# My nephew turns 1 in a week. What do you buy 1 year olds as a birthday gift? Help! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 4, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028 "2003-12-04T21:31:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/1 "2003-12-04T21:31:50Z")
I bought him all my favorite kids books for his parents to read to him after he was born and he still has those. My sis and bro-in-law are not at all hurting financially, so he has all the clothes and toys he needs…I am just at a loss as to what I should get him. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/2 "2003-12-04T22:55:15Z")
Well, a one-year-old isn’t going to be very personally concerned with any gifts he gets. How about something for the parents, like movie passes or a free night of babysitting? Alternately, you could make a kind of scrapbook with pictures of him, his parents, any siblings, and stuff that went on in the community and the world during his first year of life. He obviously won’t appreciate it now, but he might when he’s older. ---
**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/3 "2003-12-05T00:16:21Z")
I just had the same dilemma with my best friend’s son. I got him Little People toys. The barn is always the best. He actually got a lot of the Little People stuff and my bf said he loves them all. He plays with them endlessly. They make noise though so she tries to avoid the room when he’s playing with them. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/4 "2003-12-05T00:21:10Z")
All of my nieces and nephews got (and apparently enjoyed) stuffed animals at one year. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/5 "2003-12-05T00:21:10Z")
The little people are indeed fun, the bigger ones they make have no choking danger. A hand puppet is fun for the grownups as well as the kid. Board books can be both chewed on as well as read. “Oh What A Busy Day” is a fave; it’s full of busy babies doing busy things. The toy company called Brio has some fantastic selections for one-to-two-year-olds. ---
**Author:** ![bagkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@bagkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bagkitty)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/6 "2003-12-05T00:23:20Z")
I am afraid I don’t know what is the correct thing to get one year olds… however, I can make the second and third birthdays easier… second birthday should be celebrated with a drum or other percussive instrument, third with an out of tune horn or whistle/flute… my friends with children really, really hate me:D ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/7 "2003-12-05T00:23:40Z")
We’re getting our 1yo nephew a subscription to _Babybug_ for Christmas – it’s a magazine for 6mo to 2yo kids, from the publishers of _Cricket_. Here’s their [info page](http://www.cricketmag.com/ProductDetail.asp?pid=10). It’s basically a kid’s book a month – well, 10 times per year. Of course, we haven’t given it to them yet, so I can’t tell you how it’s gone over, but they’re literary people so we expect it to go well. Plus, it’s from the people who bring you _Cricket_. How cool is that? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/8 "2003-12-05T00:37:25Z")
[GO HERE!](http://www.wickedcoolstuff.com/su30pldo.html) The firm is cool, & safe to deal with online. The kid will love it for years. 🙂 I got my 1 year old niece a Wonder Woman. ---
**Author:** ![nuthinboutnuthin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/96bed5/32.png) [@nuthinboutnuthin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nuthinboutnuthin)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/9 "2003-12-05T01:05:05Z")
My suggestion is to buy him some stock. Wrigleys Fisher Price etc. He won’t care about the gift at this age … BUT the parents may NOT ALWAYS be financially set and he may really appreciate this one day… ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/10 "2003-12-05T01:36:53Z")
for a one year old gift wrap an empty box. All they want to do is tear the paper off, and play iwith it. Next year you will have to put something in the box… ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/11 "2003-12-05T05:58:17Z")
I’d recommend getting him something that can be added to, like Legos (the big ones) or wooden blocks. A set of wooden blocks is fun, but tons of wooden blocks are really really fun! ---
**Author:** ![hyperjes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@hyperjes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyperjes)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/12 "2003-12-05T06:11:09Z")
While I was working at a preschool/daycare center, I sometimes lent a hand in the “Ones & Twos class.” Based on my observations, this is what they played with the most: Play food/dishes: the all-one-piece-and-color, plastic kind. Pop-beads: Those plastic shapes with the nubs and holes that connect. I’m sure you know what I mean- They’ve been around forever. Plastic Animals, especially farm or jungle themed ones. Toddler vehicals like dump trucks etc. Fisher Price makes a lot of them. “Ride-on” toys, like Little Tykes stuff. Hope that helps. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mofo\_Rising](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/13 "2003-12-05T06:15:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rick \* > \*\*for a one year old gift wrap an empty box. All they want to do is tear the paper off, and play iwith it. > Next year you will have to put something in the box… \*\* That was my first thought. But it ended at the box. Get them a lot of big boxes, the bigger the better. Trust me, that’s just endless fun. ---
**Author:** ![Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/41988e/32.png) [@Tequila\_Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tequila_Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/14 "2003-12-05T08:24:10Z")
Honestly, I’d suggest something for his mom rather than the kid. **She** actually remembers the birth, I’m sure. If you must get something for the nephew, I’d suggest a dvd copy of Balto. Nice little animated movie with NO SINGING. (Avoid Balto II though.) Or maybe ask about his favorite things during his first year and incorporate them into a video/collage. My son loves knowing all about “when he was a baby” and watching videos of himself when he was a wee one. In a year or two, keep an eye out for a port from the year he was born to present him with on his 21st birthday. Should run you about $15-20 when they are first released, may even be 2 to 4 years after his birth year that you can find them. Port ages better than wine for that length of time so there’s less chance it’ll turn. ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-nephew-turns-1-in-a-week-what-do-you-buy-1-year-olds-as-a-birthday-gift-help/217028/15 "2003-12-05T08:28:48Z")
Anything he can stick in his gob. At that age all they want to do is gum, chew and slobber over everything.