When buying a gift for a 1-year-old boy in the UK the key is not only to impress the child but to impress his parents as well. You want to opt for a book or a toy for a 1-year-old boy that will support his development, cultivate his skills, and entertain him at the same time. When it comes to finding an entertaining gift for boys, the mission is rather simple, as he is at that adorable age where he finds a gift box or wrapping incredibly interesting. However, for gifts that he will actually benefit from, things get a bit more complicated.
According to development experts, it’s best to choose an open-ended gift that will stimulate his imagination, help him learn how to talk and walk, recognise rhymes, and engage as many of his senses as possible. It’s also important to shy away from toys that are made of toxic materials or come with tiny parts that represent a choking hazard.
1. Soft Building Blocks for Babies And Toddlers
A great baby toy for 12-month-olds
What do you buy a 1-year-old boy for his birthday? Well, building blocks are always a good idea, as they help develop the child’s motor skills. Soft blocks are suitable for children as young as 6 months who are teething and as they have no sharp edges, you won’t have to worry about the child injuring himself. These kinds of soft building blocks tend to squeak when squeezed and they come in many patterns and designs, which encourages the 1-year-old to recognise colours, numbers, shapes, and animals.
Choose colourful soft squeaky blocks with different patterns and symbols or the Baby Einstein Explore & Discover Soft Blocks.
2. Wooden Rainbow Stacker
A colourful 1st birthday gift
Whether you are looking for a nice birthday gift for a 1-year-old boy or a great Christmas gift for a 1-year-old boy, a wooden rainbow stacker is a wonderful option. Wooden rainbow stackers are designed to encourage creative thinking, help develop sorting skills and nurture a young child’s mind. They come with eye-catching brightly coloured pieces that help the child build colour, shape, and size-differentiation skills.
Choose this simple rainbow stacker with ring-shaped pieces or a more advanced one that allows the child to stack the pieces in different shapes and lets his imagination run wild.
3. Shape-sorting Cube
A useful baby boy toy for 1 year
Shape-sorting cubes are one of the best toys for 1-year-old boys and they never get old. This educational toy has multiple useful purposes – it encourages creative thinking, shape recognition, sorting skills, and problem-solving skills. It helps the child recognise different shapes and colours and helps develop his motor skills. Plus, the toy is fun and entertaining and will keep the boy occupied for hours.
You can opt for a simple wooden shape-sorting cube, a plastic one, or one that comes with wheels and a string and allows the child to pull it along wherever he goes.
4. Floating Bath Toy With Duck and Eggs
A nice gift for a 1-year-old boy who has everything
A bath duck would make a nice addition to the boy’s bath time. As engaging children’s senses is one of the best ways for them to learn, a brightly coloured bath duck, which will stimulate his vision, hearing, and touch, would make a great gift for a 1-year-old boy. The eggs come in various vibrant colours which will catch his attention and help him recognise different colours. In addition, if your 1-year-old is fussy during his bath time, this toy will distract him.
Alternatively, you can also opt for a regular set of rubber ducks, a wind-up duck, or an amazing water spray bath toy.
5. Wooden Xylophone
A musical gift for a 1-year-old boy
Xylophones are probably the best musical instruments for babies and toddlers. They are designed to introduce children to sounds, colours, and the magic of music. Plus, promote their creativity. This sensory toy will engage your 1-year-old’s senses and help develop his motor skills, as he learns to hit the multi-coloured keys and enjoy the sounds they unveil.
Opt for a simple 5-key wooden xylophone and hammer or a xylophone with more keys that will allow your child to enjoy the toy for a longer time.
6. Pull Along Toy for a 1-year-old
A practical walking toy for boys
According to development experts, pull along toys are very useful for 1-year-olds, as they help children practice their motor skills and learn how to walk. Most of them also come in many bright colours and produce some kind of clicking sounds, which engage the child’s senses.
Opt for a lion pull along toy, which would also make an adorable companion, a phone pull along toy with sounds and numbers, or one with a shape sorter.
7. Learning Baby Walker
A great toy for a 1-year-old boy who is just learning how to walk
Learning baby walkers are not what they used to be. Nowadays, they come in countless different shapes, colours, and sizes. In addition to providing support for your child’s first steps, learning walkers also make a fun learning toy, as they offer many interactive buttons, shape sorters, gears, toys, music, friendly phrases, and eye-catching pictures. As such, a learning baby walker may be the perfect answer to the burning question ‘What to buy a 1-year-old?’.
Opt for a popular plastic multi-coloured baby walker or a wooden push along activity centre.
8. Warmies Microwavable Plush Animal
A warm and meaningful gift for a one-year-old
We want our 1-year-olds to learn, develop, and grow, but most of all, we want them to feel safe and loved. A warm microwavable plush animal toy may help them feel exactly so. One of the best brands when it comes to microwavable toys is Warmies. They sell soft and cosy plush animals that are gently scented with relaxing French lavender and can be reheated in a microwave hundreds of times. When touching or hugging an adorable plush animal friend, your 1-year-old will feel secure and cared for.
Choose a cute giraffe toy, a husky dog, an elephant, or whichever other plush animal you believe the child will like the most.
9. Interactive Plush Toy
An adorable toy gift for a 1-year-old boy
Stuffed animals that make a squeaking sound when you squeeze them are a toy that never goes out of style. While 30 years ago, a squeaking sound was all they could produce, modern interactive plush toys are designed to produce all kinds of sounds, songs, and phrases, therefore they are considered excellent learning toys. They are designed to stimulate the children’s learning abilities and encourage their sensory awareness.
An interactive learning puppy with a personalisation feature that allows you to add your child’s name and favourite songs would make the perfect personalised toy for 1-year-olds. Alternatively, you can also choose a laugh and learn plush toy from Fisher.
10. Baby Toy Cars
A suitable baby boy toy for 1-year-olds
Baby boys tend to be all about car toys. Many 1-year-old boys are obsessed with cars – both toys and the real ones. My cousin, for example, was so much into cars that ‘car’ was his very first word. As such, we should offer our 1-year-olds the possibility to play with car toys as soon as possible. We should start with soft toys, which are considered safer, and then gradually advance to wooden and metal ones.
You can opt for soft baby toy cars that minimise the risk of your child getting hurt in any way or you can choose wooden cars with a wooden car ramp, which your boy may find even more fascinating.
11. Splash Pad
A cool gift for a 1-year-old boy
Some toddlers are afraid of water and those wouldn’t appreciate a gift with any kind of a water feature at all. For the rest of them, on the other hand, a splash pad is a toddler’s dream come true. An inflatable sprinkler and splash play mat allows children to jump, slide, sit, or even lay on it and enjoy the gentle and refreshing splashes. If you are looking for the perfect garden toy or outdoor toy for the summer, a splash pad may be your best bet.
Opt for this affordable inflatable splash pad or an elephant splash pad.
12. Activity Cube
The ultimate learning toy for a 1-year-old boy
If you are looking for a great learning toy for your 1-year-old, you should consider buying him an activity cube. These interactive toys tend to offer various activities, including spinning gear, turning wheel, colourful counting beads, and more. They are designed to engage their senses, improve brain development, develop their motor skills, and keep them busy for hours on end. An activity cube is a very useful activity toy that will entertain and benefit the child in numerous ways.
You can choose an activity cube that offers 5 different activity options or choose one more focused on counting beads, which would make an adorable counting toy for 1-year-olds.
13. Piano Dance Mat
The best musical and entertaining gift for 1-year-old boys
A piano dance mat is probably one of the most entertaining gifts for 1-year-old boys there is. While there are some more advanced piano dance mats with many more keys and features for toddlers, there are also some simpler piano dance mats that are easy to use and can be used by 1-year-olds. These kinds of musical mats tend to feature piano function keys, musical sounds, and even animal sounds, all of which can motivate a child’s kicking and touching and help him develop his hand and foot flexibility and motor skills.
Opt for a simple mat with 9 keys or a larger one with more keys.
14. Knob Wooden Puzzle
A great learning gift for a 1-year-old boy
According to experts, knob wooden puzzles are one of the best learning toys for 1-year-olds. As such, you can never go wrong by buying your boy one of those puzzles. They tend to come in multiple bright colours, which automatically attract children’s attention and are designed to help the young toddlers recognise shapes and train their motor skills.
You can choose a knob puzzle with wild animals, for example, one with fruits, or one with numbers and letters.
15. Crawl Tunnel
A unique birthday gift for a 1-year-old boy in the UK
12-month-olds usually love to crawl. If your 1-year-old is one of them, you should consider buying him a crawl tunnel. Crawl tunnels are great for developing motor skills and they are practical as well, as they can be used both inside and outside. Plus, 1-year-olds tend to find them very entertaining.
Choose a regular colourful crawl through play tunnel or an adorable caterpillar shaped one.
16. First Crayons
A gift to nourish his creativity
Young toddlers tend to be exceptionally creative and creativity is definitely something we must encourage and help them nourish and develop. One of the best ways to do so is by encouraging them to draw. While not all pens, markers, and crayons are suitable for 1-year-olds, there are some crayons with great palm grip designed just for the youngest toddlers. Crayons for 1-year-olds would surely make a wonderful gift for a 1-year-old boy.
Opt for cute egg-shaped crayons or opt for natural beeswax crayons.
17. Learning Book
An educational gift for brain development
A book is always a great gift idea, both for children and adults. And no child is too young to start learning from books. Indeed, books are still considered the most effective learning tool, even when it comes to books for 1-year-olds. Of course, 12-month-old babies find children’s books fascinating because of all the colours and shapes and lovely drawings. However, the right kind of children’s book also contains lots of practical knowledge, which can help the child start to talk, distinguish colours, recognise animals, differentiate between shapes, and much more.
For example, you can choose a book that will teach your 1-year-old boy useful words, colours, or opt for an interactive word learning book.
18. Sports Centre
The best sports toy for 1-year-olds
Motor skills are one of the most important skills a 1-year-old must focus on and develop. And while some toys are designed to stimulate children’s brains, a sports centre is designed to test and develop a child’s motor skills. The best sports centres come in multiple vibrant colours, exciting sound effects, and both a basketball hoop and a football goal. A sports centre is an educational and sensory toy that your boy is guaranteed to love and would make a great Christmas or birthday gift for a 1-year-old boy.
Opt for this popular 2 in 1 sports centre for 1-year-olds or a more advanced 3 in 1 sports activity centre.
19. Musical Rhymes Book
A great learning present for a 1-year-old boy in the UK
Are you still wondering what to buy a 1-year-old boy? A nursery rhymes book is an always popular gift designed to introduce our little ones to classic nursery rhymes, such as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. A 1-year-old will surely listen attentively and do his best to sing along.
You can also opt for Laugh and Learn Storybook Rhymes or a musical book with nursery rhymes.
You can also watch a bridged version of this article in video form below or directly on Youtube.
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