Present ideas needed!

[mizarchivist]

Hey all those of you who either have young kids or get presents for young kids-
There are 2 under 1 year olds that I want to get inexpensive but not stupid presents for.
One boy (Liam)
One girl (Erin, my niece) --- not that I expect the gender of the baby to make an iota of difference in what I get. See previous entries about the feminist brainwashing.

So! ideas?

Comments

[dbang.livejournal.com]

Books. Some of my favorites for the one-year-old to 18 month range are:
Duck is Dirty by Satoshi Kiramuri (and others in the series, Dog is Thirsty, Cat is Sleepy, Squirrel is Hungry)
Where's Spot?
Goodnight Moon (board book version)
Goodnight Gorilla (this is one of my faves, board book version)
A *small* plastic pail, good for carrying things around in, dumping them out, loading it back up, etc.
One of those "beads on a wire" wooden toys.

[dbang.livejournal.com]

Make that Satoshi Kitamura.

[catya.livejournal.com]

yeah, all of those are good too....

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

Bookwise, Kitamura is excellent. Also the Big Dog and Little Dog series by Dav Pilkey. Also, many of Sandra Boynton's books, including Moo, Baa, La la la!

Any multi-tactile toy, where the kids get to explore all the different textures and sensations.

The stack-the-rings-in-size-order-on-the-stick/cone game. When they're very small, they just play with the rings. As they get older, they learn the eye-hand coordination to get the rings on the stick. Older still and they learn sequencing. It's a great toy from ages 1 through 3.

More as I think of them.

[lifecollage.livejournal.com]

The stack-the-rings-in-size-order-on-the-stick/cone game.

This. (http://www.kbtoys.com/genProduct.html/PID/60598/ctid/17/INstock/Y/D/484/ls/default)

[catya.livejournal.com]

i like skwishes for that age... http://www.geniusbabies.com/skwish.html for a random google url.. or somethign like this... http://store.yahoo.com/naturalbaby/doubstacwit1.html

[sweetmmeblue.livejournal.com]

We have a bunch of the things suggested. A squish, the stacking rings, Moo Ba La La La... Actually the one of hers I like best is "But not the Hippopotomus". She also has a collection of bedtime stories called "Snoozers" that's lots of fun. I'd love to aquire all of the kids books she's put out.

[keyne.livejournal.com]

I'd love to aquire all of the kids books she's put out.

I think we have. I [heart] Sandra Boynton.

[mizarchivist]

Wow!
Thanks for the great ideas... I was >< this close to putting in an amazon order before I left work, then was caught up with the "would it make more sense to just go to a bookstore" and then does it really make any difference to go to the McDonald's styled bookstore when I don't even have any (that I know of) local book stores that would be the more ethical choice. Blah.

So, I'll likely go back to Amazon armed and legged with 4 more hours' worth of suggestions and refine my shopping cart a bit. Woo!

Again: for those who werent' paying attention: Lego store at the Burlington Mall.
That is all.

[dbang.livejournal.com]

I don't know where you live, but if you are feeling ambitious, there's a cute little independent bookstore in Acton called Willow Books.

And isn't Wordsworth in Harvard Square still indepedent?

[keyne.livejournal.com]

FWIW, neither of my kids ever showed the slightest interest in Skwishes or stacking-rings toys, and played only briefly with those wires-plus-beads-on-a-wooden-base things.

The biggest hit in our household, bar none, has been the "Baby's First Car (http://www.mrtoys.com/kettler/baby/)" made by Kettler Toys -- Morgan started riding it as a baby and is still delighted by it almost five years later, and now Quinn is too. Seems to be good for their gross motor skills, and is arguably educational to boot. :-)