Looking for the best gifts for one-year-olds? You’ve come to the right place. Celebrating a baby’s first birthday is a major milestone (for both baby and parent). The parents have officially nailed 365 and a quarter days of nappy changes and sleepless nights – and their little one is growing into a proper little person with buckets of personality.
OK, enough with the soppy stuff and on to the practical: what on earth do you buy a one-year-old to mark such a momentous occasion?
We’ve already covered the best newborn gifts, as well as the best gifts for baby girls and boys. But turning one marks a major developmental milestone, so you’ll want to buy them something practical, fun and, let’s be honest, aesthetically pleasing – but it also has to aid their physical and cognitive development.
Thankfully, there’s plethora of toys made specifically to help one-year-olds reach age-appropriate developmental milestones (those that promote problem-solving, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and more) and we’ve tested hundreds to bring you a concise list of the very best.
The best gifts for one-year-olds at a glance:
- Best Overall Gift for One-Year-Old: Tidlo Wooden Country Play Kitchen, £150, Amazon
- Best Doll Gift for One-Year-Old: Manhattan Toy Harper Playdate Friends, £15.44, Amazon
- Best Book to Gift a One-Year-Old: A Is for Awesome!: 23 Iconic Women Who Changed the World, £8, Waterstones
- Best Gift For A One-Year-Old That Will Last For Years: tonies Toniebox Starter Set, Red, £80, John Lewis
- Best Developmental Toy for One-Year-Old: Baby Einstein Clever Composer Table, £79.99, Amazon
Don’t know where to begin? Sensory toys, puzzles, musical instruments, play tables, and walkers are all winners, but the truth is, the type of toy you pick is less important than how you and your children play with it. Decades of research suggests that the most important thing parents can do is interact with their little ones by talking, reading, singing, and getting down on their level to play.
A 2019 clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics echoes this, noting: “The most educational toy is one that fosters interactions between caregivers and children in supportive, unconditional play.” The authors recommend choosing “toys that will grow with the child, foster interactions with caregivers, encourage exploration and problem-solving, and spark the child’s imagination.”
And while you really can’t go wrong with something eye-catching for your little one, we all know you’re also very much gifting the parents who are coping with early-stage toddlerhood so you want to plump for something they’ll enjoy using with their toddler that’s ideally in a colour hue that won’t turn their house into a migraine-inducing rainbow rave.