Do YOU need some help finding good gift ideas for a baby boy's first birthday or Christmas?
I've had the same problem so let me help you with 10 Gift Ideas that I know are appropriate and good.
Well our granddaughter is coming up to her first birthday and I was working on a blog post based on thinking about a gift for her so then I thought I really should have done this when our grandson Matthew was coming 1 as well.
So I thought I would do it now and of course these will work for Christmas as well.
Click the pictures and names of toys below to find out more about each one.
Click the Numbered Titles below to see a range of examples.
1. Train Engine.
You need one that is not too small and has good wheels because he will just love to push it along and it doesn't have to make a sound as he will do that himself pretty soon.
This one is by "Melissa & Doug" which I think is an excellent make both for quality and for design.
Melissa & Doug Stacking Train Toy (18 pcs)
2. Tractor and trailer.
This is what our oldest son bought Matthew for his first birthday and he still plays with it yet.
At first it was big enough for him to sit in the trailer and be pulled along.
Then later he was riding it and now it is instrumental in carrying the sand from the sand pit to wherever else he decides it has to go in the back garden.
Falk 1012B Child's Tractor with Trailer
3. Wooden Educational Jigsaws.
It is never too early to start them on simple pull out jigsaw puzzles because first they are learning to lift the pieces out and then they learn to place them back again. Great for dexterity of little hands and fingers to begin with and then for hand eye co-ordination later.
Playcrate-Pack-Wooden-Learning-Puzzles
4. Wooden Building Blocks.
When has a boy not been happy to build something. Again good for dexterity but also good for the imagination before they reach their second birthday.
Melissa & Doug Wooden Building Blocks Set of 100
5. Shape Sorter.
Our kids had a simple round tub with a lid which had 3 shapes cut out and then there were 4 sets (different colours) of the three objects that would fit in through the different holes. They never tired of this for the first few years. Such joy and clapping when they could put each piece in correctly.
Now they have them in all different forms. Like the Noah's Ark sorter that we got Matthew one day when we saw it cheap in Lidl.
Or this one
Fisher-Price Baby's First Blocks
6. Road Map Mat.
Lots of places sell these mats including IKEA where we got one for Matthew to have at nanny's house.
His mum and dad got him one which is bigger
Extra Large 79" x 40"! Kids Carpet Playmat Rug
7. Xylophone.
This really should be the wooden based type because it is much stronger and durable and also because it just sounds better.
We hunted for weeks to try to find one for Matthew coming up to his first birthday because we are a musical family and even long before then Matthew had taken a love for banging on his granda's drums in his study and wanted to dance to any music we made. Matthew started walking at 9 months and would go from one foot to the other trying to dance as he approached his birthday.
Finally I tried on the internet and managed to get one there
but it wouldn't arrive in time for his birthday but that was just as well because his auntie in Canada had the same idea and sent him one in time for his birthday. We got ours anyway for Christmas time and it stays in our house with the other instruments we have.
8. Bath Toy.
Kids like lots of little things to play with in the bath but as they get more independent because of finding their feet as we say, they really do enjoy a more intricate bath toy which can spurt out water and soak them and whoever is bathing them.
Matthew has adored playing with a certain toy that sticks to the side of the bath.
He fills it with water and loves to have it dump the water back out again.
I can't find the one he has but this one looks like a good choice.
Toddler Bath Toy Boats Set, 2 Pack Bath Boats for Kids
9. A Child's Bible.
Never too soon to start reading to your child. They just adore to look along as first you turn each page and then they try to turn them. Of course they like to turn back the pages too which is rather infuriating for someone like me who wants to read the story when it is the first time they have seen the book.
Lots of good books out there and for Suzie's baby shower before Matthew was born everyone brought a book as a gift so there was no shortage of books to stir up his interest.
Also never too soon to get a child's Bible. Even though at that age even the simple bibles may seem too much for them just simplify the story even more as you turn those pages and reveal the pictures.
At the shower our gift was the Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones.
The Jesus Storybook Bible Deluxe Edition: With CDs
This version has a set of CDs along with it. The book is well written and well illustrated and Matthew loves to go grab it each night to have his Bible Story (+a few other books) read before bed.
There are other versions of it too which are cheaper.
10. Piano.
When we couldn't get the Xylophone a nice shop assistant in "The Entertainer" shop suggested we might like to see a piano and we smiled at each other but then said this is a gift for a first birthday but he said it wasn't out on the shelf yet and he would bring it out and we could just take a look.
Melissa & Doug Learn-to-Play Piano With 25 Keys
We were hooked.
Fred loves to play the keyboard as well as the guitar and this small wooden piano was so cute (just like a miniature real upright piano), colourful and in tune. You could really play it and the keys were great.
We just said "we'll take it" and then to each other we said "if it's too much for him now he'll have it for later".
No fear of that - it was a hit on his birthday and ever since.
Disclaimer:
I am NOT an Amazon affiliate & I am not compensated in any way for these recommendations