Our Favorite Toys for One Year Olds | A Gift Guide
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We love birthdays in our house! Especially 1st birthdays. I don’t know about you, but I always try my best to put a lot of thought into birthday gifts – whether they are for my own children or someone else. My ultimate hope when purchasing a gift, is that the person receiving the gift will be able to enjoy it for many years. This is especially true when it comes to purchasing toys for little ones. I consistently aim to purchase a toy that the child can “grow into” and will hopefully continue to play with as they grow and develop.
My oldest is getting ready to turn 4 next week (what?!); however, I remember his 1st birthday like it was yesterday. Some of our most favorite and well-loved toys were gifted to us at Noah’s 1st birthday party. And since London just turned 1 this past March, these toys still continue to get lots of use in our house. With the exception of the Princess Cozy Coupe (a gift from Santa when London was 9 months old), we’ve been enjoying all of the toys pictured above for the past 3 years.
- Fisher-Price Little People Fun Sounds Farm – Still a huge favorite in our house, I have loved having this toy to help teach my kids their animal sounds.
- Fisher-Price Little People Little Movers School Bus – We love Little People toys in our house, and this one is no exception. This little bus was one of Noah’s very first “toys with wheels” and it was an instant hit!
- Little Tikes Princess Cozy Coupe – You can never go wrong with a Cozy Coupe! This is such a classic toy that will be sure to get years of use! Since having a girl, I naturally couldn’t resist picking the princess pink one for her!
- Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Cube – A great learning toy for young toddlers. We use our shape sorter to practice our shapes and colors. It’s also great for developing fine motor skills.
- Alex Jr. My Busy Town Activity Center – There’s a reason these little cube activity centers are in every doctor’s office waiting room – they are great learning toys for development and can keep your toddler occupied for a decent amount of time!
- Melissa & Doug Farm Wooden Chunky Puzzle – I LOVE Melissa & Doug puzzles! I think we own at least 5 of them. This farm animal puzzle in particular is a great 1st birthday gift, as it can also aid in teaching toddlers their animal sounds while developing hand-eye coordination.
- Step2 Little Helpers Shopping Cart – We don’t have this exact shopping cart, but we do have a similar one. Our toy shopping cart gets lots of use from London pushing her stuffed animals around in it. Noah also continues to use our shopping cart when he plays “grocery store cashier” with Daddy every evening.
- Likes Tikes Fish n Splash Water Table – What toddler doesn’t like splashing in water?! This is a fantastic toy to break out in the spring/summer when you’re looking for a boredom buster.
- Mega Bloks First Builders Big Building Bag – Another classic toy that will grow with your child. Both of my kids still use these blocks every single day!
In addition to these fun toys, books are always a fantastic gift idea. You really can’t go wrong with books! You can check out some of Noah & London’s favorite books in these recent posts: Our Favorite Bedtime Books & Our Favorite Back-to-School Books for Preschoolers.
What are some of your favorite toys for one year olds? Did your little ones have any favorite gifts?!
xo,
Sumer
40 Comments
gracie
so cute!! Love all your picks. Thanks for sharing! xx, gracie
snappedbygracie.com
Sumer
Thanks, Gracie!
Breharne
I love fisher price toys! They are such good quality and usually survive getting passed down to younger siblings or to friends and families little ones!
Sumer
I totally agree!! We love their toys!
Heather
Our daughter loves her water table, too. And cozy coupe!
Sumer
They are such great toys that last for years!
Mommy Little
This list is spot on! We have almost every single one of these haha. I can’t tell you how many hours of play our water table and cozy car have given us!
Great list!
Sumer
Us too, haha!! Thanks, Kayla!
Jenni Laplow
This is great! My daughter’s 1 year Birthday party is this weekend (eek!) so, this toy list is super helpful for me to share with family and friends asking what kind of toys they should get π
Sumer
Awesome, Jenni! Hope her party is fabulous! Happy Birthday to your sweet girl!
Kristen
These are all great toys!! Love your picks!
Sumer
Thanks, Kristen!
Amie
I have all of these things and love them on! GREAT list.. spot on π
Chanel
We owned nearly all of these items for my son when he was 1-2 years old. Now that we have a daughter, I need to revisit some of these! I love that pink cozy coupe π
Sumer
The pink cozy coupe is just too cute!
McKinzie @ Moms Make Cents
My little guy loves his Mega Bloks, but we don’t have any of the other ones! Looks like I have some shopping to do π P.S. Your website is absolutely gorgeous!
Sumer
Thanks so much, McKinzie! I really appreciate your sweet comment!
Joanna
Yes! Our 1 YO twins have quite a few of these toys on the list and they love them (So do their older sisters;)).
Sumer
Awesome, glad to hear it!
Amanda
Seriously could not have come at a better time!! I have been stressing about what to get Becca for her birthday in a couple months! She is outgrowing all of her baby toys and we don’t have anything else for her! Thank you so much for these recommendations!! Can’t wait to go shopping π
Sumer
Yay Amanda! Have fun shopping!! Toddler toys are so much fun!
Suzanne Hines
I usually don’t agree with these lists because my husband and I prefer super simple toys that are affordable…however, I love your list and my (now two year old) has many of these toys! I’ll be sharing this!
Sumer
Thanks so much, Suzanne! I appreciate it!
Jennifer Hamra
My toddlers love the Little Tikes car, Mega Bloks, and Little People School Bus. The water table looks really cool! I haven’t seen one with fish toys. My tots would love this for sure. Sharing your post!
Sumer
Thanks so much, Jennifer! I appreciate it!
Diedre
My daughters are 2 & 5 and we’ve had several items on the list. I love them all! Little people are probably my personal favorite because they are so durable and don’t come with many small pieces.
Sumer
We love Little People toys, too! I totally agree about the durability and lack of small pieces…both are great features!
Melissa
Great picks! Perfect for this year full of first birthdays I have going on. I have a lot of those on my first birthday list too π
Sumer
Awesome! So many 1st birthdays this year for us, too!
Maggie
This list is spot on! I think between us and my parents we have everything on here!
Sumer
That’s awesome! Gotta love grandparents π
Danielle
With my babes birthday coming up this post came at just the right time! I already have a lot of this stuff from my first, but there are a few new toys on this list. Thanks so much!
Sumer
So glad! Hope you’ve found some gift ideas!
Angela
Jack loved his mega blocks and water table! I need to get that pink car for Ava. It’s the cutest!
Sumer
We LOVE our pink Cozy Coupe!
Riley
Great ideas! I’m needing to get my 1 year old some new toys!
Sumer
Awesome! Hope this list was helpful to you!
Leslie
Love the list! As a mom of four, we have a lot of birthdays in our house!
Nadia
These are such handy tips and ideas, lovely! Our family friends’ daughter has just turned one! This is super handy π
xox Nadia
http://www.mielandmint.com
Anna
My daughter just turned one and she got some of these toys for her birthday. She loves the water table!