What Does a Toddler Really Need? 10 Sensible Gifts for a 1 Year Old Girl and 3 Ways to Select Gifts

Your girl turns one only once, so it is expected that you would want to pamper her with commemorative gifts with clay handprints and footprints, including stuffed animals. Children at the age of one are adorable; they will love toys that make interesting sounds and make sure that you shoot a few pictures of your little one so that she has some memento to look forward to when she becomes older. Actually, you can gift her first birthday photo during her third birthday and see the amazement register on her face as she realises that it is a picture of yours truly.

At this age, your toddler is still developing and would love simple games of hide and seek. Try hiding behind a towel as you give her a bath and gently prod her; this should produce a few squeals and giggles. Then ask her, “is this a leg? Is this an arm” and as you progress along, your little one should break out into loud squeals of laughter. Once you have finished giving her a bath, move her to another room and the change in scenery should keep her engrossed for a while. Just remember that at this age, your baby would love the old ‘peek a boo' game more than any expensive toys you can get for her.

Around this age, your baby should start being more active, will move around more and be able to recognize sounds and more importantly, be able to recognize the sound of your voice as well. Right now your baby is probably trying to sit up on her own, and would even try standing upright on her own. This is the perfect time to get your baby what she deserves, gifts that will encourage her to develop physically and mentally, at a rapid pace.

Your little cupcake has grown both in size and intellect; in no time at all she has grown from a little bean to the size of a small poodle – a smiling, charming toddler. That’s why her first birthday is a special occasion to celebrate as she turns officially into a toddler. She would be much more active now, and as she is beginning to crawl, smile and interact with both people and objects much more than she had done before. The first birthday is an interesting milestone especially for first time parents and naturally, you would want to gift her with something unique and amazing. But you may not want to spend all that money on expensive gifts; instead you can opt for something simple, after all, its is the thought that counts right?

Most, strike that, all one year olds do not remember what gifts they got other than letting you know when it is feeding time. Remember, babies at this age would be crawling already and would need toys that would satisfy their curiosity, so make sure that you get them durable gifts – the sort that can withstand all the rough wear and tear. So go for an inexpensive gift, one that will enable them to enjoy it without you having to worry about breakages. And if you do not have any kids, figuring out what gift to bring to the first birthday can be a challenge.

Even though she can do very limited things at the moment, her brain is developing rapidly and she needs all the right tools and games to develop her fine motor skills, cognitive, spatial and gross motor skills. Toys and games are the best way to aid her growth but they need to be well designed so look for toys that have been proven to assist in child growth.

Gifting one year olds with something that they’ll love isn’t all that difficult; they are that age when they are more fascinated with the shiny gift wrapping than by what’s on the inside. So make sure that you get your gift which can be a silver keepsake item, gift wrapped in a nice glorious gift wrapper that’s bound to be a hit with the little one. Finding the right gift for a 1-year-old might be easier than you think: It’s that age when the box really can be more exciting than the toy inside.

That’s because favorite activities at age 1 include pushing and pulling, putting things together and taking them apart, and — yes — moving things in and out of boxes. So do not worry too much about the right gift for the one year old; at this age their main activities resolve around pushing, pulling chewing and taking things apart, that’s it. One year olds are at the age when they start recognizing sounds, giving full vent to their vocal cords and so much more. They are at that right age where they tend to be quite active and would love big books with flaps, or dolls that teaches them alphabets, words and nursery rhymes. So if you were looking for the right toy, you may want to start taking a look at soft cuddly dolls that she would grow with, soft blankets, or blankets with different textures to entice them to explore the same with their tiny hands.

They are at the age when they should be able to put lids on bottles, lift them and hold them up, learn to use the sippy cup perfectly and to turn the pages of th book to their favorite section. But the best toys that you may want to opt for are the open ended ones, which will allow your little one to explore the bounds of her creativity and get loads of fun out of it.

Looking forward to getting something special for your little girl? Well, then you are in luck for we have this great party dress for your little one that’s just what she needs for birthday parties and other special occasions. Toy Balloon Kids Roses Party Dress in pink should make her look cute as a button, add a touch of glamour and ensure that everyone falls in love with the princess right from the moment she steps out in the dress. It’s what your little one needs for party wear, it is a cotton blend and regular fit, with a round neck. You can wash this easily and it comes with an affordable tag of Rs.998 on First Cry.

The Little's Musical Activity Table happens to have multiple functions besides being a great toy for the little one. It features everything from musical flip book, to lenticular TV, telephone and even plays lullabies. With the vivid color display and interesting sounds, that is designed to help improve your kid’s coordination, it will catch her fancy and keep her entertained for hours. It is portable and comes with extendable legs which you can use to help convert it into a play table. It comes with batteries included and is Safe to use, easily portable with built in audio, visual features and contains musical activities which includes flip book, musical buttons, lullabies, lenticular television and much more. The fact is that this toy comes with extendable legs that allows you to convert it into a fun play table. Suitable for ages 1-3 year, you can buy it for Rs.1,155 on Amazon.

Rrimin Portable Ocean Ball Pit Pool is an ideal play area to have at home. You can setup a playground and even dismantle it in seconds; the material is extra sturdy, durable, compact enough to fit in your kids room. It comes with themed cartoon themed tent, a princess themed play pen for children along with safety mesh in place. This is the ideal toy for your little one and you can set it up indoors, or out in the backyard and can even set it up at parties or day care and other occasions, for all the little tots to get some quality time on their own.

The product is a 120 x 120 cm play tent which is also quite compact so that it can be stored away easily. It is perfect for infants above 6 months. The toy is designed to fascinate your child and soon she will lose all track of time while playing with it. Please note that the package contains only one special tent and ocean balls do not come with this. Buy it for Rs.1,562 on Amazon.

While they are babies parents go through a ton of onesies, shirts, socks, bibs and shirts. Somehow the baby always needs cleaning up and changing. At 1 year she is bigger and slightly less prone to making a mess by drooling, but she is on the move - she is crawling, getting into corners, covering herself with things. In short, a steady supply of good clothes is always needed. Give her cute onesies, shirts, pants, socks, all kinds of clothes for toddlers. We found these Little Doe onesies absolutely adorable. They are made of soft cotton and are also available as t-shirts. Buy this for about Rs.700 on Little Fox Nest on Etsy.

Feeding children from bowls and plates made from silver is considered beneficial for their health and you can buy the 1 year girl a silver cup, or a bowl and spoon set. However if your budget cannot accommodate these, the next best option would be silver plated utensils. Odishabazaar Gold and Silver Plated floral bowls and Spoon with Octagan Tray can be gifted to the little girl for any occasion. They weigh only 499 grams and the items are made from brass but coated with silver and gold polish. Buy the set for Rs.295 on Amazon.

If you were looking for a soft toy for your little one, then this talking baby doll should make the perfect gift. The plush toy is a stuffed doll that talks and will fast become your little one’s companion; the best part is that it talks and is perfect for all ages up to the age of 10 years so she can continue to play with it for years. It comes in multi colors so choose the one as per your preference. It comes with an affordable price tag of Rs.489 on ebay.in

Children at this age can move around on their own and like to play with things they can pull along or push. The Toys Bhoomi Super Fun Mini Shopping Trolley with Toy Food Play comes with a variety of toy food which is perfect for both role and pretend play. This toy would be the perfect addition to toy kitchen sets. If your child loves role playing then she would definitely love this shopping trolley toy. No batteries are required and it is lightweight and does not come with sharp edges. The shopping cart trolley is designed to resemble real shopping carts and contains over 30 grocery items from fruits, canned fruits to various types of vegetables. This toy would be loads of fun for your little one and educational as well, it is currently priced at Rs.899 on amazon.in

Stacking toys are extremely popular for 1 year old kids and Fat Brain Toys Spin Again Toys is a stacking toy that spins, the first ever stacking and twirling toy which is designed especially to encourage hand eye coordination and to help her try out her baby engineering skills. She is bound to be fascinated as she watches the toy in action spin around the room. The toy comes with eye fascinating colors which include lime, teal, magenta, red, sky blue and much more; it contains six discs, a reversible wobble base and a corkscrew pole. All you need to do is to drop the vividly painted discs into the threaded cockscrew pole and your little one should have her mouth open a she sees how fast the toy spins. The toy is perfect for your little one as it helps her to improve her hand eye coordination and in the process, learn a little more about what makes things go round.

Each disc comes in two colors making it perfect to create a dynamic rainbow using all the various color combinations. And when the toy spins the visual effect is all the more outstanding. You can also keep and spin the discs separately as even the little one spins all the way to the base. The toy is pretty easy to set up and all you have to do is to lift up on the easy release on the central pole after play time and all the discs head right to the bottom. You can now easily dismantle it; also the toy is completely safe as it is bpa free and none of the discs have sharp corners. It is priced at Rs.1,885 on Amazon.

At 1 year your little girl may not be able to read but it's a good age to introduce her to picture books that you can read while she follows. A book with her name woven into the story will keep her hooked. Oh! My Name - Personalised Name Based Book Paperback is a personalised picture story book for children aged 2 to 8 years of age. It contains various stories where all the stories start with the letters of your child’s name; for example stories for your little girl with the name Aditi would be different from stories for a little tot called Rama. All the stories are designed to rhyme, and are loads of fun to read besides being informative and interesting. The great part is that the book also comes with a puppet which you can use as a show and tell when reading the story to your little one. You can also place an order to include a custom message for your little one. You also have the option to include a photo of your child as well which would be placed prominently on the first page of the book. It is priced at Rs.999 on Amazon.

Parents love personalised things for their little one and you can give her items for daily use with name on them - clothes, blankets with her name monogrammed on it, sippers and bottles, a bathrobe or other personal items. Such gifts are more for the parents than the baby as she doesn't really understand the idea of gifts just yet. We suggest the Personalised Cherishable Pillow priced at Rs.399 at fnp.com. You can get your little darling her own personalised pillow cover and show her how much she means to you. It’s dimensions are 22 x 17 inches. The cover comes without a pillow so if this is meant as a gift for someone other than your daughter, also buy a pillow to go with it.

It’s quite easy to go overboard when it comes to buying things for the latest addition to your family but you would be well advised to save the money for all the essentials starting with diapers and body lotion. All that a baby needs is warm, nurturing love and a few essentials to make your job easier. If you are not sure what’s essential and what’s not, ask a few moms and they’ll fill you in. In the meanwhile, do check out these tips: