First Birthday Gift Ideas

Are you thinking about first birthday gift ideas to give your baby a gift? A baby’s first birthday is a very big milestone for both the child and the parents. After all, they’ve graduated from infanthood and are now officially toddlers. So they deserve a perfect and memorable gift. But, unfortunately choosing the perfect first gift for a baby is easier said than done! But don’t worry, we’ve done the work for you. We’ve compiled a list of amazing first birthday gift ideas that’ll help you pick the right gift for your precious baby.

Giving gifts for kids is a great way to shape your child’s values of giving. Gift giving shows that you care for them and love them, which helps them understand kindness. Additionally, it is also a great way to show them to be empathetic, kind and also increases their well-being.  Here are a few first birthday gift ideas that might hopefully help you make up your mind!

20 Best First Birthday Gift Ideas

Here is a handpicked list of 20 wonderful first birthday gift ideas that are sure to delight your little munchkin.

  • Crayons: Crayons are one of the best first birthday gift ideas for babies. Little children are natural artists and absolutely love to draw on every surface. While finding them scribbling on your walls might drive you up the wall, it’s beneficial for them. As they grasp the crayons and doodle and draw, it helps strengthen their muscles. Along with their fine motor skills, crayons are an amazing tool to introduce babies to color recognition. It also boosts their creativity and imagination early on. Doodling and drawing are also great pre-writing skill that helps children develop better handwriting skills too. Give your babies alphabet coloring pages to help them recognize the letters while coloring.
  • Building Blocks: Building blocks are among the most popular gifts for kids. It is also one of the best first birthday gift ideas to give little kids. Building blocks and toys are great mediums of learning too. It teaches them about shapes, colors, and positions. It also is a perfect tool to build their fine and gross motor skills, improve their vision and focus too. Building blocks are also a great way to boost a child’s creativity and imagination too. 
  • Baby Puzzle Set: Still on the lookout for first birthday gift ideas to choose a gift for your baby? A baby puzzle set is a great 1st birthday gift. A puzzle set is a great way to help your toddler understand the world around them and pay attention to detail. It boosts their visual-spatial skills, fine motor skills and critical thinking skills. Additionally, it’s a great tool to help them identify colors, shapes, patterns and sizes. Try these puzzles for toddlers from Osmo.
  • Shape Sorter: A shape sorter is not only a fun toy, but it is educational too. One of the best 1st birthday gift ideas is a shape sorter toy that helps your little one learn to identify different shapes and colors. This sensory toy is a great way to boost your baby’s cognitive ability.Try these shape games for kids to help them learn more about shapes.
  • Mini Stroller or walker: A one year old is just learning how to walk, but they love to mimic the actions of the people around them. A mini stroller or walker is one of the best 1st birthday gifts to give your precious one. Kids can pile their favorite toys and take them for a walk just like mommy and daddy. It encourages pretend play and also helps them exercise and learn to walk.
  • Plush Toys: Plush toys are one of the best first birthday gift ideas that is sure to delight your little one. Gifting a plushie to your little one is like giving them a new best friend. Playing with plush toys is a great way to engage them in pretend play and project their own feelings onto them. You could even use those toys as characters in real-life scenarios to teach your kids. 
  • Crawl Tunnel: One of the best games that little babies love is peek-a-boo. So a crawl tunnel makes for an amazing 1st birthday gift for your munchkin. Not only will it give them big giggles and belly laughs, but it’ll also boost their spatial awareness.
  • Race Cars: If your little one is a car and racing enthusiast, race cars are the one of the best first birthday gift ideas for them. Gift a pair of mini race cars for your little one and watch them race around the house in glee. While your toddler has tons of fun playing, it will also boost their visual-spatial awareness, cognitive and fine motor skills.
  • Ride-On cars: One of the best first birthday gift ideas for a baby is to get a gift that grows with your child. A ride-on car or scooter is a memorable gift for your baby that they will love using for years to come. This is a great gift that makes for hours of fun both indoors and outdoors. As your baby plays on their ride-on toy, it boosts their physical fitness, balance, co-ordination and independence. Over time, it also boosts their self-confidence and exploratory skills.
  • Musical toy drums: This is one of the coolest first birthday gift ideas for kids. You can buy a toy musical instrument such as a drum or piano. They can beat the drums or play the piano by enjoying the rhythmic tune. This is a very soothing and relaxing toy for kids at this age. With this instrument, they will try to understand the sound. 
  • Apparels: Kids at this age start growing faster than you ever imagine. The size of the clothes reduces every month as they keep growing faster. Therefore, giving a set of apparel to kids in different colors and patterns will be the best idea. As they keep growing, kids must have maximum clothes in their wardrobe. 
  • Playing mat: Little babies start crawling at this age. They need enough space to move and play around. Therefore, you can give them a playing mat with beautiful illustrations of cartoons or any other themes that attract their attention. 
  • Teethers: You can give teethers to kids turning one. They start developing teeth at this age, and they always look for something to bite. It is better that you give teethers which are made specifically for these children. 
  • Osmo’s Little Genius Starter Kit: This is one of the best first birthday gift ideas to buy the perfect gift for your little one. This kit includes fun games and hands-on learning activities that introduces your toddler to STEM education for kids. Kids can use squishy sticks and rings to form letters and shapes, engage in pretend play and learn to read facial expressions. Additionally, it hones their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, creativity, critical thinking skills, and motivates them to learn as well.
  • Accessories: Children at this age do not understand about the accessories but still parents prefer to buy them for kids. You can give a beautiful tiara for girls and hats for boys. 
  • Storybooks: Kids are visual learners, and at this age, they like to observe things that are visually appealing to them. Though kids cannot understand what you read, you can show images illustrated in the storybooks. This becomes the starting point of teaching reading habits to children. 
  • Bath toys: You can give bath toys as a gift. Children love playing with water and like to spend the maximum amount of time in the bathtub. To make them happy and enjoy their bathing time, you can give kid-friendly bath toys. 
  • Wooden stacker: Kids at this develop interest in stacking things. They learn how to stack the things and enjoy their playtime. You can give them wooden stackers of different shapes and colors. 
  • Armchair: Kids want to have their own cozy and comfortable furniture. They can be made to sit and even sleep whenever they want. 
  • Ball pool: This is the best first birthday gift idea for kids. They can play as much as they want inside the pool. You can give them an activity pool consisting of jumbo-sized balls. 

Things To Keep In Mind While Buying First Birthday Gifts

The list of first birthday gift ideas will help you buy the perfect gift to celebrate your baby’s big day. But there are a few things you need to keep in mind before you buy your baby’s 1st birthday gift.

  1. Their skills: At the 12 month mark, kids can sit, stand and are just learning to walk. Along with their mobility. Their perception and curiosity is also increased. They love to explore and learn about the things around them by touching and feeling. When you buy a first birthday gift for your little one keep these skills in mind. Ensure the gift that you buy encourages the development of these skills.
  2. Early education: One might seem too early an age to start educating a child, but an early start is a good thing. You can try simple learning activities for 1-year-olds that combine games and fun activities with learning. Gifts and toys that encourage a child’s learning are some of the best 1st birthday gifts. Try Osmo’s alphabet for toddlers to get a head start on your little one’s education.
  3. Stimulate development: Most of a child’s development happens in early childhood. They’re fine-tuning their senses and building strength in their muscles, developing motor skills and visual-spatial awareness. Toys that stimulate their development are some of the best birthday gifts for kids. Additionally, ensure the gifts you choose are safe for your child.

We hope you liked our suggestions for first birthday gift ideas! Check the rest of our website for more kids learning and activities that your child will love.

Frequently Asked Questions on First Birthday Gift Ideas

What are some of the First Birthday Gift Ideas?

Some of the First Birthday Gift Ideas are racing cars and bikes, toy cars, buses and trains, soft toy sets, mini walkers, color and shape sorters, infant puzzle sets, kid friendly color pencils and crayons, etc.

How to choose a First Birthday Gift?

Choosing a First Birthday Gift for the little one may be quite difficult. Therefore, make a note of these points for choosing first birthday gifts such as firstly realize you are gifting for a 1 year old and do not pick any harsh colored toys or gifting sets. Also, monitor their grasping ability and pick the gifts that are useful for their cognitive development and learning purposes.