Gifts for a 1-year-old: what actually got used in our house

Around his first birthday our son wanted three things: to walk, to press buttons himself and to copy everything we did. A gift that fits one of those gets used. The rest sinks to the bottom of the toy box within days, however nice the wrapping was.

These are the five gifts that lasted longest here. With what disappointed, what you can safely buy second-hand and what I would add to the list today.

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2. A baby walker, ugly but unbeatable

Honestly: the Vtech walker is not the prettiest toy. Bright colors, sound effects, music. Quite a lot.

But he walked with it so much. It is one of the sturdiest walkers we have seen and he got months of fun out of it. Sometimes practical simply beats pretty.

This one also shows up second-hand a lot, because children outgrow it quickly. New, it is here: Vtech 2-in-1 Baby Walker

Good if: your child is almost standing and pulls up on everything in reach.

3. First shoes, box included

Our son got his first shoes from his grandparents. We went to the shop together to pick them out, which turned it into an outing in itself.

Shoesme was recommended to us often and that is what we went with, though we are also fans of the New Balance baby shoes. Have the feet measured in the shop; a one-year-old will not tell you something pinches.

We kept the shoebox, with a note on it saying these were his first shoes and that he got them for his first birthday. That box is worth more to us now than the shoes.

Good if: grandparents want to give something that lasts, and want to make an afternoon of it.

4. Busy board and learning tower

With a dad who is an engineer, the busy board was a given. Within a day he had worked out how to switch a light on and off. After a week it was three. It is always fun to watch how fast they pick that up, and it is good for fine motor skills.

We have the Joyreal version (Montessori busy board): Joyreal Montessori busy board

A learning tower was another winner here. Since he turned one he “helps” in the kitchen: at first just watching and snacking on bits of fruit, these days doing more and more himself. We bought ours at Action (online). Do expect slower cooking and more flour on the floor.

Good if: your child walks into the kitchen and wants to touch everything.

5. A personalized book

Around this age a child develops real preferences: a favourite stuffed animal, cars, animals, something with music. And he looks less like a baby and more like a little person every week. That is when a book in which he plays the lead starts to work, because he recognizes himself in it.

We made one for his first birthday at BoekjesAtelier. You upload a photo, the illustrations are AI-generated from it, and the stuffed animal or the cars can come back in the story. You see the whole book before you pay. It is a 24-page hardcover, from €34.95.

Do not expect a ten-minute bedtime story at this age. A one-year-old flips, points and skips half the pages. That is fine: recognizing comes first, the story a year later. Not sure whether a book suits the age? Read The best birthday gift for a child: a personalized book.

Good if: you want a gift from the two of you together, or grandparents want to give something that gets picked up again later.

What I would add today

We did not give these three ourselves, but I would put them on the list now.

Stacking cups. Cheap, and as much fun in the bath as on the floor. A set of ten is plenty, and they fit in the nappy bag.

A balance bike with his name on it, for the older one-year-old. Personal, and something a child rides until well past the second birthday.

An outing instead of a thing: a season pass for the petting zoo or the pool, from the parents together. After a first birthday the house is full; time together is the gift that still fits.

Boy or girl: does it matter?

No. At this age girls race a walker just as hard and boys stack cups just as happily. Everything above works for both. Choose by what your child does now, not by the color of the packaging.

If the house is already full of toys, give something that lasts or something you do together. The shoebox and the holiday cars have become worth more here than most of the bigger gifts.

Is the first Mother’s Day in that same year? What we gave then is in The First Mother's Day Gift She Will Actually Keep.