The Only Gift Guide for a 1-Year-Old You’ll Ever Need

One-year-olds love experimenting with art supplies — especially if they see big siblings drawing or painting. But most supplies aren’t ideal for small, less-than-deft hands: Pencils have a dangerous point, paint makes a mess, and regular crayons snap into pieces. So art therapist Margot Werner recommends these washable flower-shaped crayons that are easy for small hands to hold and almost impossible to break. Werner bought a set for her own 1-year-old and loves that they encourage scribbling while looking nice too.

This three-pack of drawing pads from Melissa & Doug is an excellent addition to the above set of crayons, letting the recipient get to work right away.

This book changes color when it gets wet and makes for a clever bath-time conversation starter; my son loved to look at it in the tub while I talked to him about colors. There are several in the series including this ocean-themed one, a mama and baby animal book, and a couple of mini-bath-book four-packs.

At around 15 months, my son started to show an interest in feeding and serving pretend water or orange juice to his toys. So I gave him a mini enamelware mug, meant for a single shot of espresso, to encourage the inklings of pretend play. That cup ultimately became one of his most prized possessions. He used it to pour and scoop water in the bath or at his water table, and to mirror us drinking with an exaggerated and satisfied “ahhhhh.” Eventually, he also started serving us pretend cups of coffee in it.

There are dozens of “first words” books to choose from, including many wonderful photographic options that babies love. This Roger Priddy box set includes the classic (and hugely popular) First 100 Words book as well as one dedicated to animals and another that helps children learn the names of different colors and shapes. My son was obsessed with these books at age 1 and could stare at them for nearly 20 minutes straight — a tremendous achievement for a young toddler. And the small size meant we could pack one in our diaper bag for subway rides or restaurants.

This illustrated city-themed book of 100 first words is extra-large and has lots of engaging flaps. It looks great on a shelf as well.

Battat’s Oink n’ Waddle pig is delightfully silly and strangely cute. Underneath its plush exterior it has a wheeled base that propels it awkwardly across a playroom floor. If pigs aren’t your thing, the brand also makes a duck version of the toy that quacks.

Battat also makes wonderful vehicles and play sets for children under 2 years old, which can be hard to find. I love this farm set because it offers so many opportunities for language development, from talking to your 1-year-old about common animal sounds to explaining how a farmer feeds and cares for animals. Each animal pair includes a mama and a baby.

The Story Orchestra book series, which comes recommended by Strategist senior writer Lauren Ro, plays music when you press the musical-note icons throughout. “My kids liked pressing the buttons more than the stories, honestly, but I liked that they were learning about classical music even if it was in snippets,” she says. “The illustrations are pretty, too.”

This low-commitment cardboard house is inexpensive and customizable. The outside is a blank canvas that toddlers can scribble all over or that older siblings and grown-ups can decorate with markers and paint. The door and windows are perfect for playing peekaboo, and there’s a mail slot for special deliveries. At four feet tall, it does require a bit of space — but if you just can’t take it anymore, it’s easy to recycle.

Brio is best known for its high-quality train sets but also makes other vehicles like this push-and-go racer. Where many other toy cars require a bit of counter-intuitive instruction — pull it back to make it go forward — this car is a bit simpler, and takes off when you push down on the driver’s head.

One thing I wish I’d bought for my son at this age is a play rug that he could use as the backdrop for acting out scenes with people and animal figures like the Battat ones above. Nice-looking illustrated versions of this kind of rug are hard to find, but this park-themed one from Ikea is unique in that it’s not centered on roads or buildings. It would make a lovely playroom rug and a nice companion to any dollhouse.

Musical instruments are a popular gift for 1-year-olds because they encourage early rhythm and language development. Plus making different sounds and noises is lots of fun. According to Dr. Sarah Roseberry Lytle, director of outreach and education at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, “Young kids love exploring things like, Can I make it softer? Can I make it louder? What happens when I hit it harder?” If you’re looking for well-rounded starter set that will grow with your child, Strategist senior editor Winnie Yang and I both recommend this one from Nino, a brand beloved by music teachers for its great sound and durable construction. It’s more expensive than a lot of lesser-quality percussion sets for toddlers, but it can be handed down to multiple siblings or friends.

The ever-popular “magic touch” piano from Baby Einstein lets children play classic tunes or create their own melodies with a gentle tap of the colored keys. The piano comes with a handful of color-coded song cards that babies and parents can play together.

They might look simplistic, but these jumbo knob puzzles fromMelissa & Doug will keep toddlers busy for a shockingly long time. My son had an older version of this same type of puzzle that he played with every single day from around 11 to 13 months old. The wooden knobs make the pieces easy to pick up, and the puzzle is pretty indestructible, too.

Grimm’s is a top brand for beautiful hand-painted wooden toys of the type often found in Montessori and Waldorf classrooms. And because they are open-ended, all of Grimm’s products are “grow-with-me” toys that older kids can use in countless ways. Its familiar curved wooden rainbows have inspired more dupes than I can count, but the company also makes simple wooden puzzles, like this sailboat, that feel unique. Each piece can be stacked and balanced with the others, allowing kids to experiment with building and gravity.

This innovative sensory toy is basically a modular busy board that comes with magnetic tiles. Each one features a tactile activity of some sort, from switches and buttons to a spinning color wheel and a ball maze. You can switch the order of the tiles on the board or pack individual tiles in a diaper bag for play on the go. There are more than a dozen tiles to choose from — a starter bundle comes with the board and your choice of six tiles — and the activities vary in difficulty. My son was fascinated by the fidgetlike pieces, and I have since given them as gifts to two different 1-year-olds.

Dr. Alexandra Figueras-Daniel, an assistant research professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research, says that dolls with changeable clothes, like this one, provide opportunities for children to use fine motor skills in fun ways. They also help children practice imaginative play and language development. This sweet bedtime Corolle doll comes with pajamas and a sleep sack, items of clothing that most 1-year-olds are very familiar with.

Sarah’s Silks is the preeminent maker of children’s play silks and a brand that gets recommended over and over again by preschool teachers and parents of young kids. They are soft and light, making them great for sensory exploration and endless games of peekaboo too. Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio notes that they are also a wonderful “grow-with-you” toy and very useful in pretend play. One of her own daughters wore a blue one for a few months straight as an Elsa cape when she was 3 years old.

Playmobil Junior is designed for children who are fresh into toddlerhood at 12 months old. Functionally, this just means that the pieces are chunkier than conventional Playmobil pieces without any small parts to choke on. But they have also all the same slightly wacky, ultraspecific details you find in other Playmobil sets. This licensed Disney build is both a pretend-play toy and a stacking toy in one. In the box you get Cinderella — whose skirt twists off to reveal pants! — Prince Charming, and all the pieces needed to construct Cinderella’s castle: six stacking pieces, two stacking rattle pieces, and a castle base with a slide. There are also four illustrated tokens that help tell the story: a glass slipper, a clock, a pumpkin carriage, and a trio of bluebirds.

But if you prefer a more traditional stacking toy that could also become a castle for Cinderella, I suggest Le Toy Van’s set of 60 colorful wooden blocks. The colors are a little more sophisticated than the ones in Melissa & Doug’s popular block set, and I like how some natural wood is mixed in too. Plus classic wooden blocks are the original grow-with-me toy, and these would look nice displayed in a wide basket on the coffee table.

“This wagon is great for the stage when your baby begins to ‘cruise’ or walk around the room by holding onto things,” says Zahra Kassam, a Montessori education expert.“It’s a Montessori-teacher favorite because it allows babies the opportunity to practice their walking skills while building their independence.” A tip she shared: “Weigh it down with heavy books or free weights to slow it down at first.”

If you’re looking for plastic-free stuffed animals or even stuffed animals made with fewer synthetic materials, there aren’t many good options. Senger, a German toymaker, is the only brand that I have found using natural materials like cotton, mohair, and sheep’s wool for both the outside and the stuffing of its toys. When my son turned 1, Ro gave him one of the company’s warmable stuffed geese that is still a beloved companion. I also have a Senger donkey hand puppet. And this squirrel that comes in three different sizes is what I am eyeing next.

Trolio has given this Step2 ride-on buggy as a first-birthday gift to several close friends and family members, because her own daughters loved it so much when they were littler. The handlebar lets parents and caregivers push little kids around while they turn the steering wheel and honk the soft squeaky horn. There’s even storage under the hood for a favorite doll or stuffie.

Lovevery’s subscription-based play kits are a perennial Strategist favorite because of the convenience factor and the curated mix of developmentally appropriate toys and books. But if you’re looking to show up to a first-birthday party with a single wrapped present, the brand’s individual play kits are a fantastic choice. I particularly love this bath toy set with its realistic rubber ducks, mirror, and other sensory toys designed for water play. Like all of Lovevery’s toys, the set comes with a book that shows both parents and children different ways to play with each toy — and in this case it’s waterproof.

Stapelstein’smini-stones are half the size of the brand’s original-size stones and can be used almost exactly like their larger counterparts — stepped on, sat on, stacked, spun, used as a doll bed or bowl or drum, or just about anything else a kid can dream up. But they’re also small enough to be more easily used as play kitchen accessories or for color sorting other small toys. They’re also an ideal bath toy because they are waterproof and float. My son still likes using them as little rafts for his Playmobil people and Schleich animals.

Manhattan Toy is known for its astonishingly not-ugly wooden activity centers. And when my son got to play with this space-themed activity center at a fellow 1-year-old’s birthday party, he could not be pulled away. He was mesmerized by the beads, doors, and little space explorers that travel through tunnels on a track. The quality and level of detail is incredible, and it’s sturdy enough to keep a wobbly baby upright. Best of all, it’s a toy I’d want to show off.

This six-in-one ride-on toy from scooter brand Micro starts out similar to a rocking horse (with a parent handlebar in the back) and finishes as a three-wheel scooter that kids can ride until they are in kindergarten. It’s a wonderful way to encourage gross-motor-skill development, helping kids practice balance and spatial awareness.

Lawton recommends this specific tunnel and soft climbing play set for 1-year-olds because it encourages several different kinds of movement: crawling, climbing, sliding, and eventually stepping up. It’s also modular so kids can use the different parts separately or together for sensory and pretend play.

Even before they can walk on their own, 1-year-olds will love pulling themselves up on this indoor mini-climber. And as they grow, they’ll enjoy exploring the climber and slide in new ways. As a bonus, it’s easy to fold up and stow away when they aren’t using it.