My daughter turns one on Dec. 30, and I'm looking for some toy or other gift ideas from Moms with little girls for her first birthday (and Christmas, since they are so close to one another)!
We really haven't bought her much of anything of her own since she was born ... she plays with all her brother's toys from when he was a baby (they are 22 months apart). I have no clue where to start with girl toys that are well loved (and played with for more than a day!) by little ones ... it's taken me this long to figure out boy toys for my little guy! ;)
Do you all have any toys or other presents that your little girls have just loved? I'm open to any suggestions ... we have lots of different type of toys (educational, pretend, etc.). I'm just wondering what other Moms with little girls (about one year old) would recommend! Thanks!
Thanks so much to everyone who responded to my request! There were a LOT of great ideas ... a few of which we've already purchased for her birthday/Christmas! I really appreciate that so many fabulous Moms took time out of their day to help me with my question! Thanks again & Happy Holidays to you all!
P.S. Keep the ideas coming if you have them! ;)
My daughter got a plush rocking snail for her first birthday.
She still plays with it at 2 1/2. They also come in butterflies and catterpillars. Her bedroom is decorated in cartoon flowers and bugs so it fits in perfectly.
My daughter's birthday was in October and we got her the learn to grow kitchen. She loves it! She pretends to make us dinner every night. You can make it bigger as she get older, so she will be able to use it for a long time.
I know the less noise the better, but my little gilrs first b-day I got her a xylophone and drums. She absolutly loves it and I love to play it with her. We bang away every afternoon when we get home. Also my sister got her the board with letters on it so she can learn it and it has done wonders. I H. this helps some.
My daughter got an umberella baby doll stroller for her first birthday. She also got a baby doll. Since she had just started walking good she loved being able to hold on to it and push it around. They aren't very expensive and she still plays with it today and she is four and a half.
We bought our little girl that just turned one a winnie the pooh activity train for her first birthday and she loves it. She can push it around and sit on it and play songs (she loves to dance!). She also likes this activity plush dog from fisher price that plays songs and teaches colors and parts of the body. We are also having difficulty in deciding what to get her for Christmas since she just turned one this month. We are thinking of getting her an activity table, not really anything that is just for girls since she's too young to care. Hope this helps and congrats on your little one's B-day.
Books, books, and more books. From the time my daughter was small, her favorite toys were books. When she was 1 1/2, we moved. She sat on the floor playing with my mom as I put her toys into boxes and carried them to the truck. When I started putting her books into boxes, she screamed, "Mommy, NO!" I told her the books were going to our new house and would be on her shelf when we got there, and she calmed down.
(This was actually copied from another response I gave to someone asking about Christmas presents for her almost 1 yr old.)
I like to look at the Toys R Us Web site and "Shop By Age". I would look at 12 - 24 Months since she will be 12 months soon!
My daughter was 10 months old last Christmas. Here are some things she got last Christmas (Ok this is all from Santa, both sets of grandparents, and aunts/uncles! LOL yes, she's a bit spoiled...):
Bounce & Spin Zebra (still loves it)
Go and Grow Rider (ride on toy kinda like a tricycle but no pedals, they push their feet on the floor; still loves this one)
One of those plastic outdoor swings for 9-36 months age
Hokey Pokey Elmo (LOVES Elmo now haha)
Wooden activity cube that has things on different sides
Ring Stacker (she actually got 2, one was stars instead of rings and had start to sit on top, it makes a noise when you put on/off a ring and plays one of a few songs when you put the star on top; LOVES this one b/c of the music)
Glow Worm that plays music (again, still LOVES this one)
Wooden letter blocks
And of course clothes, clothes, and more clothes! haha
They are too young to know what's going on, so a few toys should be fine. Don't feel bad for getting her clothes or other things she NEEDS rather than just toys.
Also, instead of candy in her stocking, we put some finger foods in it. Most were Gerber things such as different flavored puffs and those fruit strips.
Our daughter just turned 1 and we bought her the LeapFrog Laugh 'n' Learn activity table - she plays with it every day and it is not obnoxious at all. It also has a really neat place where you can put snacks for them to 'discover' which really works well when trying to get ready for work in the morning! She also got a giraffe that you feed balls into the mouth which she likes but gets tired of quicker. We resorted to spacing out giving her some of her gifts so that they were new to her over a longer period of time. It's worked well - she wasn't overwhelmed by too many toys at one time that way.
My 2nd daughter's birthday is December 16th. Since she has all of her older sister's toys, my family gives a lot of dated gifts (Arthur Court, Swarovski and Make a Wish ornaments), monogrammed bags and books. We have toys running out of our ears (and so do the other kids in our extended family), so we also contribute to college funds or give savings bonds. My older daughter does get to go pick out one toy for each of the children in our family. The kids never know that we only give them one toy; however, my 6 year old is really enjoying putting "her" ornaments on the tree this year. This is something she will continue to love each year.
My daughter just had her 1st birthday on November 13, and she really loves her purse, her toy electric guitar, her baby piano, and her animal train that sings and drives forward.
My 1 year old just got a bouncy zebra that makes noise- I think its fisher price. (she's walking and its the perfect height for her to climb on.) She adores it.
Funny thing is that my three year old is just starting to play with the toys from her 1st birthday- shes never been into dolls or pretend or blocks or anything! She loves arts and crafts- give her paint or playdo and she's good.
My one year old just hugs and loves on her dolls and stuffed animals- so I guess its just in the personalities!
Hello, H.!
I have a daughter who is 3 and a son who is 16 mo. One thing they both really enjoyed (and still do!) from the age of one on is a tea set. They enjoy pretending to have a party and eventually ask thier dolls, teddy bears, and other "buddies" to partake!
Another idea is a baby doll with the typical baby "stuff" (ex, bottle, diapers, stroller, blanket, etc). That's another fun pretned play idea that she can do by herself or with you!
Have fun!
-G.
For her first birthday, we got our little girl clothes & toys. We got a walking-type toy to help teach her how to walk (she just started walking a few weeks ago at 17 months). Blocks, balls, shape sorters, books, a xylaphone, and toys where you push buttons to make noise (she loves her Leap Frog stand up music table).
the bounce and spin zebra is a GREAT toy... we got dd one for her birthday because at the sitters she would play with it everyday and loved it. now at 20 mths she still plays with it and it's good to get her to burn some energy. She plays with it at least an hr each day and has since we bought it, it really has been the best toy we could have gotten her. my mom and dad got a ball pop thing from walmart, where balls blow up from it and she LOVED it, it broke in our move back home but she would play with it off and on everyday. for dd's first (which was in march) we didn't get any toys except for those since we knew we'd be moving shortly after.
I have a 2 yr old niece and for her 1st birhtday I purchased little things that help with motor skills. Simple Shapes and colors all plastic you can purchase in the 1 yr old section. Her parents purchased learning material she has no interest in until now that she is 2 yrs of age. She is definitely enjoying.
