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In honor of Clare turning one this week, I went on a quest to find the top recommended gifts for one-year-olds. I started with my two go-to moms (my sister and sister-in-law…we have 12 children combined), and continued my search by polling hundreds of moms on a recent Instagram story.
Here were the top picks, some of which I had never thought of and LOVE!
What should I look for in a one-year-toy?
For starters, let’s talk about what you should be looking for in a toy for your one-year-old! Ideally, you want toys that encourage:
-Coordination and boost gross motor development (stacking, balancing)
-Mobility and walking (walkers, trikes, pull toys)
-Sharing and parallel play (toys with more than one piece)
-Musicality (xylophones, maracas, etc.)
-Real-life skills (eating utensils, play kitchens, baby dolls)
Toys
Fat Brain Toys Dimpl They also make a smaller keychain version here, which I HIGHLY recommend. This gets my babies through church and crabby car rides.
Hape Scoot Around Ride On Wood Bike | Award Winning Four Wheeled Wooden Push Balance Bike Toy for Toddlers with Rubberized Wheels, Bright Green“>Hape Wooden Tricycle 1 year olds want and need to move! If they aren’t fully stable on their feet, they can still cruise on their trike or flip it around as a push toy while walking!
Klickity Baby Toy The textures and sounds of this toy are captivating for a little one’s senses. Hape Pound & Tap Bench with Slide Out Xylophone What kid doesn’t love pounding the heck out of something AND making music?!
Hape Elephant Wooden Push and Pull Toddler Toy The joy that comes with little ones getting to walk their own toy around encourages constant movement and the realization of cause and effect in their developing minds.
VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker Ok I am WAY more partial to wooden toys without noise, however, this walker is one exception. All 4 of my babies have used it to learn how to walk and they all LOVE it. There are several good wooden ones out there, but I haven’t found any as stable as this one for wobbly walkers and this one’s wheels has two modes, a slower (more resistant) one and a faster one so your babe won’t need as much assistance!
Hape Wooden Plane Perfect for little hands and HIGH quality to last through multiple children.
Shape Cube Sorter Geometric Stacker Shape sense can never start too early! I LOVE that these shapes are attached so none go missing…which would never happen, right?! 😉
Wooden Rainbow Stacker This is great for balancing, stacking, learning smallest to biggest concepts, and it’s a visually appealing piece of decor for the play room-bonus!
Push Tricycle We do not own one of these, but it was a top recommendation from the moms I polled.
Wooden Touch & Feel Puzzle Hello multi-sensory learning!
Manhattan Toy Tree Top Adventure Activity Center This not only encourages fine motor skills for little hands, but also encourages standing!
O Ball Tubmarine Bath Toy Easy for little hands to grab under water in the tub.
Eating Tools
If you are looking to go with a more practical, non-toy gift, here are our eating recommendations.
GRABEASE Silverware has been a personal favorite for tiny hands to grab and a flat dividing edge to prevent said baby from sticking the whole utensil down her throat.
OXO Tot Fork and Spoon Set, OXO Tot Big Kids Plate, and OXO Tot Big Kids Bowl are our favorite transition as the kids get closer to 2 years old!
NUK Sippy It’s also time to ditch the bottles and use sippy cups! This is all personal opinion and I know there are a million out there, but this is our tried and true recommendation.
Multi-Age Toys
If you are looking for toys your one-year-old AND the rest of the siblings will love, here are the top picks:
Slide This slide has been used in our backyard (or inside in the winter) for 7 years now. Even the big kids do not so safe yet exciting tricks off the slide now;) We also love this little kid trampoline in our backyard. Our babies get zipped in and happily bounce around and they grow into it for years to come.
Building Blocks Similar to the magnatiles, I LOVE the creativity these foster!
Reading Chair We received this as a one-year-old gift in the past and it is used daily by any given reader in our home. Cute room decor as well!
Green Toys The highest quality, recycled plastic toys. We own several of them and they are toys that LAST!
Corolle Baby Doll Babies encourage life skill, real play. Kids want to try out the same jobs they watch mom do!
Wooden Personalized Name Puzzle One of my favorites to encourage letter recognition and, later on, name spelling!
Climb and Crawl Activity Play Set The number of crazy tricks that has happened on our play mats have made this purchase feel like an investment 😉
Naturally Playful Sand and Water Table
Experience Gifts
The top two recommendations for experience gifts for one year olds were swim lessons and zoo memberships, both of which I TOTALLY approve.
What top gift recommendations did we miss? Let us know in the comments below!