Best First Birthday Gift Ideas

Best First Birthday Gift Ideas
Best First Birthday Gifts

First birthdays are important for celebrating babies and parents — congrats on making it through the first 12 months! And with these affordable first birthday gift ideas, you'll save enough to buy yourself a little treat, too.

As with our top toys for 1-year-olds, many of these picks are educational and help to promote your little one's continuing development. Isn't it just the best when everybody wins?

Below, the best first birthday gift ideas for the new 1-year-old in your life.

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Best Personalized First Birthday Gift

I See Me! Personalized First Birthday Book

Best First Birthday Gifts - Babys 1st Birthday Boys Personalized Book
Buying Option
Why We Love It

What better way to mark the 12-month milestone than with a personalized book? Each book is customized with your child’s first and last name and birth date. Brightly colored illustrations of friendly animals help to mark the day and make it special.

Age range: Newborn to 6 years

Dimensions: 6.5 x 6.5 inches

Best Ride-On First Birthday Gift

Ancaixin Baby Balance Bike

first birthday gift ideas - Ancaixin Baby Balance Bike
Buying Option
Why We Love It

With four wheels and a full, wide seat, this first balance bike is perfect for 1-year-olds who are just walking, as well as those tots who have already mastered the skill. Steering is limited to 135 degrees which prevents baby from tipping over as she moves around. It weighs only five pounds, so it's easy to maneuver, and parents will rest easy knowing that although the upper age range is 24 months, the bike itself is tough enough to hold up to 100 pounds. Balance bikes in general make for an easy transition to a training-wheel free bicycle down the line and encourage your LO to learn to balance — all while having fun.

Age range: 10-24 months

Weight limit: 48 pounds

Weight: 5 pounds

Dimensions: 20 x 7 x 14 inches

Best Musical First Birthday Gift

Hape Pound and Tap Bench

first birthday gift ideas - Hape Pound and Tap Bench
Buying Option
Why We Love It

This multi-use toy will help your tot develop large and fine motor skills and a musical ear. She can pound on the balls, roll or toss them, play the pull out xylophone (all while improving hand-eye coordination and dexterity), learn about cause and effect and explore the joy of music. It’s made of water-based paint with non-toxic finishes and won the Cribsie Award for favorite first musical toy. And since it's only about 9 inches wide and 6 inches high, it won't completely take over your space.

Age range: 12 months to 3 years

Weight: 2.64 pounds

Dimensions: 9.4 x 5.3 x 5.9 inches

Best First Birthday Gift for Pretend Play

Fisher-Price Little People Caring for Animals Farm Playset

Why We Love It

One-year-olds are ripe for pretend play, which makes this farm playset the perfect first birthday gift. It comes with an interactive farm: the hayloft opens, the chicks “hatch” and the corn crop rotates. There are numerous buttons for animal sounds, songs and lights, and it includes figures of Farmer Jed and pig, chicken, horse and a cow with her calf.

Age range: 12 months to 5 years

Weight: 6.55 pounds

Dimensions: 24 x 5.37 x 16 inches 

Best Classic First Birthday Gift

Radio Flyer Classic Wagon

Why We Love It

It doesn’t get more classic than this little red wagon. It’s a smart investment, because you can use it to tote your 12-month old along on walks and it has enough room for your diaper bag plus gear for a picnic. Or, when your child is a little bit older, she can pull it along on her own. It has a controlled turning radius, too, so you don’t have to worry about your precious cargo tipping over. It measures more than three feet across and can hold up to 150 pounds — but don't get any ideas about riding in it yourself.

Weight limit: 150 pounds

Weight: 26.6 pounds

Dimensions: 37.4 x 5.2 x 17.6 inches

Best First Birthday Gift for Singing and Dancing

Fisher-Price Linkimals Musical Plush

Why We Love It

Part of the Fisher-Price Linkimals series, this adorable panda, which is perfectly sized for little hands, has a light-up belly button that can help little ones get familiar with letters and simple words. For even more fun, get one of the other animals in the series, including a head-bobbing moose and otter with shapes, to link them up for more singing and playing.

Age range: 9-36 months

Weight: 15.2 ounces

Dimensions: 3.54 x 7.48 x 11.02 inches

Best First Birthday Gift for Giggles

Melissa & Doug Turtle Ball Pit

Why We Love It

Those ball pits at the local bounce house are so much fun, but who knows what germs are hiding in there? Not to mention, baby is too young to hop in there. The solution? Her own personal ball pit. This one is filled with 60 balls (in two sizes and six colors) that are easy for little hands to grasp, toss and roll. They store easily in the zip-up turtle that has holes baby can push the balls through, plus a squeaking button, crinkling feet, a textured ring, attached rattle and more.

Age range: 6 to 36 months

Weight: 11.44 pounds

Dimensions: 39 x 29 x 8.5 inches

Best First Birthday Gift That Gives Back

Cuddle + Kind Dolls

Best First Birthday Gift Ideas - Cuddle and Kind Avery the Lamb
Buying Option
Why We Love It

How’s this for impressive? Each adorable animal — the company's menagerie includes llamas, swans and bunnies — is made in Peru with 100 percent cotton yarn, and for every one sold, 10 meals are provided to children in need. (Note that you'll get one 20-inch doll in each order.) What your 1-year-old will care about is that it’s super soft. And each one comes with its own birth certificate and a favorite quote. For example, “Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in your heart. Aww.

Age range: Newborn and up

Weight: 6.4 ounces

Size: 13 or 20 inches tall

Best Puzzle First Birthday Gift

BusyPuzzle Personalized Wood Name Puzzle

Best First Birthday Gifts - Personalized Name Puzzle
Buying Option
Why We Love It

In addition to being a pretty piece for the nursery or playroom, this wooden puzzle helps baby develop her fine motor skills and dexterity, color and shape recognition, and eventually letter and name recognition.

Age range: Newborn to 3 years

Dimensions: 4 x 0.4 x 15 inches

Best Pull Toy First Birthday Gift

Hape Walk-A-Long Puppy

Why We Love It

Spark your child’s imagination with an award-winning pretend pet that she can make sit, stand, roll or take for a walk. The wooden toy is a great way to burn all that excess energy, but it also promotes important skills like dexterity, hand-eye coordination and manipulation.

Age range: 12 months to 3 years

Weight: 1.32 pounds

Dimensions: 8.66 x 3.62 x 6.38 inches

Best Subscription Gift for First Birthday

Lovevery Play Kits

Best First Birthday Gifts - Lovevery Play Kits
Buying Option
Lovevery
Lovevery
$120 / month
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Why We Love It

For a gift that wows parents as much as it does toddlers, turn to Lovevery’s play kits. The boxes, which are curated by a team of children’s educational and developmental experts, include age- and stage-appropriate toys (each box is designed for specific three-month age increments) — like stacking toys, puzzles, ball runs, and more — designed to coincide with whatever skills baby is mastering at the moment.

Age range: Newborn to 3 years