My son is turning 1 on Sunday and yes i still havent' gone shopping for him yet. He loves music and dancing. We do have a lot of kids music that we listen to and a lot of toy instruments that we play with. I was thinking about getting him a piano mat that he can either sit and play with or walk over. Is there anything like this out there and where would I find something like this? I am open to any other suggestions also. We already have a lot of toys around our house and i'm not sure what to get him.
Thanks to everyone for the great advice. At this point I don't think we are going to get him anything but his birthday cake.
My mom bought my oldest a kids' keyboard that children of ALL ages love! It has been through several moves and holds up well against little ones. It's about 3 feet long, has pre-recorded songs that can be played at the push of a button, adjustable volume, a microphone, and lots of instrument choices.
I believe Walmart sells them for $25 in the toy section.
M.,
Hello, I was wondering if you can forward me your responses because my son will be turning 1 on friday and i did not get him anything yet either.
J.
I agree with Michelle. I didn't purchase birthday gifts for my oldest son until last year. He didn't ask for them and he has plenty of toys. Besides, he received gifts from his grandparents.
If you must buy something, I would buy something that both kids can play with.
I believe I've seen simple musical mats at places like BabiesRUs, at least in the past. I would call them to be sure though.
My son really enjoyed his LeapFrog Music Table, although the better he got at walking, the less he used it. It's a thought though. A simple toy keyboard can be fascinating for kids.
Books are a wonderful thing to give your child. Bath toys. Sometimes it just helps to go to a kid's specialty toy store to see things that aren't available at places like Target or Walmart. Have fun!
Most 1-yr olds do not care about their birthday or about getting stuff. These meaningful suggestions are all awesome and really commemorate the occasion. If you want to watch your son have a lot of fun, give him chocolate cake (ours was cake for their very first time) and take a lot of pix while he rubs in all over his face. It is also fun to loosely wrap up several inexpensive kid things and let him shred the wrapping paper. That is the fun part for a 1-yr-old!
My son received an iPlay piano mat when he was 1 1/2. It is really neat, but he didn't start enjoying it until he was over 2.
For a meaningful music gift, I recommend a personalized CD. We received one as a gift, and it is really cute. You can actually get both boy's names on one CD if you want to include your other son.
http://www.nameyourtune.com/
It won't get here in time for your son's birthday, but he won't know the difference.
I'd also recommend a kids photo album that you can personalize with pictures. Gund has some really cute soft ones like these:
http://www.amazon.com/Gund-First-Birthday-Photo-Album/dp/...
http://www.amazon.com/Gund-My-Family-Photo-Album/dp/B000G...
I thought immediately of the Bee Bop Band as well. It comes with an assortment of instruments inside a drum. We got it when my oldest (now 5) was about a year old. It's tremendous fun with a great collection of instruments that are easy for little ones to play (drum, shakers, tambourine, like that). I do day care and those instruments are still a hit with everyone. For a kid who likes to play music, I really recommend it. And by the way, we have the LeapFrog table too and have loved it. If you have (or plan to have) more little ones, I would really recommend it. As they get better at walking, I find they're less interested in standing somewhere playing with a table, but it's been popular with all the kids I know!
Hello! I'm not sure what you have in our near your city, but we have a yearly family membership to our local zoo and I take the kids there about once a week - it's a great "present" that we all enjoy and the kids LOVE it :)
Something else he might like is the "Bee Bop Band" by Parents. I believe it is intended for a little older kids but our son loves it! It is available at Target. Another item he got for a Christmas gift were a pair of maracas. One just rattles while the other makes music sounds and says numbers and colors. I think they are by Leapfrog. Another favorite!
Hi M.,
Are you going to celebrate his birthday with family or friends?? I'm going to assume you would. Since you also said you have lots of toys, I'm going to suggest putting away the money in a savings account. Pick up something little just because it's fun. But your child will receive gifts from others plus. . he doesn't "need" anything nor will he notice. I have lots of fun 'shopping' at garage sales and get awesome toys at a fraction of the cost. We are in a recession so make the most of it. I think the most important thing is spending time with your son and watching him mess up a cake:)
I bought my sons growth charts for the wall for their first birthday....I thought it would be a special gift they will have for a long time.
I wouldn't get him anything.... Especially if he already has tons of toys. At 1 they don't even really open the gifts themselves so it's more for the parents satisfaction than the childs to have gifts involved.
We aern't even planning on buying anything for our soon to be 4 year olds birthday. She gets enough from everyone else and the toy room has way too many toys already!
In the end, we don't really buy our kids presents for Christmas and birthday. Sometimes we've waited to see what other people get and then buy something. But it's not like they don't get new things throughout the year. When they are old enough to actually be more aware of gifting it will be worth it. But right now it's not so important. A cake and a little festivity is enough.
I'd skip the piano mat and just get him a regular piano like this little wooden one here: http://uggamugga.blogspot.com/2008/12/schoenhuts-my-first.... It's perfect for little ones to sit on the ground in front of and learn to make music as well as cause and effect! My children LOVE this!
And my favorite kids CD that isn't nearly obnoxious or annoying is from Renee & Jeremy...it's mellow and thoughtful and beautiful. You can listen to a few sounds for free here: http://uggamugga.blogspot.com/2008/03/renee-jeremy.html.
Music is such a wonderful thing to have your children adore! Have a wonderful birthday celebration!
S.
At 1 year old we haven't bought any of our kids birthday gifts. They get enough junk from our families. We just put money into their savings accounts and/or college funds.
We planted a tree in our front yard for our daughters first birthday.
Google Bath Boats....I think it's www.bathboats.com
Handmade wooden boats for collecting or playing with or both. You can request a personalized one with name/birthday special interests or colors. They are so sweet and a great way to remember his first year. (it's what we got our 1 year old) He wouldn't have it for his birthday, but probably won't notice.
