TODAY's best gifts for 1-year-olds encourage curious, active play

TODAY updated its 1-year-old gift guide on June 12, 2026, and the edit reads less like a toy roundup than a developmental cheat sheet. Tovah Klein, director of the Barnard College Center for Toddler Development in New York City and author of How Toddlers Thrive, calls 1-year-olds “a very active time,” which is exactly why the best gifts at this age invite motion, repetition, and discovery.

What 1-year-olds are actually doing now

The smartest gifts start with the milestones. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says developmental milestones are things most children, 75% or more, can do by a certain age, and by 1 year that list includes putting something in a container, looking for hidden objects, pulling up to stand, walking while holding onto furniture, drinking from a cup with help, and picking up small bits of food with thumb and pointer finger. HealthyChildren.org adds that 12-month-olds are often shaking, banging, throwing, and dropping objects, using pincer grasp, and putting things into and taking them out of containers.

That is why TODAY’s broader age-based gift hub frames the category as “Expert-Approved Gifts for Growing 1-Year-Olds, to Help Them Learn, Explore and Develop.” The useful gifts are the ones that meet a newly mobile child where they are, not where the toy aisle wants them to be.

Best for push, pull, and first cruising steps

For babies who want to move, toys that can be pushed, rolled, or carried from room to room make the most sense. Melissa & Doug’s Go Tots Wooden Barnyard Tumble, priced at $19.79, is a strong example because it turns motion into action and action into another round of motion, which is exactly what this age loves. The Very Hungry Caterpillar Train Set, at $20.86, has the same appeal for a child who is starting to cruise along furniture and wants something to guide that new sense of forward momentum.

If you want a gift that feels a little more polished than the usual plastic wheeler, iPlay iLearn’s Bouncy Pals Unicorn Horses, at $25.38, add a soft, playful shape to gross-motor practice. The point is not just cuteness. It is giving a newly upright child a safe, repeatable way to press, bounce, and test balance while building confidence in movement.

Best for stacking, sorting, and taking things apart

This is the age of placing, removing, fitting, and trying again. Infantino’s Press and Stay Sensory Blocks, at $15, are especially smart because they reward fine-motor experimentation and teach a baby that hands can build, collapse, and build again without frustration. Melissa & Doug’s Wooden Shape Sorting Grocery Cart, at $37.49, stretches that lesson further, pairing sorting with push play so the child gets both hand work and movement in one gift.

For a lower-cost gift that still feels considered, Learning Resources Learn-A-Lot Avocados, at $15.24, are a lovely fit for a first birthday because they invite opening, closing, matching, and handling in a way that is tactile but not overwhelming. Melissa & Doug’s Large Farm Jumbo Knob Puzzle, at $14.99, is another strong first birthday pick because big knobs suit small hands and help a child practice grasping, placing, and persistence without the tiny-piece frustration that comes later.

Best for sensory exploration and cause-and-effect

At 12 months, sensory play is not a bonus, it is the curriculum. Ikea’s ÄNGSHUMLA bath toy set, at $7.99, is an easy win because water, pouring, floating, and splashing all give a 1-year-old immediate feedback. TODAY also highlights Touch and Teach Sea Turtle Interactive Learning Book at $14.99, which brings sound, touch, and picture recognition into one compact format, and that matters for a child who is learning that objects respond when touched, pressed, or turned.

Press Here, at $9.65, is the rare inexpensive gift that still feels artful because it trains a child to expect that one action leads to another. Melissa & Doug’s Let’s Explore Light & Sound Camping Lantern Play Set, at $19.99, pushes that same instinct into a more dramatic, giftable lane, with light and sound that reward repeated interaction. These are the kinds of gifts that make a one-year-old lean in, poke, shake, and smile when the object answers back.

Best for small spaces and repeat play

If the present needs to live beautifully in a small home, Lalo’s The Play Box, at $95, is the most design-conscious choice in the edit. It gives a child a contained space for stacking, posting, nesting, and make-believe without taking over the room, which is why it feels more like a toddler furnishing than a disposable toy.

For repeat play, plush belongs in the conversation too. Warmies’ Microwavable Plush Animal, at $33.99, and Plush Mixaroo Stuffed Animal, at $29.99, work because 1-year-olds do not just play with soft toys, they carry them, hug them, mouth them, and return to them. That kind of daily affection is its own kind of luxury: not loud, not flashy, but deeply used.

What makes these gifts worth giving

The most thoughtful gifts for this age are sturdy, open-ended, and sized for the hands that are just learning how to command the world. They should support pincer grasp, container play, cruising, and all the joyful banging and dropping that comes with being 1. The safety lens matters too: the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says children’s products intended for use by children under 3 that present choking, aspiration, or ingestion hazards because of small parts are banned hazardous substances, and the American Academy of Pediatrics says choking is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children 3 years or younger.

That is the real luxury here. A great gift for a newly mobile 1-year-old is not the priciest object in the pile, but the one that keeps getting chosen because it helps a child do what they most want to do right now: move, discover, and try again.