It’s hard for me to believe that Hugo is now one-year-old. When I say, it feels like yesterday we announced that we were expecting I am not exaggerating. As his birthday fast approached so many people reached out and asked what they could get him as a gift, and you know what I was completely stumped!! What on earth do you buy a one-year-old child? After some trial and error and much research, I have put together a few of my fave options that Hugo has really loved! I hope that this gives you some inspiration if you a buying a gift for a one-year-old!!
What to Buy a One-Year-Old
Something to Keep and Use
I am all about practical gifts when it comes to buying for any age. Items that will add value is money well spent in my eyes! For a one-year-old, I loved the idea of this Very Hungry Caterpillar Money Box from Portmeirion. It features the iconic Very Hungry Caterpillar, which is a favourite family book. This will look fantastic displayed in Hugo’s nursery and a great place to start saving as he is getting older.
Another great idea is this Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit Organic Bamboo Dinner Set from Enesco. Hugo is long since past those early weaning days, and now he likes to sit at the table and mimic his older brother Henry. He adores having his very own dinner set, and the Peter Rabbit design adds excitement to any meal time. The collection features a plate, bowl, cup, a spoon and fork all made from organic bamboo. My favourite feature is that it is entirely dishwasher safe and there is none of that orange staining you get with plastic alternative tableware, so this looks as good as new time and time again.
Something to Play With
Toys are of course, always a good option for a child of any age, and I think if you find something appropriate, then you will have hours of fun! I have to be honest the toy market is very saturated and already despite Hugo only being one year old he has an abundance of toys he really isn’t interested in. I like to find toys that are slightly more practical as they are often much more engaging and help keep his attention for longer.
One of his favourites at the moment are these Elmer Stacking Blocks from Milly & Flynn. These blocks are brightly illustrated with gorgeous images from Elmer the Elephant. Can you also believe Elmer is 30 years old! I remember reading the book when I was in nursery, and it is still an iconic character today! Hugo loves stacking the blocks, and it is really helping him improve his hand-eye coordination. There are five blocks in total, and each one also has a number and letter which will of course help begin that journey to recognise numbers and letters later down the line.
Speaking of learning numbers, these gorgeous Learn Your Numbers Jigsaw Cards from Rex London are a big hit! Each card is a different colour with one half displaying the number and the other side an image related to the number. The idea is that you match the number with the corresponding image. Hugo, of course, is too young to recognise the numbers and count quite yet; however, he loves the bright design and matching the colours is much easier. This has been a great activity for him to do with his older brother Henry and as Hugo gets older, they will become more and more useful to him. The pieces are really well made, easy for small hands to hold and fit together and they are hardwearing even when they end up in Hugo’s mouth!
Now that Hugo is in the early stages of walking a great toy for him has been the Walk-A-Long Hedgehog from Hape. This wooden toy makes a satisfying clunk as it is pulled across the floor, and it is really helping improve Hugo’s balance as he walks. Every small detail has been catered too, and even the nose is attached to elastic for some extra fun! The toy isn’t too light or heavy making it easy for even really novice walkers like Hugo.
Hugo loves a good stuffed toy, but he is extremely picky about the ones he favours. He absolutely adores this Friendly Dinosaur from Stickmans. It comes in three different sizes and either green or grey colour. It is the perfect soft toy to hug, and Hugo loves the velvety feel against his skin. His little hands fit perfectly around the arms, and he is continually dragging it around wherever he goes!
Something to Read
My first son Henry is a real book worm, and I think you can’t go too wrong with books when it comes to gifts. We already have an extensive library at home, but there is always a place for more books. A great book to treasure is the Now One book from Itsyourstory.co.uk.
I have to be honest when I received this, it completely broke me, and I had a bit of an emotional breakdown. I absolutely adore it, and it will be a treasured gift forever. You simply upload your image of choice and fill in the personalisation details. The book is then shipped, and your chosen image is displayed throughout in a truly unique story. The process is, and you don’t have to worry about cutting out the image as it is all taken care of. I am really impressed with the quality it’s the perfect personal gift without the headache.
Although our library is quite vast in terms of books, we don’t have a lot of toddler style books, and I wanted to change that for Hugo. An excellent gift for a one-year-old would be these gorgeous board books and bath books from Quarto Kids and their Words & Pictures Imprint.
We don’t have any bath books at all, so both the Colours and Shapes books make great additions! Hugo loves splashing about in the water, looking at the bold images.
The Tales from Nature board books are both beautifully illustrated and bright in colour. Being from Manchester the Bee is, of course, our favourite but the Ladybird is pretty fantastic too!
We then have two Peep Through books one for First words and one for numbers. All of the books are good quality and can withstand eager hands scrambling through the pages.
GIVEAWAY
The lovely people at Quarto Kids have offered to give one of you lucky readers a chance to win this fabulous collection of books.
One lucky winner will receive 1 copy of each of the below:
- Colours Bath Book
- Shapes Bath Book
- Tales from Nature Bee Board Book
- Tales from Nature Ladybird Board Book
- Peep Through First Words
- Peep Through Numbers
Entering won’t cost you a penny, and it’s simple using the Gleam widget below.
Don’t forget to come back and complete the daily entries every day for more chances to win. Entrants must be 18 or over and a UK resident. Please read the terms and conditions before entering. Good luck!! Make sure you head over here for more giveaways!
Board Books
I hope that this post has given you some inspiration and ideas for what you could buy a one-year-old! If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear them below!
Thank you for stopping by! Check out my last post here.
Love as always!
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