Have you been making a holiday gift list and checking it twice or even a third time and you’re still not sure where to start? Well, here’s a gift from Melissa & Doug!
We have pulled together a list of our favorite toys for babies and 1-year-olds, just in time for your holiday shopping. You’ll discover a variety of gifts that are sure to bring the fun, while also building up those essential early developmental skills.
Whether you’re shopping for Christmas, Hanukkah, or December birthdays, we have the best baby and 1-year-old gifts and toys for you to choose from!
If you'd like additional help finding the right toy for your child, visit the Melissa & Doug Holiday Gift Guide and let it do all the hard work for you.
Our Top Toys & Gifts for Babies and 1-Year-Olds
Ocean Easy-Fold Play Gym
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: The Melissa & Doug Ocean Easy-Fold Play Gym with Quick-Close™ storage is thoughtfully designed to encourage babies to play and learn through multiple stages and ages! Sturdy, wide wooden arches are pre-assembled for easy set-up, and offer caregivers easy access to the baby. The arches stay secure on the comfy, reversible play mat with sensory ribbons and a crinkling peek-a-boo clam shell. Mat and toys are machine washable. Press the innovative Quick-Close™ button to unlock the frame and easily fold for storage or to take the play gym on the go! The included Play Guide illustrates the many ways the play gym supports the powerful role play has in brain development, physical well-being, and creating connections.
Fun feature: One side of the mat features high-contrast black-and-white graphics for early visual stimulation, and the other includes a full-color ocean scene to keep older babies engaged as vision develops. Attach the included soft, skill-supporting toys to the gym or play with them independently!
Skills: Encourages sensory stimulation, hand-eye coordination, gross and fine motor skills, and cognitive development.
How to wow: A perfect complimentary toy for our Ocean Play Gym is our Ocean Tummy Time Triangle, another soft play developmental toy that will stimulate baby's physical and cognitive development.
Ocean Tummy Time Triangle
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: Make baby’s tummy time extra special with this engaging, double-sided folding cloth triangle toy! The Tummy Time Triangle helps babies stay engaged and strengthen muscles during tummy play.
Fun feature: Three fold-out panels with adorable ocean-themed graphics and friendly characters lie flat or fold and connect into an upright pyramid. One side features high-contrast black and white graphics, great for important visual stimulation during baby’s first months. The other side includes colorful sea creatures with developmentally appropriate features.
Skills: Encourages gross motor development, visual and tactile stimulation, and interaction with caregivers.
How to wow: This Ocean Time Tummy Triangle pairs perfectly with the aforementioned Ocean Play Gym.
Wooden Work & Play Desktop Activity Board
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: Infants and toddlers will love playing with this wooden version of a laptop and desk just like grown-ups do!
Fun feature: Open the screen to reveal a peekaboo mirror to tap into babies’ fascination with faces.
Skills: Sensory, fine motor skills
How to wow: How does your kiddo commute to work? Have them take the GO Tots Roll & Ride Bus for fun pretend play!
K's Kids Pull-Back Vehicles Toy
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: Wheel them back to get new skills speeding ahead! The "rev up" mechanism inside each of these four cars and trucks makes it easy for babies and toddlers to get big acceleration with just a little input: Pull back one of the soft vehicles--then release to see it zoom off across the floor!
Fun feature: Get more "miles per gallon" with a variety of colors, shapes and sizes, illustrated characters, and everyday themes to inspire conversations, cognitive connections, and imaginative play!
Skills: Fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination; benefits large muscle groups and coordination, too.
How to wow: Give their vehicle toys something to race around, through, and into with our Match & Build Soft Blocks!
K's Kids Musical Farmyard Cube Baby Toy
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: Melissa & Doug baby toys nurture early childhood development in three key skill areas: physical, cognitive, and social. With interactive designs and multisensory features, our baby toys promote constructive play and engaging learning, keeping interest high and new skills flourishing.
Fun feature: Four animals sound off with their animal songs and play a lively melody when their noses are pressed.
Skills: Sensory, fine motor, gross motor, logical, creative, linguistic, emotional, communication, self-esteem
How to wow: For a potent 1-2 developmental toy punch, pair the Farmyard Cube with our Take-Along Shape Sorter for additional sensory and fine motor skills development.
Flip Fish Baby Toy
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: With bright colors, bold facial features, and washable fabrics that include a variety of patterns and hidden pictures, this crinkling, squeaking, multi-textured soft toy is perfect for encouraging tummy time and fueling storytelling.
Fun feature: Features shatterproof mirror to engage baby's interest in faces and light
Skills: Sensory, fine motor skills
How to wow: If tactile, sensory fun delights your little one, consider getting them our Soft Activity Book - Itsy Bitsy Spider for crinkly, hands-on learning.
GO Tots Barnyard Tumble
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: With Melissa & Doug GO Tots, toddlers 12 months and older will discover a new kind of kinetic play that offers opportunities to explore cause-and-effect through delightful motion-driven moments.
Fun feature: Four double-sided chunky wooden GO Tots disks (8 collectible characters—six animals and two farmers) tumble and twirl down the silo, out the barn door, over the haystack, and into the trough.
Skills: Cause & effect, fine and gross motor skills
How to wow: Since our GO Tots toys are all compatible, pair the Barynard with our GO Tots Schoolyard Tumble to keep the kinetic learning fun rolling!
Ice Cream Take-Along Toy
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: This super-sweet clip-on vibrating pull-toy is a delicious way to entertain babies while stimulating their senses—without the sugar rush!
Fun feature: It looks like a soft, smiling ice cream cone, but pull it down and it expands to four stacked scoops in different patterns, colors, and textures (cotton, corduroy, and quilted materials). When baby lets go, the cone vibrates and plays chiming sounds as it jiggles its way back to a single cone!
Skills: Grasping, grabbing, reaching, pulling, fine motor, sensory skills
How to wow: If your little one needs their tummy time, we suggest our Take-Along Farm Play Mat, which features a fun, engaging farm scene and includes nine plush barnyard friends!
Soft Taco Fill & Spill
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: Spice up playtime with touchable, tactile taco play food pieces!
Fun feature: Fill a happy-faced, fabric-covered soft taco shell with crinkling, squishy, multi-textured pieces to delight the senses. Pull out the pieces and refill the taco again and again!
Skills: Sensory, fine motor, and color recognition skills
How to wow: If your baby enjoys filling the Soft Taco over and over, be sure to try our Wooden Surprise Box—every time your little one opens it, there’s a surprise waiting inside!
Wooden Shape Sorting Grocery Cart
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: This rolling cart is filled with exciting skill-building activities. With puzzle pieces to sort, a roller drum to spin, and plenty of fun accessories, kids can engage in imaginative play while practicing important skills.
Fun feature: Realistic coffee cup with removable lid
Skills: Fine and gross motor, problem-solving, sorting and sequencing, shape and color recognition
How to wow: Place a favorite stuffed animal friend in the cart for company!
Pineapple Soft Stacker
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: Kids can sort, squeeze, shake, and stack this happy little pineapple. It features soft, fabric-covered rings, a durable plastic texture ring, and a soft textured topper with crinkle leaves and silky smooth ribbons. It’s a sweet way for little ones to discover textures and sounds while practicing important skills.
Fun feature: Rattling, rocking base and post
Skills: Sensory development, problem-solving
How to wow: If your little one enjoys stacking a squishy pineapple, introduce them to their first plush friend with our Burrow Bunny Stuffed Animal.
Rollables Wooden Ocean Slide
Why it’s a great gift for babies and 1-year-olds: This sturdy, ocean-themed wooden slide includes 3 squeezable Rollables with chimes, a built-in bead maze, sea star and whale flipper to press, and a removable funnel. So many features to keep babies’ attention and inspire joyful discovery!
Fun feature: Adorable, diverse characters and variety of shapes and textures
Skills: Cause-and-effect, sensory and fine-motor, problem-solving
How to wow: Add other animal Rollables such as Safari Friends or Farm Friends
We hope all these gift ideas make your holidays even happier! If you're looking for more help in finding the right gift for your little one, visit the Gift Finder on our homepage.
Looking for more of the best Christmas and holiday gift and toy ideas for kids of all ages? Check out these blog posts:
