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Baby’s first birthday is a huge milestone as they transition into toddlerhood! With that transition comes a slew of others: moving on to more mature feeding skills, more involved pretend play skills, more gross motor development, learning more language, etc.

Here are carefully curated lists of the best gifts and toys for 1 year olds, how to use them to encourage learning and development, and why I love them as a speech-language pathologist and feeding specialist!

Language Learning Toys for 1 Year Olds

See and Say Musical Toy: One of my favorite toys for imitation! Have fun with mimicking animals noises and sounds, and pair signs with spoken language.
Fisher Price Shape Sorter: A versatile toy that’s age-appropriate for 1 year olds! Model words like “in” and “out” as you load the shapes in and out of the bucket. Stack the shapes and build a tower, label shapes and colors, and then move on to sorting the shapes and putting them through the matching holes. If your toddler mouths the shapes - no problem! This toy is so easy to clean!
1, 2, 3 Do The Shark: This cute book is full of movement and prompts your 1 year old to move their body and imitate! You sing a cute little song throughout that your little one will want to hear again and again.
Melissa & Doug’s Hungry Pelican: We have this and it’s another one of my favorite toys to practice imitation and foster language learning, too! Open and close the pelican’s beak and feed him snacks! The feeding pieces squeak and rattle.
Maracas & Shaker Egg Set: A colorful musical toy that your 1 year old will love! Model the word “shake” and “dance” as you make music. This toy provides hours of fun as your little one grows! Take turns making music back and forth.
Animated Flappy Elephant: Meet Flappy the singing elephant! This little guy is great for interactive play. Flappy plays peekaboo behind his ears and sings along with your little one. Play peek-a-boo with your little one after playing with Flappy!
Spinner Toy: Stack the discs by color or size, model “ready, set, go” and watch the discs spin down the pole. This toy builds anticipation and littles get so excited playing with it! As they grow, they put the pieces on themselves!
Soft Blocks w/Silicone Inserts: These soft blocks are safe for your 1 year old and provide a sensory experience with their silicone inserts! Stack a tower and watch it fall down. As you stack the blocks, model the word “up” or “on top,” then when your little one knocks it down model words like, “down, crash.”
Xylophone: Another fun musical toy! Model words like “bang, boom, tap.” As your little one grows into toddlerhood they will continue to play, too!
Farm Animal Sounds Puzzle: A great puzzle to motivate your 1 year old to imitate! Remove the puzzle piece and put it back to hear the sound! Also great to work on pinching (15 month milestone)!
See, Touch, Feel: One of the best books for incorporating sensory play. It has raised textures, finger trails, and more. Take turns scratching the ribs on the xylophone or banging the drum. Super interactive!
Animal Babies Sound Book: This book is great for modeling and mimicking animal sounds!

Feeding Gifts for 1 Year Olds

Olababy Fork & Spoon: This set is great for a child approaching 12 months, so perfect to throw in with the first birthday gifts! Using a fork is not expected until spoon use becomes independent, and most start using a fork around 15 months. The harder silicone fork in this package is great since little ones won’t hurt their teeth biting down on it!
Lalo Big Bites Kit: This kit has everything you need. Made with food-grade silicone and stainless steel, it’s one of our plastic-free favorites for feeding! You get the mealtime cup, plate, bowl, fork, spoon, placemat, and a set of chopsticks! Code “EATPLAYSAY” saves 10%.
Munchkin Stainless Utensils: This stainless steel set is ideal for 15-18 months or older, as spoon and fork use become independent. They’re durable and easy to clean. Perfect to add into first birthday gifts as baby preps for this transition!
Hippypotamus Silicone Open Cups: These are so cute and have a weighted bottom - 100% food-grade silicone. Open cup drinking is expected to be independent by 18 months of age, so practice more between 12-18 months!
Olababy Bowl: One of my favorite feeding items for toddlers! Suctions to the high chair and has a little lip on the side to help baby scoop and keep the food on the spoon! Also comes with a lid, making it a good travel option, too. Scooping is expected to be mostly independent around a year.
Weesprout Suction Plates: These are great silicone divider plates for 1 year olds. They also come with lids, so great for traveling or packing for daycare!
Thermos Funtainer: This is one of my favorite cups for toddlers on-the-go! These are easy for toddlers to open- push the button, drink, and close the lid. And they fit in most car seat cup holders. No valve, so free flowing water all the way. Your toddler will use for years!
Weesprout Snack Containers: A great option to hold snacks & I love that it’s silicone! Easy to clean, too, as no little compartments that trap food. Between 1-2 years of age snacks become more prevalent, so these are great to have for on-the-go!
Lollaland Straw Cup: This cup is my favorite weighted straw because it does not have a valve. A valve is a piece of material in the straw itself that is a spill proof feature BUT it requires babies to suck extremely hard to get liquid out, since a lot of force is needed to get the valve open. This cup is not 100% spill-proof when the top is down, but when the top is pulled over and the straw is pinched down instead, it is. This is one of my favorite cups for milk since it’s easy to clean. It’s great for that bottle weaning transition around 1 year of age.
Hiccapop Travel High Chair: This is one of our family’s travel must-haves for toddlers! You don’t have to lug your high chair to grandma’s house or on vacation! It can secure to a dining chair like a booster or just be used on the floor. It has a wide seat, so it can grow with your baby into toddlerhood.
Elk & Friends Stainless Utensils: Silicone and stainless steel, these plastic-free utensils for toddlers are great quality and come in so many fun color combinations.
Lalo Placemat: We use these silicone placemats to keep the mess off the table/counter.
Silicone Bento Box: It’s perfect for daycare or taking on-the-go! This silicone travel lunch box has divided compartments and a lid that locks into place well!

Pretend Play Toys for 1 Year Olds

Melissa & Doug Smoothie Maker: One of Paul’s all-time favorite toys. I bought this for him at 16 months and he’s still playing with it now. Hours of fun pretend play! Talk about what foods go in and model words like “mix, spin, pour!”
Fisher Price Phone: Talk back and forth with your 1 year old on the phone! This is great for realistic pretend play and having little conversations.
Melissa & Doug Cutting Set: This is one of the best cutting sets because the velcro sticks but isn’t super tight. The pieces are a good size for little hands. Perfect for around 15-18 months and older so a great gift for a first birthday!
Melissa & Doug Puppets: These are great for imaginative play and storytelling. Model the sounds the animals make and prompt your little one to imitate!
Melissa & Doug Birthday Cake: We love this Melissa & Doug toy! Paul practices serving us slices and pretends to blow out the candles. This toy is great for practicing social routines and more pretend play! Plus a birthday cake for a birthday is so cute!
Melissa & Doug Dust, Sweep, Mop!: Great for realistic pretend play, and for the toddler who loves to help! This toy provides excellent opportunities to model fun verbs like “sweep, mop, wipe, brush” and “clean/dirty.”
Plush Baby Doll: Perfect for pretend play for a 1 year old. Feed baby, put baby to sleep, play with baby! These dolls are plush and machine washable.
Melissa & Doug Slice & Bake: Practice serving cookies to family members, cooling them off by blowing on them, dunking them in a pretend cup of milk and so on! Any pretend play food item comes with hours of fun ahead!
Melissa & Doug Latches Barn: We love this barn for pretend play! Label the animals, prompt your toddler to imitate animal noises, and create play scenes together. As they get older, work fine motor skills with those latches!
Leapfrog Picnic Basket: Have a picnic together! Work on learning language by labeling the items and what to do with them. Later in toddlerhood, use it as a learning toy for identifying colors and shapes.
Melissa & Doug Coffee Set: I love this for acting out routines and taking turns. Another great toy to model functional language like, “pour, drink, in, out, more.”
Green Toys Tea Set: This brand makes high-quality toys! This has been one of Paul’s favorite toys. A great tea set for pretend play!

Best Toys for Motor Development for 1 Year Olds

best toys for fine motor development for 1 year olds

Brown Bear, Brown Bear Slide and Find: This is one of the best books for young toddlers! The book is great for finger isolation (15 month milestone). Work on using the pointer finger to slide the flaps and find the animals.
Pop It Ball: This one is fun because you can push some buttons in and then hear other buttons pop! Great for busy hands.
Pop Its: I like this set because it works on fine motor skills. You can use it for pretend play food, too. Model the words, “push” and “pop.”
Melissa & Doug Wooden Blocks: This is a great open-ended toy for toddlers! Stacking a block tower several blocks high is a skill that refines after the first birthday. This is a great set to practice stacking towers and taking turns building. Practice with big and small blocks and knock the tower down while modeling words like, “boom crash push!”
Dimpl Popping Toy: Each “dimple” is a different size and color so you can use pointer finger on the small ones or push and grab the larger ones!
The Electricity Board: Both my kids love this one! It has several switches and buttons that help with fine motor development, and can keep your little one entertained for a bit. Best for about 18 months and up!
Sloosh Bubble Gun: Paul has this one and loves it! They’re fun for outdoor play! Practice chasing the bubbles and popping them!
Honeysticks: These non-toxic chunky crayons are great art supplies for 1 year olds. Work on holding the crayons with thumb towards the paper and making 1-2 scribbles on the paper.
Bubble Machine: We love this for outdoor play! When Paul was 15 months we would go outside and use pointer finger to pop the bubbles!
Melissa & Doug Sound Puzzle (Nursery Rhymes): Work on using pincer grasp to pull puzzle piece out. Then practice matching and aligning puzzle pieces with these simple, circular shapes.
Cows on the Bus: Increase pincer grasp strength as your little one uses their two fingers to grab the tabs and pull them throughout the story.
Poke a Dot Alphabet Eye Spy: These books are great for promoting finger isolation and pointing. Label what you see and prompt your little one to imitate you!

Best Outdoor Toys for 1 Year Olds

Water Table: A total crowd pleaser. This is one of the best water tables! It’s big enough for 2-3 kids to play together. Perfect for modeling words like “up, down, splash, wet, plunk!”
Green Toys Truck: These toys are so durable and easy to clean! Take them indoors or outdoors! Model words like “bumpy, scoop, dump, go!”
Sand Table: This one is great for outdoor sensory play! The lid has molded in roadways so it can be used for pretend play with cars, too. Plus they aren’t sitting in a sandbox, which can be so helpful as you transition inside afterwards!
Bubble Machine: This bubble machine is one of the best toys for outdoor play! Help your little one isolate their pointer finger to pop the bubbles and model words like “pop, bubble, up, touch, point.” (Finger isolation is a skill that is expected by 15 months, so bubbles are GREAT for working on this!)
Green Toys Wagon: Practice filling it up and pulling it around - indoors or outdoors! Talk about what you’re putting IN and taking OUT, and even have your little one practice cleaning up and putting things away.
Collapsible Crawling Tunnel: It fans out to be a big toy, but folds up to fit in the closet! This is a great toy for working on motor development. Pop some toys in there and encourage your little one to get them and “bring them back.”
Toddler Slide: A great first slide for toddlers! It makes a the perfect first birthday gift that your little one can use well into toddlerhood.
John Deere Sit’n Scoot: This is a super cute ride-on toy! Use it to work on gross motor development. It can also be used for pretend play!
Silicone Squirt Toys: These are fun for outdoor water play! These are plastic-free and come apart to wash - mold-free water play! Model words like “squirt, squeeze, splash, my turn/your turn.”
Splash Pad: I love this for water play for 1 year olds. It makes a great first birthday gift for littles born in spring and summer!
Baby Balance Bike: These are great for little ones to work on gross motor skills like balance and coordination.
Toddler-Sized Sports Ball Pack: These are a good size for little hands. They’re great toys for gross motor development! Practice throwing, catching, tossing, rolling, and taking turns.

Age-Appropriate Cars and Trucks for 1 Year Olds

Melissa & Doug School Bus: Paul has this and loves loading the kids on and off the bus. This is an age-appropriate wooden toy that will grow with your toddler!
Melissa & Doug Pull-Back Cars: These are one of our favorite gifts for 1 year olds. Pull them back and watch them go! I love these because they grow with your little one!
Laugh & Learn Car: This toy helps develop gross and fine motor skills! This got so much use in our home with Paul and Penelope. A high-quality gift that can grow with your little one and last.
Wooden Ramp Racer: This toy is perfect for a 1 year old boy who loves cars. Practice “ready, set, go!” and watch the cars fly down the ramps.
Melissa & Doug Shape Sorting Dump Truck: It’s a truck and a shape sorter! Such a versatile toy! Practice identifying shapes and colors while using it for pretend play.
Melissa & Doug Road Rug: Great gift for 1 year olds who love cars! Use functional language like “stop, go, around” and practice driving to the store, school, home, and more.
Melissa & Doug Emergency Vehicle Carrier: Hours of fun with taking the cars off and playing separately, or loading them up together!
Melissa & Doug Nesting and Sorting Garages: These garages can be nested, stacked, or sorted with the matching color/size car. This one is so fun to play with, doesn’t take up much space, and can be used for so much pretend play.
Fisher Price Little People Racing Loops Track: See which car will go fastest down the shoots. Practice waiting, model “ready, set, go,” and let your little one choose their car. A great gift for a car loving little one.
Green Toys Pink Dump Truck: Another Green Toys vehicle and such a cute color, too. Durable and easy to clean. Practice loading it up and dumping things out!
Green Toys Construction Vehicles: This is a fun set for the little one who is into all types of construction vehicles. Great for indoor and outdoor play!
Green Toys School Bus: Can you tell we love Green Toys in our home? This is another high-quality toy. Practice putting animals or other toy figurines on the bus and drive them to school!

Books for 1 Year Olds

What’s in my Truck?: With sliders and flaps on every page, find out what’s in every type of truck with your little one!
B is for Bear: One of my favorite books for sensory exploration and communication! You can continue reading it as your child grows.
Where is Baby’s Belly Button: This is a classic book that is so well-loved! The flaps are large and your little one can engage on every page.
Noisy Farm: An interactive touch & feel book with sounds, too!
What Sound Do You Make?: I love this book for imitating and practicing sounds with your little one!
Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See?: Similar to Brown Bear, Brown Bear - but focusing on animals and verbs!
Never Touch a Monster: The “Never Touch” series is so popular with my kids. It holds 1 year old’s attention with the sensory components. The bright colors and fun textures make for an exciting storytime experience.
Poke a Dot - What’s in the Ocean?: These books are great for practicing finger isolation (15 month milestone) and always a hit!
Barnyard Dance!: Get up and dance! Spin with the chickens, trot with the turkey, and more. This is one of Jenna’s favorite books to read with her littles.
Don’t Tickle the Pig!: We love these books! They’re simple yet engaging - not too many words per page, but touch & feel AND sound aspects!
That’s Not My Sloth: Those touch and feel books that baby enjoyed are ready to be taken up a notch! A great book for language learning. Model the functional descriptive words repeatedly and pausing to let your little one try and imitate is key!
Llama Llama Hide & Seek: With lift the flaps and Llama Llama, you can’t go wrong! Jenna’s kids LOVE these books.

Best Toys for New Walkers

VTech Learning Walker: A top-rated walker that works on motor development! Great for the sitting baby to learn and explore the board in the front, and then it transitions to a walker that they can use as they get more stable!
Melissa & Doug Chomp & Clack Walker: A great wooden toy walker that makes fun noises as your child pushes it forward!
Playskool Walk & Ride: This walker can also be ridden on, too! Another great option that your little one can use more than one way.
See Kai Run Sneakers: One of my favorite shoe for toddlers with a wide toe base and flexible sole. A perfect first walking shoe. They are also very easy to practice putting on and taking off for older toddlers.
Melissa & Doug Shopping Cart: A great addition to any play kitchen or pretend play with food. Practice going to the grocery store, start labeling foods and more.
Fisher Price Corn Popper Push Toy: A classic toy! This encourages toddlers to walk and can also start to teach them cause and effect with the popping balls.
VTech Sit to Stand Alphabet Train: This is such a versatile toy! The blocks go down the shoot and into the back of the train, and you can push them into the side of the train, too. Label the common objects on the blocks, follow directions for “in, on, down” and also ride on the train as a fun gross motor experience!
Step2 Shopping Cart: Another shopping cart to couple with a play kitchen, or just practice everyday routines like going to the store.
Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Vacuum: The best toy for a 1 year old who loves to help around the house! It’s musical, too.
VTech Pop-a-Balls Push Bulldozer: Another good toy for motor development! As your little one pushes the bulldozer, balls pop out and land in the scooper! Then as they keep pushing it, the scooper lifts up and dumps the ball back in the shoot! So much fun to see the balls “pop” out and “scoop” back in.

Big Gifts for 1 Year Olds

Step2 Cruiser: Such a fun ride-on toy! One of the best outdoor toys for 1 year olds - kids love it!
Rotating Bookshelf: This is one of my favorite bookshelves. So great for keeping books out and visible for little ones to explore. You can build it as high as you want, and it’s super heavy and well-made.
Lalo Play Tent: A fun spot for reading, playing hide-and-seek, and more! Paul pretends it’s a “car wash” and takes his larger trucks in there to be cleaned. Really endless opportunities with this one! “EATPLAYSAY” saves 10% on Lalo products!
Stapelstein Stepping Stones: Make a staircase, lay them out straight, build a tower, flip over and use as sensory bowls, use in water, and more! These stepping stones hold 300 + pounds, so parents can play, too! Perfect for inside and outside use.
Learning Tower: A great option to get your little one involved in the kitchen and food prep! Have snacks in here, play with a play sink, and more! Once your little one can stand unassisted and is cruising, this is a great option for them. Make sure to supervise always :)
Little Tikes Activity Garden: This is so fun for outside! Peek through the telescope, go through the gate, open the windows, check your mailbox and more! It’s a fun little outside play house that allows littles to re-enact routines.
Lalo Play Kitchen: The best play kitchen for 1 year olds! The drawers and cupboards on this one are very easy to open and close, and it’s the perfect size for toddlers. It doesn’t take up a lot of space in your kitchen, and allows for tons of creativity! Plus you can put it together in 5 minutes. “EATPLAYSAY” saves 10% on Lalo products!
Couch Swag Play Panel: We love to use these on our play couch. They bring so much imagination to pretend play. The car wash is a total hit in our home!
Nugget Couch: Hours of fun and pretend play! Make a fort, an obstacle course, or a comfy space for reading. The covers come off for easy washing, too.