Baby's 1st birthday gift - Help please :)

beatlesgirl25

My nephew is turning 1 in the next two weeks, and I have no idea what to get him but would like for it to be special.

My gift compass is a bit off, as I just got him an adorable custom-made story book with his name and likeness in the illustrations, plus a story that made my robot heart melt. However, my sister, who cries at the drop of a hat, was strangely unimpressed with this milestone 1st Christmas gift from me. So now I have no idea what type of stuff to get him, or if I should just go the practical (not sentimental) route and send clothes, diapers, etc. Suggestions, experiences? Thanks in advance.

brookelynpaisley

Eek, I would think the Christmas gifts would have gone over well. I did see an awesome gift that she might like, but it's on the practical side:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=12572813

If all else fails, just get her a super noisy toy that will drive her nuts as revenge for not being awed for your previous gift-giving prowess.

sucrets4

Something that makes obnoxious noise and doesn't even need batteries?

That book sounds awesome - how could she not like it???

I usually went the more practical route with my niece and nephews.  It's not like they'll remember at 1, anyway.

I once made the mistake of asking my SIL what she recommended - she sent me a link to a $250 train set.  Um, fuuck no.

sucrets4

brooke - get out of my head!

beatlesgirl25

Brooke, that's pretty cute, and I know he could use more stuff like that. Maybe I could get him a big package of things like that to get my sister and her husband through the next month or so.

Uh yeah, I think $250 is out of the price range for a baby sucrets! Your SIL is funny. I should go the practical route, but I feel like at this age the gifts are more for the parents (like aw, your baby has reached an important milestone!), and given that she's my only sister and he's the only baby in the family, it feels like I have to do something really special.

I don't know why she was so meh about the book... maybe she was just stressed out with the holidays. I was really surprised and disappointed, plus that book wasn't cheap. I don't think she's read it to him yet.

sucrets4

My SIL is nuts, not funny.

Have they done milestone pics?  Maybe you could get them a session at a local place for a family portrait and/or pics of the little one.  That's something that people might not splurge for on their own.

I've gotten my nephews tons of awesome stuff over the years and it's all been given away.  Until this year when we got them DSs (they're 7 and 8).  We are the best aunt and uncle ever!

brookelynpaisley

Nope, I like it here.

I have great role models. I have a cousin who got some friendly revenge by buying his brother's son a drum set. Yeah. Win.

brookelynpaisley

You know what the kid is going to end up loving more than anything? Wrapping paper and a package of keg party cups. No joke.

sucrets4

Drum set = amazing!

We got some baby toys for xmas and DH had to do surgery and remove the batteries so they wouldn't go off in the luggage.  One of them made sound and vibrated, LOL.

beatlesgirl25

Sucrets, they just got Christmas portraits done as a gift from my parents for their holiday cards. Since his birthday is so close to Christmas, I don't know if they'd go back soon, but that is a great idea for future use! I figure they could use a photography voucher for sometime in the next year. Btw, I totally intend to be the same kind of aunt... the "favorite" kind that spoils the kids in the family, heh heh.

Oh brooke, a drum set? That's just meeean. But funny.

Thank you for your help ladies!

sucrets4

Oh yeah, it could totally be for the future.

Brooke is right, though.  He'll most likely be more interested in the packaging than the gift. 

sucrets4

Ooo, what about just a shutterfly voucher so that they can print up pics?

brookelynpaisley

Oooh, I got another idea. What about a gift certificate to some sort of kiddie gym that does mommy and me classes or something? Get that baby movin' and shakin'.

beatlesgirl25

Shutterfly, yes excellent idea. And yes on the wrapping paper as well! Babies are so easy to please. You guys are just full of great ideas tonight!

That's funny about the vibrating toys... I once packed my Wiimotes for a flight to visit my sister, and they kept buzzing and glowing because I didn't take the batteries off. I totally got pulled out of the security line and the guy thought I was up to something until a younger security guy recognized the Wiimotes and let him know they were okay. So funny.

sucrets4

That's funny about the wiimotes!

Going home for my wedding I got stopped at security for about an hour and almost missed my plane because they thought the external battery pack for my iPod (4 AA batteries) looked like explosives.  It was awful...I was standing there with my wedding dress in hand.

terbear_86

Stocks and bonds in amounts like 25 or 50 bucks. I had some that matured when I turned 21 and some when I turned 22 and the money was more than tripled in interest. Pretty cool. It's not like at 1 yr old they remember it, but its something that will last for awhile and be worth more later.

beatlesgirl25

Jeez, that's pretty silly that they don't seem to update security folks on popular new tech. Like, they should be able to recognize Wii stuff or iPods, but maybe that's just my tech-skewed opinion. It's a good thing this happened to you before the underwear bomb dude... they might have searched your wedding dress. Or underwear, whichever you prefer.

Brooke, thank you for another great idea. I know she's been doing baby yoga videos with him, so I'll ask her husband if there's anything I can get her that she already doesn't have.

tbh33

You could always invest in a college fund for the kid (or savings). In my family, the grandparents and aunts and uncles usually end up buying multiples of the same gifts so adding to these accounts actually ended up being great gifts once the kid was older.

Although, usually a cheap gift is given for the kid to play with.  Plus, toys last a few months- to years while a college education/savings can last years to a life time.

crfische

We've decided to always give savings bonds on top of gifts for the kids, especially when they are younger. Like for christmas, we got them both cute outfits, a few toys, and savings bond. By the time they are responsible enough to use it, they should have a nice chunk of change in there. And both of their parents aren't telling them about them until they've graduated college or have steady jobs, which I think is brilliant.

On another note, my mom bought Liam a star for his baptism, which could totally work for a birthday, too. She framed all the certificates and cool maps that came with it, and then in a seperate box, she wrapped a few more little gifts and a card on top. all in one box. The box with the card said open first on it.

The card said a bunch of cute things, and then at the end it said whether you decide to be a rock star, a football star, a basketball star, a baseball star, or a school star, you'll always be MY star. Then she put a microphone, a football, a basketball, a baseball, and some pencils and wrapped them up as gifts. TOO CUTE.

sarabellam

 Kids Bongo set  - LPBNGO $27.99

2-tone Hardwood shells with Skin Heads, hi-gloss luster. Size = 6.75 inches and 5.75 inches x 6.75 inches. Made in China.

arbolita

Luke's favorite gifts are his toy cell phone/remote, and my sister loves it because it keeps him from going after the real ones.

abbalish

Baby bowling set!  I got this for my niece and one of my nephews for their first birthdays, and it went over really well.
http://www.amazon.com/Earlyears-Baby-Farm-Friends-Bowling/dp/B000087L1K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=toys-and-games&qid=1262534990&sr=8-1

beatlesgirl25

You guys are awesome, thank you for all the fabulous ideas! Fishy, that is adorable about the star and card. Maybe that would make my sister cry (at this point I am demanding tears dammit). Arb, that's a good idea about the cells, etc. He's getting to where he's almost walking and is certainly grabbing everything within reach. I think the bongos and baby bowling set would be great for next Christmas. All this talk of savings bonds made me sentimental for my childhood... I used to get them too, so maybe it could be a family tradition.