# play kitchen a good gift for 1st birthday?



## *mama moose* (Oct 12, 2006)

my DDs 1st birthday is in less than a month, and I'm at a loss about what I want to get her as a gift. I saw a cute wooden kitchen in Target but it says 3+. I've seen a few online that say 1 and a half +, but they are really pricey. Is there a big difference? Should I just wait on the kitchen for next year or the year after and think of something else? I like toys that will last her awhile, I'd like to get her something she will enjoy for awhile, even if its something she will grow into in a few months, but I don't want to sit on a play kitchen for a few YEARS before she uses it...
What kinds of things did your kids like at 15-16 months? Shes really not all the interested in "stuff" yet, but most older toddlers who I see are, so I would like to get her something to play with for her birthday...


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## quirkylayne (Sep 15, 2005)

This is what I would get
http://store.platinumgalleria.com/li...uidecraft.html


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## Erin+babyAndrew (Jan 2, 2004)

I have a 3.5 yo and a 16 mo. Definitely save getting the big play kitchen for later. The learning tower is a great idea, my kids would love one. We have a friend with one and it's great, they use it every day in the kitchen and also as a play hideout etc with a blanket thrown over top.
first birthdays are fun, and it's nice to get them something special, but really, don't break the bank. save that for when she is older. Most 1 year olds love balls and books, maybe a special baby doll and a bed/hand made quilt for it. My little guy basically wants whatever big brother has, but if he's not around the toys of choice are our Wii remotes







, an educo bead maze, stacking/nesting cups, a shape sorter, wooden peg board/stacking shape sorting toy, and balls.


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## lalaland42 (Mar 12, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Erin+babyAndrew* 
I have a 3.5 yo and a 16 mo. Definitely save getting the big play kitchen for later. The learning tower is a great idea, my kids would love one. We have a friend with one and it's great, they use it every day in the kitchen and also as a play hideout etc with a blanket thrown over top.
first birthdays are fun, and it's nice to get them something special, but really, don't break the bank. save that for when she is older. Most 1 year olds love balls and books, maybe a special baby doll and a bed/hand made quilt for it. My little guy basically wants whatever big brother has, but if he's not around the toys of choice are our Wii remotes







, an educo bead maze, stacking/nesting cups, a shape sorter, wooden peg board/stacking shape sorting toy, and balls.

ITA. DD is 27 months and she wouldn't have enjoyed a play kitchen until closer to 2 than 1. A Learning Tower is a great idea, as are balls and wood push toys. I would save the play kitchen until a little later, although I understand how hard it is for us to wait.


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## *mama moose* (Oct 12, 2006)

my DD is a big fan of the Wii remote as well
I was thinking about maybe getting her a baby doll, but I cant seem to find one that I like







They all have bottles/pacis practically attached to them these days. any good ones out there that you mamas know of? (we do have plastic toys as well so that isn't an issue....







: )

Our first thought was a T ball set that we saw (that was 1.5 +), but I'm not sure she'd enjoy it yet...Its silly that this is so hard, because I KNOW she could care less, but I can't help it


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## kht2006 (Jun 28, 2007)

I'm getting DD a water table to play with in the front yard for her first birthday. I think it'll be great this summer and next summer and maybe the summer after that. It's just at her standing height now.
My dd is starting to pull up and walk her grandparents are getting her a cart to walk behind.
DH found her a LEGO duplo table at a garage sale. Guess who plays with it the most







DH asssembles and DD disassembles. They are soo cute together, though. it's great.


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## lalaland42 (Mar 12, 2006)

Pottery Barn Kids has a Waldorfy-like doll that is cute. I was thinking of getting a Waldorf-type doll for DD but when I showed her the doll at Pottery Barn, she screamed and threw it. I think this has more to do with the fact that she was born a tomboy than a problem with the doll though. I do know that there are Waldorf doll kits where you get the parts and than assemble it yourself, if you have some sewing skills that is. Good luck.


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## cheeseRjedi (Jun 5, 2005)

I agree with the PPs who said to wait until next year. My DD is just starting to be interested in play kitchens now and she'll be 2 next week.


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## apple_dumpling (Oct 20, 2004)

Ditto with the other posters. DD got a play kitchen when she was 18 months, and she really didn't play with it until close to 2. She's just now, at 2.5, really starting to get into it (where she'll play with it for more than 5 minutes







)

Around one she was really into "crafty" type stuff. One of her favorite things was just filling up a baby pool with rice and letting her go to town in there with cups and funnels and stuff. Now I can't get her to sit still long enough to do anything "crafty"


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## rubyruby (Aug 2, 2006)

I would wait on the play kitchen. My DD will be 3 in october and she started to be interested in the play kitchen at about 2.5. Even now, she plays with it intermittently.

For 1st bday I would get wooden puzzle with large knobs (Melissa & Doug, or a cheap alternative is Wal-Mart, they're under $3.00 there!) - they're easy for the child to pick up and fun can be had banging them together like cymbals! And board books, especially this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Priddy-.../dp/0312490836

Every child I've known loves this book. It has gotten constant use in our house over the last 2 years.

Those are the 2 things I usually get and give to others for 1st bdays.

If you want a baby doll, have you considered a Madame Alexander doll? They're a bit more expensive, but very nice. I think that was one of MY 1st bday gifts (I was born in '74, the doll was manufactured in '75). Anyway, that doll went with me EVERYWHERE. I got my DD one for her 2nd bday and she now loves it. I don't like the modern ones as much, I prefer the vintage ones. They are collectibles, so I was able to find the EXACT same doll on ebay for about $50 including shipping. This is cheaper than buying a new, modern one! And it was still new in the box! This is like the one I got:

http://cgi.ebay.com/MIB-Madame-Alexa...QQcmdZViewItem

Another popular gift that still gets use:
Leapfrog Fridge Farm:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...t_adv_XSG10001

or

Leapfrog Fridge Phonics:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B000096QNK

Happy shopping!!


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## artgoddess (Jun 29, 2004)

We gave our son his play kitchen x-mas before he turned three. I think it's the same Target one (blue right?) and he loves it. He would have been fine at two but one is stretching it. I mean the knobs are fun and all but pretend play really hits at 2.

At one we gave him a rocking cow. Like a rocking horse, but a big stuffed cow instead. he hugged and kissed it and petted it for the rest of the day. he still loves that cow and rides it. Like this one, but the one we got was cuter and less $$.


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## LuckyMommaToo (Aug 14, 2003)

What about a sturdy wooden cart, like this:
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/item/...ker-Wagon.html

I think Brio may also make a less-expensive version. It will get years of use (I know because my three-year-old uses his little sister's!). You could even get a doll or animal to ride in it.
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/item/...-The-Doll.html

Oh, do you have an ikea near you? I'm pretty sure they have a wooden doll bed.

I love to window shop at Oompa -- maybe you'll get some other ideas. Here are some of my favorites:
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/item/...-Journey).html
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/item/...y-Playset.html
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/item/...ooden-Car.html
http://www.oompa.com/baby-toys/item/...ba-Convoi.html

I spend too much time drooling over toys! Hope you find the perfect thing.
-Erin

p.s. To answer your question, DD is really into putting things in and taking them out, pressing buttons, pushing and pulling things, and climbing! She does also like little stuffed animals and dolls. And playsilks and books. But kids are so different. DS was a completely different one-year-old!


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## moonyoungi (Jul 3, 2007)

you know what they love when they just start walking by themselves...is a walker wagon....they love it...
they run around the house with it, put their toys in it, put themselves in it...and they play with it for long time. not just week or two...


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## mom2noah (Oct 12, 2003)

We gave my DS a play kitchen for Christmas when he was 2.5. My one year old loves playing with the kitchen. I think it's a great gift but might mean a little more if you wait a year or two. But getting some larger play food and a set of dishes now is always a good idea.









For my DD's first birthday we gave her the pink Zooper stroller from Pottery Barn Kids. She loves it! It's really well made and my 2 year old nephew and 3 yo DS have all taken rides in it. We also gave her a Corolle Calin doll. The Calin doll is so beautiful and she smells good.
The stroller is only availiable in the store ($50) but here is a ebay link
http://tinyurl.com/2sqctp
http://tinyurl.com/38kfln

We also have the Haba Walker Wagon and it's really cute! DD does prefer the stroller though. Another good gift is a shopping cart (and you could store the play food in there!). Little Tikes makes a sturdy one, or you could get a nice wooden or metal one. Other favorites and good gifts are the Step 2 Water Table or a nice wagon for walks. I think the wagon we have is the Radio Flyer Pathfinder and it has seat belts to contain DD







.


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## kissum (Apr 15, 2006)

My dd got her kitchen right before she turned 1. She LOVES it. But, we got a plastic one, it's called Grow With Me. My mom picked it out, but I really love that it is short now, and then when she gets bigger I can raise it up and it has 2 more appliances. I just buy all wooden or wool accessories for it







She plays with it nonstop.


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## beana's mommy (Feb 16, 2006)

I think it really depends on the child. My dd has always been around me (and dh) cooking, whether she was being worn, or once she could stand, standing next to us and beginning to "help". She got her kitchen set for christmas when she was 16 months, and she immediately loved it. I'm sure she would have loved it sooner. And she loves the Melissa and Doug spice rack set. They have little beads inside, so they make noise when you shake them, and the lids come on and off. Oh, and the cutting foods set. She loves to cut food. She began enjoying that right away, too, 16-17 months old. It took her a little bit of practice to be able to cut it though.

The one issue with a lot of the bigger sets is that they are too tall for the little ones. We got her this one: http://www.dianatoystore.com/15w.html It's very short, small and cheap. Once she's bigger we plan to get a bigger kitchen set, or what I really want is for DH to make her one.

good luck!


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## staceychev (Mar 5, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by **mama moose** 
I was thinking about maybe getting her a baby doll, but I cant seem to find one that I like







They all have bottles/pacis practically attached to them these days. any good ones out there that you mamas know of? (we do have plastic toys as well so that isn't an issue....







: )


http://honeysuckledreams.com/


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## SomedayMom (May 9, 2002)

We got DS a kitchen for his first birthday. He has always played with it, although he plays with it more now than he did then. He especially liked the pots, pans, and dishes that we got to go with it. It was definitely a gift he could grow with and I was in love with the blue pottery barn kids set they had then (similar colors/style as the Target one just bigger). I'm glad we did it.

His birthday is also a month before Christmas, so remembering back, his other big gifts were a wooden riding toy and a Kettler trike with the pushbar. Then we did wooden puzzles and cars and some books. Every single thing we got then he still uses









DS also wanted a baby doll not long after that age and it WAS hard to find a doll without a bottle, pacifier, and in our case one that was more gender neutral. He wouldn't touch a waldorf style doll and we finally found this one that he liked, and it came in just a diaper, no pink frills









http://www.toysrus.com/product/index...entPage=family

We got a more lifelike one for him recently, a bit on the expensive side, but it has been great for introducing him to what a new baby will be like...

http://www.babyuniverse.com/man/baby...Berenguer.html

He loves this one right now. Carries it around, calls it baby brother, wants to put diapers on it, etc.


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## Tiffany_PartyOf5 (Jan 5, 2007)

My MIL bought my kids the blue Target kitchen for their birthday in April.. not even a week later it was trash lol.. The back fell off, the sink fell off.. they knocked it over a good 8 times just playing.. It was horrible!!! I have 3 kids playing with it but still!


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## mamalisa (Sep 24, 2002)

We bought dd a kitchen for her first Christmas, so she was about 15 months. We got the bigger Kidkraft one and she adores it. It has a lot of storage, so all the "stuff" fits inside. Even though she wasn't quite ready for it, a few months later she was all over it. She loved to make "tea" when she was tiny, now she makes sushi


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## Ceili (Nov 21, 2001)

We got Bear's kitchen when he was 18 months. He'd been playing with one at our local playgroup center for a while before that... but at home he mostly liked the pots and pans and food that went with the kitchen. The one we got for him was really too tall for him to reach at that age. It was used mostly as storage for all the kitchen accessories. I think he would have been happy with his play food in a real kitchen cabinet, if we had room for it there.

I agree with the PPs who say the Learning Tower. It's the best piece of child furniture we've bought. It gets the more use than anything.

And our radio flyer walker wagon got a lot of use for a year or so, but he's really outgrown it now.


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## Perdita_in_Ontario (Feb 7, 2007)

My DD just started playing "kitchen" at 23 months. Before that, she'd have moved things around, but didn't really pretend. Now she spends a good part of her day making "pizza" and "pasta" and "sandwiches". But she didn't have a real kitchen - she just plunked a bowl and spoon on the floor and went to it. I was thinking of buying her a toddler-sized kitchen, but space is an issue. At the local consignment shop we found a portable Little Tykes "kitchen" - it's a couple of burners, a sink and a couple of dials and buttons all in a suitcase-sized box with a handle. She adores it and it's a lot smaller. Best $5.99 I've ever spent LOL.

For her first birthday she got some balls, some blocks, and some duplo (which we put away because she didn't really get it), and a toy piano. She also got a Leapfrog Learning Table - I'm usually not a fan of electronic toys, but I will say that she has had hours of fun with it and I'm not sorry we have it. I'm just about to put it away now, as she turns 2 - it's been a favourite.


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