Hello friendly people. You’ve helped me with a lot of things over the years.
I’m going to a friend’s child’s first birthday tomorrow. I love these people but I know little of their life as parents. What would be an appropriate gift to bring for their lovely son’s first birthday party?
Any and all advice is welcome. I appreciate it.
Until my neice is old enough to distinguish one gift from another, she gets savings bonds. I just don’t see the point in getting a kid who puts everything in its mouth more stuff. Hell, she’ll probably get savings bonds for the next 10 years at least.
The other, not quite as sanctimonious gift, is a personalized piggy bank. I got my neice one for her first Christmas along with a golden dollar. Every time her grandparents come over, they drop money in it. My brother is going to empty when it gets full and put it in a savings account for her, and then let others fill it up for her.
Books are always a great gift - for any age.
How about: bath toys, “peg in the hole” (square shape -> square hole, round in round, etc) toys for problem solving skills, nifty bowl/utensil sets, nesting toys for spatial relation skills, push toys to aid or encourage walking, or blocks to for fine and gross motor skills.
If you are interested in a larger gift, what about a small, beginner rocking horse?
Being a new mom myself, I look at toys in a new light. For example, noise making toys - no thanks. If you think it would drive you mad after 30 minutes, it will drive mom and dad insane faster. Saying that, however, musical instruments are good for encouraging cause/effect and motor skills.
Hope this helps.
Have fun tomorrow.
It might have been helpful if you had posted how much money you’re looking to spend. If you are still looking for ideas, though, go to toysrus.com and do a search of Fisher Price toys by age. For my money, Fisher Price has always been good. Now, I realize of course, that you don’t have time to order anything; but you could get some good ideas, and hie yourself down to your local toy store to scout something out.
For kids that age, I like to get them books I enjoyed as a child - the Narnia series, A Wrinkle In Time, etc. At a year old they probably have more toys than they know what to do with, so I give the books to the parents to pop up on the bookshelf until the kid is older. I also put one of those cheesy “A Gift From…” stickers inside the front cover. Most of these kids are children of friends, and I can’t be sure if I’ll be around to see them grow up, so I try to give them the meaningful stuff - like good books - now.
Just a little Fisher-Price baby toy for the child, and a nice bottle of wine and a written offer to babysit over night for the parents 
It makes a difference whether the child is a first child or not. By the time my #2 came around, we had more plastic crap to put in #2’s mouth to keep her happy until she could actually start playing with toys. We really didn’t need or want any more fisher price / plastic stuff. (posible exception: toys that work well with other toys or expand a set - legos, blocks, etc.)
Books are always welcome - at 1 year old (or shortly thereafter), books with textures built in or lift-the flap books are big hits.
Another thing we swear by are audio tapes (or CDs as appropriate) for the car with kids music on them. The parents won’t know whether to love you or hate you for it, but the kids will love them (ours do anyway).
YMMV, but I’d really rather not get a book for a twelve year old that I have to hang on to for a decade before it will be useful for my child, even if it’s a classic.
Savings bond and a $5 lift-the flap book is a winner if you ask me.
Another possibility: a 2 hour play date with aunt/uncle stoli (ooh, that sounds bad). OK, so this is really a present for the parents, but a book and a few hours off for the parents is a good possibility too, esp if $ is an issue.
I got the idea from a great aunt I had never met, but who had bought me lots of great books when I was very young, and signed her name inside the front cover. Of course, my mom is a major pack rat, so hanging onto things for a decade was an effortless task 
I can see how it might be annoying for other parents, though. I usually run it by them first to see what they think about it. If they protest, I give them a “dinner and a movie” babysitting pass because I can’t see giving the kid one more plastic/plush object to toss in the corner with all the other plastic/plush objects they own.
Either some books (soft ones designed to withstand toddler teeth) or a savings bond.
Savings bond, yes.
Or, for my son’s 1st birthday in February, someone got him a Playskool ball popper thingy. It’s got a hair dryer motor or something and blows balls up like Lotto.
He freakin’ LOVES that thing, plays with it every day, which if you know anything about toys, is an utter miracle. Normally they “expire” within a week.
Men love it too.
We’re going to a 1st birthday party for twins today and that’s what we bought.
Not cheap, though. $25 at Toys R Us.
<off topic> When is your son’s birthday? I had a girl on the 11th of Feb this year. Just curious…</off topic>
I adored stuffed animals at that age (and I still do). I have the bear I got when I was two still sitting on my shelf at home.
Watch for eyes and noses that come off, though. They can choke a tyke.
I liked the Pat the Bunny type books (lift the flap, etc) for years too.
I could read at a very early age, so by two or so I was getting books for gifts, so take my advice with a grain of salt.
My kid received a Sesame Street saxophone for his first birthday. He loved it from the get-go. Three years later, he still enjoys it. It plays four songs and has a really good sound. It’s one of our favorite gifts he’s been given.
He was born on February 19th, Washte. Was due in April, specifically on Shakespeare’s birthday, but nature had other ideas…
Saxophone, eh, foxymoron? I might need to look into that-sounds fun. (Do you solemnly testify that the sounds are not too painful?)
I do, indeed! In three years I’ve never banished it to the basement, or decided it was ‘broken’, and that can’t be said of most of our noisy toys. It sounds like a real saxophone, actually. It plays jazzy and/or rockin’ versions of The People In Your Neighborhood (from Sesame Street), Rock Around the Clock, and something I haven’t been able to positively identify. (Some people say it sounds like Charlie Brown, but I think it sounds more like Yakkity Yak.)
I am drowning in plastic and stuffed animals …
My daughter turned 3 this may (son will be one in october) and I explained I wanted art supplies for her birthday. Should have asked for them every year!
Art supplies are good at any age - construction paper, washable crayons, chalk, coloring books, easel paper, watercolor paints.
Art supplies are also disposable. If you get six boxes of crayons? YAY! Because kids break and lose and wear them out! 12 coloring books? Bring them on! 10 packs of paper? WOO WOO! My daughter loved scribbling at age one and she loves it still today (although she occasionally scribbles recognizable stuff now and even a few letters)
Washable crayon comes off painted walls or the linoleum or the table with a wet washcloth!
Um… I take back my answer. What Tanookie said.
Oh yes, and for toddlers, driveway/sidewalk chalk is a very cheap, noise-free option that goes over like gangbusters and keeps the kids occupied.
So what did you end up getting?
Funny story- I lost my internet connection during the night on Friday and was unable to get it going again until today. So all of the wonderful advice was for naught. A lot of great ideas here, though, especially the art supplies. It’ll be good to know as the “firends with toddlers” phase of my life is moving into full swing.
I went to the bookstore and got “Make Way for Ducklings”, a book I remeber fondly from when I was a kid, and a gift certificate for Baby Gap. It was a fun time. He destroyed the cake.
Box of pop-up facial tissues. Pull up first one. Give box to child. Sit back and enjoy as child pulls every single last tissue from the box and winds up in a snowdrift of tissues.