Great Gift Ideas for 6-12 month olds

Dare I say it, but Christmas is coming! And if you’re organised like me you’ve probably already started working on a list, and possibly even started buying bits here and there (spread the cost, its much easier!!) When I started looking for toys for 6 month olds and writing down a few bits to get for madam I realised the 6-12 month age is a bit of an awkward one. They won’t really understand Christmas or remember it, and they don’t really need or want anything like older kids, but its most likely their first christmas and you still want to make it special. Plus if they are a 2nd (3rd, 4th or more) child, the likely hood is you already have most toys from their older siblings. 

So I have put together this little guide of the types of items we are buying Effie this Christmas. We aren’t buying much, as I said she really doesn’t need anything, so I have been far more selective about what she is getting and looked for 1 item of each type I would like her to have, you’ll see what I mean below! The big thing is items at this age aren’t just for fun, they are also about her learning and development, more so than say toys for Elian’s age. We are big lovers of wooden toys too, but I personally think they are better from 1 year old so this list doesn’t contain wooden toys on this occasion, but I’ll have a list of great wooden toys up soon.  

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Benefits of toys for 6 to 12 month olds

• Any toys that encourage grasping are great for developing their hand and arm muscles and that all important pincer grip and hand grasp that they will need 
• Toys that encourage stacking are perfect for developing hand eye coordination and spacial awareness 
• Balls or items that will roll or move away from babies reach help to for gross motor development and giving them an incentive to crawl, scoot or roll
• Items with different textures are great for sensory exploration and tactile development 
• lots of toys are great for colour, number and shape recognition when babies are a little older 

Best Toys for 6 month olds – 12 month olds

Soft Textured Blocks

Stacking blocks are a great toy for babies, but often they are quite hard wood with sharp corners or solid plastic that can be difficult for tiny hands to grasp. That’s why I particular like the look of the ones pictured above. They are made of a soft silicon type material, so can be squashed by small hands to grasp easier, they don’t have sharp edges, and as babies tend to test out everything with their mouths, they are actually great for chewing and easy to wipe clean. These particular ones also feature numbers, shapes, fruit and animals, all of which can be used to help babies development and recognition

Ring Stacker Toy

You can find many different versions of ring stackers, both soft and hard material ones, but I like this Lamaze Rainbow Ring Stacker. Again I love that this one is a soft fabric as I often worried about Elian falling on the hard central pole of his wooden one (I think they are great for an older age though) The bright colours are eye catching and can be used to learn colour recognition when she is older, and the rings have different textures which are great for sensory exploration. Being soft fabric rings they are easy for babies to grasp and won’t hurt them or damage anything should they throw them. 

 

Noise Makers

Babies love noise! And at this age they are starting to learn how to grasp and hold items, so its the perfect time to introduce toys that make noise (granted i’m not a big fan of noisy toys…but I think the odd item is ok), either in the form of musical eggs, rattles, tambourines or rainmakers.  We already own the Halilit Rainmaker which Elian loved, and some of these maracas which I have in a sensory toy box for her. But I think these adorable animal shakers from Skip Hop will make a great addition for her. They are small enough for little hands, nice and colourful and each make a different rattle type noise. 

Sensory Balls

We had a few soft spikey light up balls for Elian’s Sensory Toy box which he always loved (so did Opie, I actually had to replace a few after Opie got hold of them and killed them!), so I think this set of different textured balls from Infantino will be great for Effie. The 6 differently sized and textured balls will be great for sensory exploration, and if they roll away will also start to encouraging her to move when she starts being able to crawl or scoot

Stacking Cups

Stacking cups or boxes are always a firm favourite with littles, We’ve had a few cardboard box versions over the years with Elian, which were well loved and well played with, which ultimately means they got broken and damaged over time. I think the box ones again are great for older kids as they tend to stack quite tall but I’ve seen these Mushie Stacking Cups a few times on my insta feed now and think they will be a great starting stacker for Effie. They are quite small and don’t stack very high so she should be able to do them herself when she is able to sit. Plus they won’t hurt her if they are knocked over….plus they are just aesthetically more appealing than some of the cheaper stacking cup sets I’ve seen.  

Sensory Soft Toys

What I mean by sensory soft toys are soft toys that aren’t just fluffy toys, but ones with added elements like shakers, squeakers, rustly fabric, added tags, etc. Effie won’t be having a new one as she already has 2 awesome ones but I thought I should include it as an idea because I really do think they are great gifts as they provide lots of entertainment and interactive time. Elian had a Lamaze Firefly that went everywhere with us for over a year. Effie has the Lamaze Unicorn that Elian chose as a gift to her when she was born and the Infantino Fox above, that had been a gift for Ebben but is now very loved by her.

Books

Now I know babies cannot read or properly play with books, but we are big fans of reading here. Elian always loved and still does like his Usborne Thats Not My… Books. The little sensory sections mean they are perfect first books for babies and great for interaction. Plus there are just so many of them you can find one to match any interest your little ones have. If you want to support a small business, look for your local Usborne rep or if your after a bargain keep an out for them at B&M, TKMaxx/Home Sense or on Amazon (little tip: they have been discounting different ones every few weeks to £4 or under! I nabbed 4 of them for under £14)

 

Teething Toys

Teething toys are simply so practical, both fun to play and hold, and great when those pesky teeth start cutting, or if you little just likes to chew on stuff! Elian had a number of different teething toys he liked but I will say we are big fans of Matchstick Monkeys. I don’t think I’ll be buying her a new one as I still have Elian’s but I thought teething toys in general deserved a mention. There are so many different types it is great to have a little selection for them to enjoy.

Playmats or Gyms

There are loads of options for these out there and they are great as a ‘big’ christmas gift. They are perfect toys for 6 month olds + and will probably be the most used item you have as they are great for popping baby down on whilst you do something else for a few mins. Effie is often on hers whilst I make a cuppa (our room is open plan so never out of eye sight), hoover, get Elian ready in the morning, or I will sit next to her on the floor to drink a cuppa or answer emails/write blog posts on my laptop, (Elian even occasionally napped on his!). We already have the one above from Infantino, it was gifted to us as we are part of the Infantino Family and we love it. If you look for one I would say try to find one with a moveable mirror and a musical element as these are Effies favourite bits.

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