In just a couple of weeks Tayo turns one. A whole year of looking at his beautiful smile… I can hardly believe it. Inevitably people have started to ask me what they can get him for his birthday… A machine to slow down time maybe?! But alas, time will continue to tick on so I have compiled this list of gifts for one year olds that you might find helpful.

On The Move

I always remember when Leo started to learn how to push things; cars, trains, dogs on wheels and these two items are adorable. The circus train is so fun and bright; the magnets the little giraffe. What’s not to love? And then there is the train track tape toy. For me this toy is genius. It is such a clever idea… take it to Grandma’s, take it on holiday, take it to the pub with you, make a track on the table and let your little one play away. You might even get ten minutes to have a conversation.

And how about these magnetic chalk boards?! I think they are perfect for encouraging your little one to mark make and build your own little town together – another brilliant piece of kit to pack in your bag too.

If you love all these little wooden bits and pieces you’re destined to love the bubble blower too. Don’t the handles look perfect for little hands?

Wooden

In pastel or bright shades, wooden toys rock! They’re so hard wearing and often stay in families for generations.

How cute is this Build A Zoo. Your babes can match the animals to the colours and build several different shapes of zoo. With 16 pieces and 5 animals it feels like exactly the right number of ‘bits’ to not overwhelm your little too.

I really like this wooden circle puzzle as an alternative to a shape sorter. I love the toggles, they’re such a nice change to what you normally see on these sorts of shape puzzles.

These little wooden cars are adorable and come in so many different colours. They are the pull back and let them fly variety so extra fun. If you wanted you could even look at getting a car track rug to go with them.

And then there’s blocks. A staple to any kids toy collection. There are a million of these to choose from out on the market but I particularly like these pastel coloured ones… There is also a version in greys and yellows. AND they come with a handy drawstring bag so you can easily pack them away. We have blocks that come in a big cylindrical tub and it just doesn’t fit anywhere so the idea of the bag is great.

Have you ever got lost in the kids section at IKEA?! Honestly, they have so many brilliant things from clever storage that your kids actually want to tidy their stuff away in to brilliant kitchens and plush food toys and teddys. They also have this excellent stacking toy. I love the colour of the rings; super vibrant and fun. I’m a big fan of bead rollers too. Tayo has one with suckers on that I stick to his high chair and he bashes whilst I prepare his food. He is at the point now where he is starting to pay more attention to each bead so this is the perfect gift for a one year old and you can just chuck this one in your basket next time you go to buy one rug (and 15 candles, two plants, four cushions, a toothbrush holder and a new book case that you didn’t even know you needed).

Books

Books are always such a great gift and I think when our babies turn one they really start to get interested in the pages, turning them, smacking them, interacting in any way they can with the images and textures. Some of my favourite books are the Usborne ‘That’s Not My‘ range. There are so many to choose form these days that there is guaranteed to be something for every little boy and girl.

Another favourite that I think your littles will enjoy interacting with is Dear Zoo. If you’re not already familiar with the story, a child writes to the zoo for a pet but the zoo keeps sending the wrong one so your child gets to lift flaps and interact with the book to see what the zoo has sent each time. It is so lovely. And if it turns out that they love it, you can also get the buggy book version!

I’m a big fan of the illustrations in the Wee Gallery books. Tayo has the soft baby book ‘In The Wild‘ and he loves to sit and stare at it… And then throw it around. This Pitter Patter Penguin version of the soft baby book is adorable and I love the look of this hardback press and listen book that I’ve recently discovered… It is definitely going on his gift list.

Outside and Active

We have a little Mickey Mouse ‘car’ from when Leo was little and it turns out that Tayo reckons he can handle it. He really enjoys sitting on it and rocking it backwards and forwards so rockers and maybe even some more outdoorsy type toys could be a good shout for first birthday presents.

One thing we never had for Leo was a push along trolly/cart. His little friends had them and loved them but I always forgot about them. One thing I know is little kids love to put things in trolleys, push them about and then take everything out and this lovely walker from JoJo Maman Bebe looks ideal. You can get it with the cute pastel blocks or the bright ones too.

And I have also discovered this wooden activity workbench. How. Adorable. How clever that it doubles up as a walker and an activity bench and if tools aren’t your thing there is also a kitchen version. The shape sorter on the side is fruit shapes… Too. Much.

I was strolling through John Lewis last weekend and stumbled across this Mini Micro 3 in 1 scooter. Apparently it will take your babe from age 1 to 5! Tayo is forever watching Leo on his scooter and his bike so I think he’ll be following in his footsteps in no time. The little seat attachment that makes it a push along for one year olds is perfect. Pricey maybe but if it lasts five years then I reckon it’s worth it.

And then I saw this bad boy. It looks like some sort of Scuttlebug-come-bounce-yourself-along-horse-riding-thing. It’s actually called a Walking Buddy which essentially is designed to help teach your littles to stand and then walk… Effectively a push along that they can also ride when they feel ready to.

What about a rocker? There are lots of plastic rockers about but I love these two; one more classic in this beautiful rocking horse and one well… Hilarious. The perfect rocking moose from IKEA.

I’ve been considering some sort of outdoor play centre type thing for a while now. Mainly for Leo but what I’m coming up against is finding one that suits both of their age ranges. They’re all either too small for Leo or two big for Tayo… What a pickle. But if you just have the one or two that are really close in age I think this outdoor activity centre looks really good fun. And what do I think is a must have for all toddlers for outdoor play? Yep… A lawn mower. You will be aawww-ing your head off watching them thinking they’re cutting the grass.

The Rest

I couldn’t finish the post without quickly sharing some ace bath and music toys. I know it’s been a long one and you’ve done well to stick with me! Just four more to go I promise… Then you can go and spend all the money.

We have the Plui raincloud. It was bought for Leo as a gift when he turned one and we have used it in every bath since. That’s a LOT of baths and even now at four he thinks it’s ace. when you immerse it in the water it fills up, little bubbles coming out of the top and then you lift it out and ta-dah! Rain. If you cover the little fill hole with your finger you can make it stop and start. It’s pure bath time joy watching them reaching for the rain and trickling i over there arms and faces.

This book is also a definite on Tayos gift list. There are several versions but I think the Ocean one looks great. You put the colourless book into the bath water and when it comes in contact all the colours start to appear. How magical.

And what about music. Who doesn’t love a big massive drum!? Maybe not Mama’s, but babies? Yes! This little drum has great reviews everywhere from making a decent noise to providing hours of chewing fun as babies seem to enjoy using he sticks as teethers. A lot of the more maybe aesthetically pleasing drums seem to come with a manufacturing recommendation from three years old but you know, maybe supervised this one would be lush.

And last but not least I love the look of this little music activity table. And where is it from I hear you ask… Asda. Yep… grab it with your next milk and bread dash.

And there you have it. My round up of perfect gifts for one year olds. I hope you’ve found it helpful and as always, any amazing finds you have please share with us all. Oh… and maybe these stacking blocks with height chart?! Lush.

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