I’m going to a one-year-old’s birthday party this weekend and was wondering what a good gift would be. I’m especially interested in getting something from Barnes & Noble, because it’s in a very convenient location and I have about $25 left on a gift card. I’ve never bought a gift for a baby before. I don’t have kids of my own, and the good Lord willing, never will.
Picture books are good, and since they tend to destroy them through over-use at that age, you probably can’t have too many of them.
As a parent of a 16 month old boy, I’d also go with picture books, but make sure you get the books made with cardboard(?) (thick) pages rather than regular paper, which he will rid to shreds in seconds.
Pictures are more important, and forget anything that has more than 8 words per page. The *Cat in the Hat *is a good three years away for him.
Animals, vehicles, food are good story lines. Page One: “Horse,” Page Two: “Pig,” will keep him enthralled for at least another year, or until his parents return him, whichever comes first. 
Books with crinkly pages are pretty fun, or bath books. I just got a crinkly-paged book for my cousin’s 1-year-old and he was enthralled with it as was my 2-year-old niece.
Here’s some from B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/subjects/children/collection.asp?PID=21024
Not a boy, but my daughter really loved the harmonica we bought her around that age - it depends on whether you think the parents are keen to encourage music in the house though. But if so, it’s a fairly tuneful way to do this.
I’ve also just bought a Skip Hop plate/bowlset for my cousin’s 1 year old, as they are fully into learning to eat by themselves at this age.
Many 1 year olds are heading to daycare at this age too, so a backpack or some personalised iron on labels could be really handy.
Picture books are great. There are a number of books that have various touchy feely things in them, and the reader can encourage the child to touch the cotton ball or sandpaper or whatever.
I had no problems with my daughter and books with regular pages, as opposed to cardboard pages. I kept the books on a higher shelf unless I was reading to her, until she was old enough to know that if she tore up a book, then we couldn’t read it again.
While The Cat in the Hat might be a little over the age range, even very young kids enjoy being read to even if they don’t understand the book. Dr. Seuss books are good because he played with words, but didn’t overwhelm the kids with his vocabulary. I can recommend Seuss’ One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish for a toddler. It’s not much of a story, but it does introduce colors and numbers.
iPad…
I just sent my almost one year old nephew Dinosaur Vs. Bedtime and Knuffle Bunny. He already has a lot of board books, so I wanted to send story books that would last a few years.
It isn’t a bookstore item, but my standard gift for this age is a set of rubber duckies. One of my kids got them at this age and they became a beloved bath staple. Can’t go wrong with the duckie.
There are also cloth books, which solves the tearing up problem and any possible safety issues.
My son loved his neoprene bath blocks. They float, and stick to the tile wall.
I got my “great-nephew” a set of floating bath toys for his 1st birthday and he loved them. I second the Rubber Duckie idea.
What is it about little kids and ripping books? I put a kid on the floor with a phone book and he goes to town, just laughing and squeezing with glee, as he shreds the book
Stacking cups, shape sorting toys, and pegboards with large wood pegs of varying colors and lengths, were always popular from 1 to 2 in our house … of course nothing beat a large cardboard tube (at least from wrapping paper size), a ping pong ball, and a large cardboard box … but that makes for a crappy gift!
How about a subscription to Babybug magazine? Age appropriate, and it comes out nine times a year, so it’s like nine gifts.
As a parent of an 11 month old, I encourage you to buy books. They’re compact, good for little brains, and don’t make noise. Since this is a small child, I strongly encourage board books, which can put up with a lot more abuse from little fingers.
Dr. Seuss, Curious George, and Sandra Boynton all have tons of board books available. They’re great.
For a one year old?
The kid wouldn’t know the difference if you bought him a pony or gave him a cardboard box to sit in.
I just don’t understand having birthday parties for kids too young to know what a day is, let alone a birth day.
Buy the parents a bottle of wine - after all, the party is really all about them anyway.
Sorry to be such a cynic, but a “gift” for a one year old just seems kind of stupid unless you want to put some money in a college fund for when he/she can really use/understand the concept.
Somebody else already has the wine covered, and he knows a lot more about wine than I do, so unfortunately wine is out of the question. Even better would be a bottle of Jack, but I’m not sure if they drink (or brush their teeth with) whiskey.
Minor [del]threadshitting[/del] ranting aside, the last part is a good suggestion. Put it in an envelope, and put the envelope in a big cardboard box for the kiddo to play with.
Is a 1-year-old still too little for those big chunky Duplo blocks? (The training-wheel version of Legos … )
Board books (the kind with the thick pages) that my one year old really seems to like:
Peek a Who?
Baby! Baby!
Busy Elephants
Anything by Leslie Patricelli:
The Birthday Box
Baby Happy Baby Sad
No No Yes Yes
B&N seems to be carrying more toys now. My daughter LOVES this one, plus you have the joy of being the friend who buys the baby a hammer.