steering wheel to mount on the platform, and I ordered a telescope thing to put up, too. (I got it on their web site for probably around $10 with shipping)
This is it:
http://www.littletikes.com/toys/toys-list.aspx?FS=1&N...
I think we got ours at Walmart; I know I had to call around to find a store that stocked the smaller one w/o the swing.
We got it for a 1st birthday and have used it regularly (it stays in the family room) ever since.

HI Amy-

We got a Kangaroo Climber for my daughter when she was 10 months old and she loved it. Now our 10 month old son is using it and has a great time crawling through the bottom and trying to get up the slide. I think it really helped both of them with upper body strength etc, because now they are little monkeys :) Plus it is low to the ground so they really have not gotten hurt on it. (Cross your fingers)

Hope this helps.
Andria
Working mom of two beautiful kids: Haley 4 years old and Caden 10 months old and married to the best daddy/husband.

I just wanted to chime in to agree with the moms that suggested the Children's museum, only because I was there last week so it's fresh in my mind. The habitot room is great, and so are the other rooms. I am surprised at how much even my 10mo. son got out of it. (The 4 year-old was a no-brainer!) We are considering a membership ourselves. And yes, weekdays are the best time to go. :)

Here are my two cents: a Cozy Coupe (which is great for outside) is a favorite for my nearly 4 yo daughter and nearly 2 yo son. Both became fans of the car when they were 1 1/2.

My son practices forward and backward while my daughter is now at the age where she uses her imagination with the car. We draw lines on the driveway with chalk and she uses them either as a road or as parking spaces (depends on where the lines are).

I'd check out craigslist, ebay, thrift stores for one. They are popular and can be tough to get (unless get one new).

Good luck!

We got our son an inflatable pool for his first birthday, and he spent MANY happy hours in it last summer!
The Children's Museum pass is a great idea too--we got a membership for Christmas this year, and it's SO nice to have somewhere to go on all these cold days! My son is 19 months old now, and we've gone to the museum 3 or 4 times, and we still haven't even made it to many of the galleries because he has so much fun he doesn't want to move on!

Hi -

My one year old (16 months old now) is currently running around the living room with his big dump truck and a flashlight, 2 of his favorite toys. He also likes the big legos (I believe the size is called Quatro) he got. However, some of his favorite toys are plastic measuring cups and tupperware containers. (=

The thing to realize about the first birthday (I have 2 boys ages 5 and 1) is that they really like the paper and the boxes/bags that presents come in better than the actual presents. So, this is the time to save yourself money and just get a couple of affordable gifts. (= Once they're older they'll want more - but at this age you have to make them move on to open the next present anyway. (=

Have a fun birthday!
S. (=

Just go and wander the store. You'll find tons of things. Here's what we just got our son for his birthday and all of the kids just love it:
http://www.target.com/Fisher-Price-Sesame-Street-Learning...

This is another great toy that I got at Target:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2535321
They're huge, lightweight, magnets and kids love them.

Good luck,
J.

At my daughter's first birthday party I had everyone write on a post-it note their wish for her as she grew up. I took pictures of the people who wrote the notes. I then took the pictures and post-it notes (scanned into the computer) and made them into a hardbound book for her to cherish when she is older! I used a company called Heritage Makers to make the book and it turned out beautiful! If you are interested, the website is http://www.frommemoriestobooks.com. I can also email you more info on how I did the book if you are interested!

Not a silly request at all, it can be challenging to find the good toys out there. I'd love to recommend Discovery Toys to you. Award-winning, educational, developmental and safe for all ages, we specialize in toys for those important early years.

Check out my website www.discoverytoyslink.com/ValerieSowa
Recommended for 1 year olds: Measure Up Cups, Hide Inside Surprise, Giant Pegboard, Rainfall Rattle, Wiggle Waggle Loop-de-Loo! by Kindermusik, Tangiball, Go Go Caterpillar and ABC Box. None of these interactive toys use any batteries!

Join as a rep, host a party and get for free or order online. I can also send you a catalog to shop from as well.
These are the BEST toys on the planet!

Happy Shopping!
Val Sowa
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