Gift Ideas for a 1 Year Old - Lake in the Hills,IL

Ok, as a teacher, it is hard for me to recommend this, but as a parent I just have to! The Leap Frog Letter Factory and other videos are absolutely fabulous at teaching kids the letters and sounds. My children both knew their letters and sounds by 2 years old because of it. If you want a good educational and fun DVD, get the whole collection! (Letter Factory, Word Factory, Code Word Caper, Math Factory...and more!)

My son's favorites from his 1st bday (he's currently 2.5 and still plays with these):
HABA wooden blocks in bright colors and all different shapes (from oompa.com)
radio flyer wagon (this is my favorite too -- great for trips to the zoo or the park)
toy phone ("Parents" brand from Target, but he loves all toy phones)

A neighborhood friend just had a baby and one of her friends gave her one of those carts that attach to the back of a bike -- it's like a jogging stroller -- I don't know what it's called. I think that is a great summertime gift idea if your friend is the biking type.

My son just received a water table for his 1st birthday. He loves it. He stands next to it playing w/ the water. It comes w/ some toys. He does not go in it, just stands next to it playing with it.

This may sound weird, but the gift I liked the most was a nice umbrella stroller ..... since all I had at the time was a full size.

A wagon is a great idea. They love the rides in it at age one and then they love to pull it on their own. They now have the ones that have seatbelts and cup holders so that it is safe for a little one to sit in. Everyone loves a good wagon.

Hi S.-

My little girl is 14 months and I just bought her the Little People's "My First Dollhouse" by Fisher Price. She is crazy about it and plays with it constantly. I bought it at Target for $32. You can buy additional rooms of furniture (it comes with 3 people and a few items for the house) through the Fisher Price website for $8/room of furniture. Beware though, Amazon and few of the online toy stores are charging upwards of $69 for the same thing and I have no idea why. The rooms of furniture through Amazon are $17.99/set. In any case, I highly recommend this as a gift. I've had a couple of friends visit and their girls have loved it as well ages 13 mos-3 yrs.

Good luck!
D.

I have a summer baby so I received lots of swim suits, towels and toys. One of the best gifts though was a winter jacket. I bought a snowsuit for playing in the snow and then I had this great jacket for trips to the store, friend's house, etc.

I also think this is a great newborn gift but the critter chairs from pottery barn are so adorable and so much fun for the little ones. They also have other types of miniature chairs.

I personally love to give (and parent's seem to enjoy) a growth chart. Red Envelope has wonderful ones and are personalized. BIt I am sure you can find them elsewhere. I also think a gift certificate to portrait studios are wonderful too as pictures seem to cost an arm and a leg. I also received a few gives by Parent's Magazine (ex. sell at Target) that my kids love... there is one that comes with four balls that you can pound in and it goes through this maze. They love it. Also, I think any type of book (board books) are great gifts too. Or blocks. :)

I always give books with a personal message inside cover. I get alot of positive feedback about it.

I am a single mom and for my first sons birthday my best friend gave us a coupon for a yearly portrait for the next five years. My son and I took our picture together and have been doing it every year for the last 3 years. It is neat to look back and see how my son has changed.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but one of my friend's gave our son a Step 2 Push Around Buggy. He is now 21 months old and still loves it. We continue to use it on a daily basis. They cost around $40 and are also a little bulky.

For around the same price, something else we received that we continue to give for first B-days is a personalized name puzzle. They have them for just first names for around $25 and both first and last for around $40. We usually purchase this at One Step Ahead.

This was a baby shower gift for my eldest daughter, but I think it's a really great and useful thing to give. A friend of our family opened a Mutual Fund account with an initial deposit for my daughter and we've been putting away money in it, in addition to her 529 college fund, for the past 3 years. My parents had set up mutual funds for my brothers and I when we were born and I was able to pay for all of college with them and still have a good amount left over. Or, to avoid the taxation issue, you could also look into a 529 plan.

My daughter got a little stool that could also be a little seat for her birthday from Nordstrom that had her name on it. It's so cute and she loves it. I don't think that they are that much either.