Need Suggestions for Gifts for One Year Old Twins

Hi Susanne,

My daughter has twin boys. WE buy each of them whatever they like best. Ben likes Planet Heroes and Colin likes Transformers. It is so important to see them as individuals.

My daughter does so that at 4 years old when Ben heard the word twin, he asked me what a twin was. :o) They are so well adjusted and act like they feel whole in themselves and not 1/2 of a twin. I hope this helps.

We got a lot of the Fisher Price items, like the Laugh & Learn Playhouse, kitchen, etc... They are made for children as young as 1 but are good until the age of 3, so you can get a few years use out of it. We also got a lot of Melissa & Doug items. I think anything that is a developmental toy is good.

Also, I think savings bonds are good for this age. If you think about it, a one year old does not know really what is going on when you have their birthday party. They do not need millions of toys, so I think savings bonds or any kind of money to save up for them is a good idea. I know every year my husband and I, and the grandparents, put money into our children's savings accounts and it has added up quite nicely already. The children do not even know about their savings account, and will not know about them until they are out of college. I think that will be a nice little surprise for them when they get older..

The answer is always ,' cash and or a check'
toys are in everyones cellar, garage, way toooo many
your kids 'need' nothing .
Bank money for future .

My kids always loved having passes to visit places like the zoo, aquarium, Please Touch, Garden State Discovery Museum, etc. You can tell people to get them a gift card toward the purchase of one of these and then it is a gift they have for a complete year and you don't have to have it laying around the house. My kids are now 6,4, and 7 months and the older two still love building with the mega blocks they got when they were one. Movies and music are also things that don't go out of style quickly.

Great suggestions already. Here's my list:

-Little People were the first thing I thought of. We got our first set before my oldest turned 1, and the kids all still play with them (even the 8 year old on occasion), so a great value for how much they get played with. Lots of different sets to choose from and mix and match.

-Simple puzzle - Melissa and Doug have some nice ones

-Play kitchen, baby doll stuff (strollers, cribs, etc.), vacuum, etc. - pretend play is big

-Very basic art supplies - big chunky crayons and some paper

-The Playskool ball popper ( http://tinyurl.com/koymau ) and the Fisher Price piggy bank ( http://tinyurl.com/la7fpt ) were also big hits

-For books, sturdy board books would be best, as well as some lift the flap or other interactive type books. I personally hate the ones with buttons that make noise, but lots of people seem to like them so try some out and see how you feel about them. Unless you really have specifics you'd like to add to your collection, I think just telling people books and letting them choose their faves works pretty well.

Enjoy - that's a fun age!

Even though our girls look identical--they certainly have opposite personalities. They very rarely want the same things, or have the same interests. I personally would have the guests refrain from getting 2 of the same item. Baby Einstein DVDs are wonderful, Sesame Street, Disney's Little Einsteins, Lil Tikes, baby strollers/grocery carts, the alphabet zoo, etc., and of course--you can never have enough clothes or "snackies" (puffs, etc.)

Congrats on the first birthday. My daughters loved their doll house called my first doll house it is made for younger children they are now four and still use it. They also love groovey girls, foam blocks/puzzels and a pretend computer these are items that they used and are still using. My grandmother always buys them outfits for the upcoming season. Have fun and enjoy the party. If you live near cranberry twp. They have a store called learning toy express and they let you do birthday buckets in which you pick out item and put them in and then you hand out cards for the store with invites and people can go purchase what you have picked out. Kind of like a registration.

Hi Susanne

What do you need for them? I always appreciatel clothes for the upcoming season. Actually, my mother-in-law just asked what my son needs for his first b-day and we really could use a new convertible car seat, so I told her! I always make sure that people know I appreciate anything they give, but if someone asks, I ususally ask for what they really will need.

The ball popper was a big hit when my twins turned one!

http://www.amazon.com/Hasbro-Playskool-Busy-Ball-Popper/d...

They also really enjoyed the magnetic Fridge Farm. We stuck ours on a metal door (the inside of the front door) rather than the fridge because the kitchen was gated off.

http://www.amazon.com/LeapFrog-Fridge-Farm-Magnetic-Anima...

Also, any type of ride-on is great! A lightweight one is better since most have fixed steering (unable to turn the wheels)so they can easily lift it to turn around. We had something similiar to this:

http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Lil-Princess-Ride/dp/B...

Hope this helps!

Dear Suzanne,
There are two recommendations that I have for your twins. If you are interested in "How to teach your babies to read, do math, swim, etc.", please check out the website www.iahp.org. The Institute for the Achievement of Human Potential has "bits" (flash cards) and programs that will help you to understand how fast your girls will become readers and math experts. It is easy but takes time if you have it. The "bits" are not cheap, but well worth it if there are two of you doing the program. These programs start at 3-6 mos. and go to 3 yrs. (My first read at 2 yrs. 9 mos.)
Second, the Discovery Toys are superb and will delight the children immensely. I cannot say enough about their product line. You will need to find the nearest distributor to you or shop online for one that is somewhat close to you.
Happy Birthday to both of your girls!
E.

Congrats on your twins turning 1! I want to point out one thing first. Be sure that people give gifts for the girls individually rather than group them together. People will think they can save money by buying gift. They would be true if they're buying a playhouse or something like that. But they need to feel like individuals so they need their own gifts. But make sure they're not unnecessary duplicates. As they get older their personalities will shine individually more and more and it'll be easier to buy them separate gifts. With that said, here's some ideas for one year olds.

Corn popper push toys
riding push bikes (no peddles)
wooden letter blocks
Baby Einstein DVDs
chunky baby dolls
sorting shapes bucket
play cell phone with music and counting
snap lock beads
stacking rings
chunky cars that fit the hand
Any push or pull toys
busy bead sets
ball pit and balls
bubbles
Duplo blocks
Peek a boo blocks and balls
anything Little People

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarrisburgPAChat
chat and events within 2 hour radius

Some of my kids favorite toys around that age were:

- a set of cardboard stacking/nesting blocks
- Peek-ablocks
- Roll-a-rounds
- Baby Einstein books and videos
- inflatable ball pit
- board books of any kind
- instruments

I don't necessarily think that a joint gift should be ruled out. My kids are close in age and both have summer birthdays. They have received a trampoline and a sandbox as joint presents. They love them and may not have received them otherwise. I wouldn't suggest always doing joint presents especially as their individual needs and interests become more clear. But if there is something you/someone else think they would both enjoy that is more than your/their budget will allow for one child's present, I say go for it.

Enjoy this special day!!

great toys would be Lego Duplos... they help with their hand eye co-ordination, and are so much fun. My girls would spend hours building stuff. also big wooden building blocks.

a big bouncy ball... the kind they have at the store in those tall bins.

medium to large doll house... barbie or dora or something. we have a dora dollhouse which is a medium size I guess... both of my girls still spend hours playing with their barbies and other figures, and they have had it for a few years now!!!

barbie may say she's for 3+, but as long as you take all the small pieces off, they will have a blast with her.

this year they will really start pretend playing, so a kitchen and a playhouse (indoor or outdoor) will provide a ton of entertainment.

art supplies and puzzles

roll a rounds and a shape sorter

rock, roll and ride trike... my girls had a blast with that thing!!! http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1115...