Gifts for 14 month old?

[Chris in VA]

Thinking of my gdaughter and what to get for Xmas.we gave her blocks and books and a couple of toddler puzzles for her birthday last month. She has few toys. She is a smart little thing! Not walking, but almost. Nothing electronic.

[zoobie]

There's a recent thread about baby dolls... Baby Stella is a totally stuffed one that's cute. We like Corolle Calin and Gotz Muffin. My daughters really like the FP walker/doll stroller too. There's another that's a grocery cart/doll stroller combo.

[prairiewindmomma]

shape and sort cube: https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Shape-Sorting-Cube/dp/B00005RF5G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1478113263&sr=8-2&keywords=toddler+wooden+toys

 

pounding bench: https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Deluxe-Pounding-Bench/dp/B004NCEL4M/ref=pd_sim_21_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NZ1TEPMJD804WERTK1TC

 

rainbow stacker: https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-576-Rainbow-Stacker/dp/B000067PWG/ref=pd_sim_21_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=NZ1TEPMJD804WERTK1TC

 

walk along puppy: https://www.amazon.com/Hape-Walk-Long-Puppy-Wooden/dp/B008E190RG/ref=sr_1_8?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1478113418&sr=1-8&keywords=hape  or elephant (we have the elephant) https://www.amazon.com/Hape-Elephant-Wooden-Push-Pull/dp/B00COQZMGA/ref=sr_1_38?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1478113465&sr=1-38&keywords=hape

 

In our experience, everyone gave doll babies and commercial toys when what I wanted was quality wooden toys that could be handed down that developed motor skills.

 

 

[Ailaena]

Stringing beads, we have a train with wooden blocks, one of those wooden toys you pull with a string, a stacker counter thing (yeah, that was helpful, right? It has 4 differently-sized dowels and 10 pieces in 4 colors? Sigh... I'll find a link later :p like this! http://amzn.to/2fiziyH ), a "cube" thing (http://amzn.to/2eALdb8 - they can be cheaper), pottery barn kids has some fun, wooden/no noise toys and they're reasonable when they're on sale. Also, ikea has awesome, soft food baskets! So cute! And they have good no-noise toys, as well. I was surprised.

[Ailaena]

Oh! And big Lego things http://amzn.to/2fFdX70 , and ride-on things (a bouncy howdy cow or A rocking dragon or whatever)

[ikslo]

Bath toys

 

 

 

[Anne]

I have learned on these boards that an appropriate strategy is to Ask the Parents!  :-)

 

I have a grandchild about that age.  For Christmas, we are giving him a contribution to his college fund (that we maintain), a puzzle or two, and whatever riding/climbing toy that his parents would like him to have.  And possibly a book or two b/c I might not be able to help myself....

 

:-)

 

Anne

[MercyA]

My daughters really like the FP walker/doll stroller too. There's another that's a grocery cart/doll stroller combo.

 

This is exactly what I was going to suggest! So fun for babies just learning to walk. 

[Rachel]

I love books at that age.

 

If you want toys, my kids always loved that pop up toy that had 4 doors and you pushed a button or twisted a knob to get each door to open. I have no clue what they are called but they run about $15.

 

The most loved toy in our home was the Fisher Price Barn that came with the animals. I bought it 9 years ago used and three kids played with it and my 4 year still does.

 

If you want to spend a little more money, the Little Tykes slide can be used indoors or outdoors and are great for little ones.

[nd293]

The best things I got dd at that age were sturdy 'mini adult' toys - a dust pan and brush, a tea set, that sort of thing. Dd is now 16 and her brother who is nearly 10 still pulls that tea set out sometimes and serves us juice in the tiny cups! It was plastic, primary colours.

 

Two other random things that have been used beyond any rational expectation are the soft foam soccer ball from IKEA and a set of vinyl beanbags shaped like lady bugs. Both were purchased for a 2 yr old and are still used 8 years on.

 

Also a small soft-body doll would be much loved at that age - add clothes and accessories later.

[wendyroo]

At that age I aim for toys with a lot of longevity.  Something they can use now, but really grow into for another couple years.

 

A bike seat

A bouncy horse

A play tent

This car track...we have never put batteries in it, and all of my babies, toddler and preschoolers still adore it

A simple set of play doh tools

Puppets

Musical instruments

A toy kitchen

 

Wendy

[medawyn]

Last Christmas, my then 13 month old received (at my request) Hello magazine from Highlights and Zoobies magazine; we've loved getting the subscription all year.  They are nice, sturdy, baby-sized magazines.  The first few issues were non-events, but now we ready them over and over.  At almost two (next week - yikes!) she loves getting mail.  It's a nice grow-into gift.

 

And I'll always endorse books for babies.  Or anyone, really.

[katilac]

Locks and latches board! A wooden board with sliding locks and so on for babies and toddlers to manipulate. 

 

You can get brightly colored ones by Melissa and Doug and other companies. I like the plain ones, but they tend to be harder to find and more expensive, because they're often used in therapy. 

 

You can DIY a plain one, though:

 

http://www.running-from-the-law.com/2013/08/diy-lock-and-hinge-board-for-toddlers.html

[zoobie]

Last Christmas, my then 13 month old received (at my request) Hello magazine from Highlights and Zoobies magazine; we've loved getting the subscription all year. They are nice, sturdy, baby-sized magazines. The first few issues were non-events, but now we ready them over and over. At almost two (next week - yikes!) she loves getting mail. It's a nice grow-into gift.

 

And I'll always endorse books for babies. Or anyone, really.

There's an adorable magazine called Babybug. It's basically a mini board book/magazine for toddlers put out by the Cricket magazine folks. No ads. If you wait until Black Friday/Cyber Monday, the magazine (all of theirs!) will be 50% off and you can go through Ebates to get an additional huge % cash back on magazines.com.