Coming up to our granddaughter Ruby's first birthday I had to do a lot of thinking about what we could give her as a gift and I decided to work on a blog post based on this.
So here we are with 10 Gift Ideas for a Baby Girl's first birthday or of course it would also suit for Christmas ideas.
If you haven't got a baby girl to buy for then click through and see
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.
I am not including clothes here as we seem to find that our granddaughter always has too many clothes but if you really like buying clothes check with the mum first about what size would be best.
I am also not including a doll or doll's pram as usually this is something bought by the family.
1. Peek-a-Boo Elephant
Ruby has always loved it when any of us would play peek-a-boo with her even if we just put our hands over our eyes and then pulled them away. She would always giggle.
So when I saw this elephant I knew I just had to get one for her and it was part of our Christmas present to her when she was only 6 months old but would make a great interactive playmate for a 1 year old. The ears go down in front of the eyes and then lift up again. Two buttons concealed in the soles of the feet make it talk or sing.
There are lots of varieties of this so I did a lot of looking around to pick the one I thought was best and I was definitely not disappointed with it. This is the one - it is all grey but others are all pink or you can also get pink and grey ones.
2. Books
It is never too soon to start reading to your child.
Cloth Books
At this age I think cloth books are a great idea because little hands can grab them for themselves even when very young, they don't hurt themselves with them, they can pull at them and they can easily be washed if they throw up over them.
Those benefits in the last sentences comes from experience.
Bath Books
Also those soft plastic books that can even go into the bath are a great idea and they also have most of the same benefits as the cloth books.
3. Wooden Educational Jigsaws.
Girls and boys both love jigsaws and 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.
Here are two for the girls who love animals
4. Musical Instruments
Children of all ages respond well to music and they love to move to the sound.
I think at the early age it is very good for their cordination even if we introduce some very simply musical instruments like a tiny tambourine or jingle bells or clappers.
Of course as they hold them and move their hands and arms we need to keep a close watch that they d not hit themselves with any of them.
5. Shape Sorters.
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 but unfortunately we never know when these types of products will appear again in Lidl stores so I can't suggest it.
Fisher Price make a nice one which is a tub with a lid and with a handle. It has appeared in Matthew and Ruby's house too.
6. Puzzle Play Mats
Lots of places sell these types of mats where they are like a very large jigsaw with letters or numbers.
They are very colourful and of course educational but also a softer place for crawling and sitting than a wooden or tiled floor.
It was because of the hard tiles in our expansive kitchen floor where the kids play that made me first think of getting a mat.
7. Pop Up Pals
The one we have for the grandkids was given to us by my niece some time ago and I couldn't find the identical one online but there are many that are very similar.
The children love to see the animals or characters pop up when they hit or turn the shape in the correct way. At one years old it is more hit and miss but gradually we will see Ruby catch on to the different ways to produce the pop up just as we saw Matthew do it.
The one shown here was chosen because of the good reviews it has received.
8. Musical Activity Table
While I was researching this I found a review by another blogger for a musical table.
I had been debating about a child's table and chair set for this post but had just made up my mind that the table and chair set was not right for Ruby yet so would not be right for other one year old's and here I found this review.
It was very favourable and so are the reviews on Amazon so I thought this would be a great idea to incorporate the music (which should lead to dancing if she is anything like her brother) and the table to stand at now that she is standing and starting to walk. Then one day I walked into their house and someone had given them one of these and I saw firsthand how Ruby could stand beside it and enjoy making music.
Oh and don't forget the hours of delight the lovely
noise music will bring to mummy and daddy!!
9. A Child's Bible.
As I said above it is 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.
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 for our grandson Matthew our gift was the Jesus Story Book Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones.
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.
Now it is playing in the car as they travel so Ruby is getting acquainted with it there and will soon be having it read to her as well.
There are other versions of it too which are cheaper than this one.
10. Personalised Bracelet.
When I was thinking and thinking and thinking for something special for Ruby and something that had not been already got for Matthew I was really having a hard time because other gifts like a Doll and a Doll's pram etc. had already been got by her mum's side of the family.
In the end I thought about an expanding bracelet. I had one as a small child and so did our daughter Linda so I did a search and found one for Ruby.
I can be personalised up to 15 characters including spaces so you can get more than the child's first name if you wish and it comes in a little bag.
The birthday and party have passed for us now and we no longer have a baby granddaughter we now have a toddler as she has started to walk.
Disclaimer:
I am not an Amazon affiliate and do not receive any compensation for my suggestions here
