My Baby Girl Is Turning ONE!!! Please Help!

A little wooden rocking chair is something that they will grow into and give to their little one. You can personalize it by painting/decorating and she can have it forever!!

How about classes such as Kindermusik or Little Gym? For my son's 1st b-day I enrolled him at The Little Gym. His birthday is also close to Christmas so in lieu of more toys, I spent some money decorating his bathroom with a cute rubber duckie theme for him.

Start a savings account or college fund At one your daughter won't know if you gave her a toy. Another thought try a zoo membership. I have 3 granddaughters and our favorite Sunday outing is to the zoo.

A family membership to the ZOO!

Something special and unique...why not a semester of Kindermusik classes! The classes are a great time for you and your duaghter to bond and just have time for the two of you without interruptions. Plus she will grow and learn so much in class! I'd love to talk to you more about the classes and our Demo Days we are having this week. Call or e-mail me ###-###-#### ____@____.com

K.

A friend of mine did the neatest thing for her son's one year old birthday party. She did a time capsule. She merely asked that all guests brought something that represented the year... ie: a favorite current CD, an article of clothing, a newspaper or magazine, anything that may be fun to open out of a time capsule when the kiddo is in their adult years.
Good luck.

What if you just opened up an ERA (Education mutual funds account that grows TAX FREE!!!) or other mutual fund account on her behalf.

Explain to everyone that you want to give a gift that will be lasting and benefit her education and that any cash given to her, instead of gifts, will be going into an ERA for her future security.

Investing NOW will mean huge dividends later in her life.

A. <><

When my daughter's turned one my husband went to Things Remembered and bought each of them a silver jewelry box that he had engraved.

I also bought them each collectible Barbies, that they will never open!! but one day might be worth something!

check out www.lillianvernon.com and click on the kids section

they have lots of personalized items that are keeksakes

K.

I have just made a friends son turning one on the 25th as well and my son turning one on the 31st ABC Board Books. You add photos to each page of a digital book. I did photos for each letter of the alphabet. Sounds hard, but it is NOT. Example - M is for Mommy with a picture of me and my son. D is for Daddy. G is for Grandparents. For X, I scanned a photo of his sono and put that in the book. It is soooooo neat. I can read it to him, and it will forever be a keepsake. If you want to know how to do this - please email me at ____@____.com.

My little girl just turned one and you're right, they're going to get more toys you won't know what to do with!

My suggestion is to open up a savings account and contribute what you would spend for her. She's not going to know any different.

At one she doesn't comprehend the significance of special days. Christmas, birthday, Monday, it's all just days of wonder at whatever is in front of her. So whatever it is you give her doesn't need to have significance, just be a good thing for a one year old. At 3 she'll get what her birthday is and maybe start to get the idea of some things being more significant than others, depending on how important "special" is in your ongoing vocabulary.

Enjoy this very significant day J..

At 1 year old, anything you give her is going to see WONDERFUL to her. :) Take LOTS of pictures of her eating her first birthday cake, and get her a precious baby doll that she can sleep with (cuddly and soft) and keep FOREVER. Congratulations!

Have you ever done a TIME CAPSULE? You could put a pacifier, favorite toy, favorite blanket, a write up about the headline news the day of her birthday, the weather the day of her birthday, a picture, her height & weight... to name a few ideas. You could also google time capsule ideas, if you want to get more creative adeas. Put a date on it for when she is allowed to look inside.

This is not to be mean but for Pete sakes she is only 1 . She will not remember the day or what she got . I recommend you buy a savings bond and a little toy she can play with now. She will have a little cash once the bond matures and a toy for now . You can spoil her with hugs & kisses now later she will want biggggg toys. Just love her while you can.

We started a tradition for our son years ago. One his first birthday we took him to Toys R Us and he choose his own toy. That first year he choose a firetruck with lights and siren. We still have it and each year he can't wait for the excursion to pick his gift.

B..etsy.com
http://dbadart.blogspot.com/

Hey, i am a grandma, have 3 beautiful granddaughters, i can't remember if i gave them this for their 1st birthday or Christmas, but i was reminded the other day how special this gift was, so much that my oldest granddaughter got her 9 mo old son one for his first Christmas, a precious moments Bible with their name inscribed on the cover in gold... something to think about...

What about a charm bracelet from James Avery? My brother and his wife got one from my now 3 yr old daughter for her baptisim and she loves it. My brother's family and I add charms to it for special moments in her life (birthdays, christmas, first trips, first day of preschool) and she loves it and LOVES to show off all of her new charms when she gets them.

Having a fun little party would be GREAT for her! It's so much fun to get them their own little cake and let them "dig" in. Mine loved the big mess! At one, they're happy with the cake and balloons more than anything. The funny thing is that they love playing with the wrapping paper more than the gifts.

It might be neat to find fun, little games and activities with her. Just giving her that one-on-one will mean more than a million presents. Someone else wrote that they don't know the difference about it being their birthday and that's so TRUE!! It's for the adults more than it is the child. By spending fun time together is all that they would ask for.

Also, keep in mind that this stage of not expecting things will only last for a very short time. Enjoy it while it lasts!!!! :) Have fun!

I think at 1 it is more for the adults for the baby. Let her have a cake, play in it, have family over sing a big song, and take lots of pictures...I think she would love it.

Something my mom did for me that I still adore is a charm bracelet. She got a really nice silver one and my first charm was a "1"; as I grew I got one charm every year or so that symbolized something big that I was into or experienced (soccer, an elephant for a trip to Kenya, guitar when I took lessons, a spoon to remind me to "stir up my gifts", etc). I love it, and it is simple but special enough to keep around through all my phases.

What about a membership to the zoo or something?

My son got a pass to jump for joy - his favorite place - for his second birthday this past January 5th.

S.

My kids love their ball pit!

In my case, since one is the age when kids can safely use blankets or baby dolls in bed, my soon-to-be-one-year-old's gift from me (her birthday is Feb 6 so I'm in the same boat as you :) ) is a special cuddly bunny that has been personalized with her name and birthdate. The other reason this doll is special is that my older daughter has SEVERAL personalized dolls of her own that she has received from grandparents as gifts, but no such gift has been given to my younger daughter yet. So far, all the toys my younger daughter has received for gifts have basically been shared with the older one by the sheer fact that all of the girls' toys are kept in common places in the house. Therefore, this doll will be something special she can snuggle with in bed as well as being something that is truly HERS (that she doesn't have to share with her sister).
When a friend of mine asked for suggestions on gifts for my little one, I suggested a nice blanket for her bed, since I won't be continuing the Sleep Sacks after her first birthday.
On a totally side note, I have also seen the new Tadoodles line that Crayola has come out with. These are round, chunky-sized paint brushes and markers designed specifically for older babies/young toddlers hands. It doesn't take up too much room and looks cute.

I heard the bounce and spin zebra is really popular!

What about one of those Princess ride ons. That's what
we got my almost 3 yr old when he was one & he's riding
on it as we speak.(in the house of course). Or the Pinkie
little pony horse. I have some dolls that my MIL crocheted
the dresses that are precious, I gave one to my niece for Christmas & she loved.

Hi,
We got our daughter a nice toy box for her 1st bday. Not sure how we made it that long with out one! :) A piece of jewelry or something might be nice as well. Good Luck

So Big Crayons... and paper...
Other than that... just cake...
Hugs,
E.

At one, she won't remember the presents she got. Just be sure you make it a special moment. Buy some balloons. Get her a small cake just for herself and let her dig in. She will love it. Take lots of photos and then put them into a small scrapbook. The book will be a gift she will always cherish.

How exciting? The first year goes by so fast and only seems to speed up. Maybe get a little keepsake engraved or get something monogramed like a blanket, towel, or bag. Have fun and enjoy your day.

My parents started a James Avery Charm bracelet for my little girl for her 1st b-day and the charm she put on it was the number "1". We now have 3 charms, but it is something that grows with her and will last a lifetime.

Good Luck!

K.

My sons birthday is close to Christmas as well. For his birthday we got him his own chair to keep in the living room with his name monogrammed. I got it a Pottery Barn Kids. The anywhere chair. He loves it and will have it for years to come.

I, persoannly, like the v-tech educational toys. Have you thought of making her a scrapbook of her first year or a memory quilt?

We do the birthday train by Precious Moments. My daughter loves it, but we do have to keep it up on a shelf in her room out of her reach since it's breakable. It's a keepsake, so it's not really a toy. My daughter's birthday is 3 days after Christmas, so I know how tough it can be to split everything up. Puzzles and books are great any time of year, so if you're fed up with toys, those are good learning vehicles.

Best of luck to you!

my son is a jan 25th baby too and for his 1st birthday, we threw him a party which really consisted of OUR friends. We served chili and beer and suggested that everyone make a contribution to his college fund. Everyone had a great time and he had a great time with his birthday cake.

On his actualy birthDAY, I took off of work and spent the entire day with him. We went to a gymboree class and then went to Willowbend mall to play. He had a blast! It started the tradition of me and my husband always taking his birthDAY off of work to spend doing something special with him.

You could just give her lots of hugs and kisses. You don't have to "give" her anything. Gifts are tokens of the love that we feel. Obviously you love her and have showered with her with all the things she truly needs, so you shouldn't feel you have to come up with something in particular. If you want something special to commemorate the date, look for something that you can upgrade as the years go by. Maybe a signature pet animal...one that you can autograph with a pen or write something special on each year. Even these years where she is too little to know what it says. When she is older and can read what you wrote it will be fun. You can call it her birthday hound dog.

hoe sbout a special build a bear.

My youngest Kate got a plastic (i think fisher price...) piggy bank that has plastic money that she can put in and it sings and counts. SHE LOVES IT!!!! she is now 2 and a half and my sister is waiting for it so she can give it to her girl but she had to go buy one because Kate still won't give it up. I have never seen a toy that she likes so much. I got my 20 dollars out of that toy that is for sure.... good luck. I understand completly. http://www.fisher-price.com/fp.aspx?st=2341&amp;e=detail&...

It sounds kind of mean but we didn't really start getting our only child, a daughter, a gift from her father and I until she turned 5. She is also the only grandchild on my side of the family and on the other she has a bunch of cousins. So needless to say she gets plenty of stuff. Also until recently she would forget who gave her what about 2 minutes after she opened it. However I did buy a blank journal when she was an infant and every year on her birthday I write to her in it. That's the only day it's written in and I tell her all about all the cute things she has done over the year and all the milestones she has passed. I will then give it to her on her 18th or 21st birthday. That way we could save our money we would have spent on birthday gifts and use it for her wedding or collage. She has a savings account we set up for her at birth we put money into as well. Hope that helps.

I know others have already said it but a zoo membership is wonderful. My fifteen month old LOVES going to the zoo!

How about some jewelry with her birthstone in it.

When my daughter turned one, I got her a small diamond necklace that she can wear when she gets older. I got it at Sams. It's good quality, so it'll last...but it's not extravagant. I got a diamond necklace because that's her birthstone...lucky her! Of course, you're daughter's birthstone is garnet, like mine. And that's very pretty, too.

I think for a girl, some nice ear rings, a bracelet, or a necklace that is of good quality would be a nice heirloom...and something very special she'll always remember.

Good luck!

How about signing up for a class for you guys to do together? Gymboree Play class is so much fun and I've heard good things about the Little Gym.

I wrote all my boys a letter on their first birthday. If she has her own bank / savings account maybe you could put money it for her for later. At only 1 yr old, honestly, I wouldn't get anything.

Since everyone else buys toys and stuff fr my girls, we have experiences with them as their gift and then i scrapbook the pictures. even the events that they don't remember they still talk about because of the photos in the scrapbook. The zoo, children's museum, aquarium, ect are special trips that they really enjoy at any age.

I really like porcelain dolls an you can buy very nice ones at Cracker Barrel. For my 16th birthday I told my parents I wanted a doll from there and they bought a very large one for $40 and I cherish her.

Okay, here is what we did when our little ones turned one. We invited all our friends/family to Pizza Hut. This was in Abilene and the Pizza Huts there are a lot nicer than here. Anyway, Pizza Hut has games the kids can play, and all the adults got to eat, socialize, etc. I decorated with balloons and everyone brought presents. The little ones don't really know what is going on but it is fun for all ages. I let my kids open the gifts in front of everyone, we had the usual cake and icecream and it turned out great. Our total bill was around $200 because we had a buffet for everyone.

My 2 cents: at this age, they have no clue and won't know/care what you got them. the cake was BY FAR my son's favorite part of turning one.

I do like the idea of starting a charm bracelet or maybe an add-a-pearl necklace (do they still make those - I always loved that idea!?). It won't mean much to her now, but some day I think she would love the idea that you started a tradition like that with her very first birthday.

Oh, and for my son's birthday party, we had a guest book frame (like they use for weddings, but this one was just black frame, white matte, and I used Scrapbooking stickers to spell "Happy First Birthday, William!" and used confetti stickers in bright colors. I provided colored markers, and all the guests (who were family and close friends) signed love & wishes to him. We put a great pic of him in it, and hung it in his playroom. He'll always have a neat remembrance of his first birthday, and it looks adorable on the wall!

Start her a charm braclet adding charms as special occasions happen (birthdays, trips, milestone events etc.). You could get her one that would fit now but for my daughter I got an adult size that can be clasped at any point so that she can wear it at any age but for now she only gets to wear it for special occassions as I don't want her running around playing in it when the charms could possibly fall off (she's 4). But when she is a teenager then I won't have to worry about finding another braclet and transfering all the charms over to it.

Hello J.,

When they turn one it is hard. I would suggest a family party and ask everyone to get her diapers or clothes that she will need later on, unless she needs some now and a small toy. When my son turned one he didn't even understand all the presents and opend one and wanted to play. He was interested in playing with all the kids. Then the special gift from you is you could put a scrapbook together for her and continue it as she grows up.

A short story to explain why. When my daughter was about 9 or so she was gettin another life lesson and she asked me why there were so many and I told her that parents get a parent handbook with this checklist in it that they have to complete so when their children are grown they know they have taught them everything they needed to know. Well when she turned 18 I decided to make this book (I could e-mail the template as an example). I used a binder and had for each year a page with the checklist of what she should have learned that year and some items for me as a parent, the second page had stories about her for the year, and a page or two after with pictures; which if I did it again I would combine some pictures and stories on the same page, but on my defense I put this project together in 24 hours. She absolute loves it and I know she will have it the rest of her life. The best part if you start now you will remember all the stories and as she grows you will both have it to enjoy. Kids love to hear stories about when they were babies and about their parents.

Sorry this is so long. Let me know if you would like me to e-mail the example I have, it is pretty short because I planned so late. My e-mail is ____@____.com Luck,

L.

sorry I haven't read all of the posts, therefore someone could of posted this. SOme of the ones I did read, I have to agree at the age of 1 they do not rmember thier toys..
Make a cake, for her to dig into with her little hands, and have a field day with her own cake, now she may be like my 1st granddaughter and didn't want to dig in but once we helped her by putting her hand in the cake then she had fun doing it.

Start her a saving bond, or start her a savig account. by the time she is 18 or older she has some money to use on a car, college, or whatever and of course it depends on how much you get..
or start her a collection, such as a doll collection, somethign that would be more than just a doll, it could start out small, and then when she is older, she has a collection to add to.

another thing that you may want to do is go get a picture with her and you... or with just you.. if not that make sure you take pictures of her. Those pictures are memories not for just you but for her too. My oldest granddaughter loves to look thru her baby pictures. Then with those pictures start a photo album...

Toys right after christmas when she this age in my opinion is waste of money...especially if she has lots of things already.

Above all if you don't buy something DO NOT feel guilty for so many mons does. No need for that sweety.

Happy Birhthday to her too.

My 3rd daughter is turning 1 next month and we decided to get her a fun tire swing in the shape of a horse. Our house is full of toys and I have a rule - if it doesn't fit it can't come in without making room by donating other toys - so I was looking for something that she would enjoy but that could go out on the swing. I bought it at the Ridmaar Farmer's Market. She won't be able to swing by herself for a while but I bet she'll love it.

HI,

I bought my daughters thier first baby ring and got thier ears pierced on thier 1st birthday.

A little about me: Married 18 years and a mom 3 girls.