First Birthday Gift Ideas That Grow With the Child

A one-year-old will enjoy the wrapping paper more than the gift. The parents, though, will remember whether it was used. The best first-birthday gifts are the ones that fit the next 12 to 24 months, not the next 12 days.

Think 12 to 24 months

At one, children are pulling up, cruising along the sofa and starting to walk. By two they run, climb, stack, sort and talk. Buy for that window.

Gifts that get used every day

• Push ride-on car. Feet on the floor, a parent handle for now, music and a horn. The single most used first-birthday gift in our stores.
• Tricycle with a parent handle and canopy. A pushchair at one, a trike at two. See our tricycle guide.
• Stacking rings, shape sorters and nesting cups. Cheap, washable, and the toys paediatricians and teachers recommend most.
• Soft toys and a soft book. One large huggable toy becomes the bedtime friend for years.
• Bath toys. Cups, a floating boat, a squirting fish: the bath gets longer and calmer.
• Pretend play. A small kitchen set or a tool set from 18 months onwards.

Practical gifts the parents will thank you for

• Clothes in 18 to 24 months, not 12 to 18: they are about to grow.
• Ethnic wear for the birthday function itself, if you know the family's plans.
• A sipper cup, a feeding set or a toddler bath towel set.
• A keepsake: a frame, a name blanket, a memory box.

What to avoid

• Anything with small parts, magnets or button batteries.
• Balloons (a choking risk when they pop) and toys with long cords.
• Battery jeeps and bikes: wonderful at three, frustrating at one. Read ride-ons by age before a big-ticket gift.
• Very loud toys. If it hurts your ears, it hurts theirs.

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Questions parents ask us