Toys

By silverbirch on Jul 21, 2007 | Reply

He’ll probably play with the boxes the toys come in anyway. Children are like that.

By AJ on Jul 24, 2007 | Reply

Face it mom, at this age we are buying for us not for them. They don’t care, they get a bigger kick out of the box and the tissue paper. Get a few things he can grow into and some things you will enjoy playing with him with.

By Cool Mom on Jul 27, 2007 | Reply

Clothes, empty boxes, kids usually don’t care at that age. I always bought my son clothes for his birthday which is in November around Thanksgiving Day and then Christmas which is right around the corner, I’d buy him the toys. Go to the infant section in a retail store and go to the toys that say 12-18 months or under 3!

By momma2mingbu on Jul 29, 2007 | Reply

It won’t matter much to him what he gets. Too many gifts will actually be overwhelming. Playing with the paper and boxes will thrill him at this age.

Mine were all born in February or March, so they get bday gifts right after Christmas too. We usually buy it all at once to save on shipping since we do a lot of internet ordering.

If you want something that will eventually be a keepsake, what about a nice set of wooden blocks that he can then give to his kids when he’s grown up?

Get a “baby’s first Christmas” ornament for the tree and maybe one that will hold a picture from his first Christmas. Keep those to hand down to him when he is married or has his first child.

By that_girl_from_australia on Jul 30, 2007 | Reply

I’m a nanny…Our 18 month old likes anything that:

has buttons
plays music
has different textures
has bright colours

Also, books make great presents! There are lots of different books out these days with textures, pop-ups or flaps.

Toys that he can stand up and hold onto like activity boards, push toys etc will help to teach him balance and build the muscles in his legs.

I did several subjects at university level on children’s play, development and learning, so feel free to email me directly at

Hope this help…

By brenda g on Jul 30, 2007 | Reply

Fisher price has good toys .

By Pepper on Aug 1, 2007 | Reply

For my son’s first Christmas, we gave him diapers. =)

Don’t worry so much about the ages listed on boxes. My son plays with just about anything that we help him find interesting. Even if the toy says “18 months” there will be plenty that he will find interesting. Really you only need to watch out for small parts he can swallow or moving parts that can pinch. Other than that, find something that you think fits his personality- animals, trucks, etc- and let him figure it out in his own time.

Also, books are always good. Even if they seem old, they always grow into them. Kids love pictures, plus you can feel like you’re helping them learn.

OH- and if they make noise, make sure they have an OFF button. Rule number 1!!!

Right now, my 13 month old son is walking around with a diaper and an empty bowl. Kids love anything they can learn to manipulate. But now I think I’ll go help him play with some real toys- my break is over. =)

By beerbohms on Aug 4, 2007 | Reply

A Glow worm (My daughter is 13 months and still loves to cuddle with it at night!), Fischer Price Aquarium (this is mostly for newborns; however, it’s soothing with the bubble sounds), stacking toys (Fisher Price Peek-A-Blocks), maybe something he can push while he learns to walk??

Oh I know…..I got my daughter this and she LOVES it. She, too, stands to play with it. The Leap Frog Learning Table. It teaches colors, up, down, high, low, open, close, ABC’s, and 123’s. It’s about $40. GREAT Christmas gift!! It’s for ages 6 - 36 months.

By tigreria on Aug 6, 2007 | Reply

It all depends on what stage your baby is developed mentally at. You can get him toys to grown into…..Go by your judgement not the ages listed on the box. All kids are different and develope differently. My daughter was 8mths old with 12-24 toys.

Rocking horse, Hobby horse, Push toys, Wooden Puzzles, Picture books, 9ft tunnel he can crawl through with a tent on the other end or just the tunnel. Little people products. Little Tykes tool bench.

By bhurd1605 on Aug 10, 2007 | Reply

A fisher price press and go train my son loves it still and he got it last year when he was only a year old.