On a first Christmas, the wrapping paper can get as much love as the gift inside. That fits the age, since many 1-year-olds enjoy dropping things into containers and hunting for a toy you just hid.
Sturdy toys he can fill, empty and find again will outlast the boxes, and you'll find plenty below.
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ElectronicsFrom 9 months
American brand
When the boy you're buying for grins at every animal in his picture books, a Link Squad tiger gives him his own.
Pages only let him point, while this striped pal is his to pat, squeeze and haul across the rug.
Games and puzzles
French brand
Kitchen containers and their lids keep a toddler busy fitting one into the other, and this Janod box swaps them for wooden shapes with a hole for each.
He can twist a stubborn piece until it drops through, then gather them all up for another round. Keep it on a low shelf where he can reach it without help.
Dolls and figuresAges 1+
Most of what a one-year-old does with a Little People farm from Fisher-Price is carry the animals from place to place, which is exactly the play this set is made for.
He might line them up, tuck one inside, then go back for the next. Naming each animal as it moves gives you a simple way to join in.
MusicFrom 6 months
Music on the Magic Touch piano starts with a light tap, so even a clumsy pat that lands a little off target gets a note almost every time.
Each wooden key plays its own sound, which means a toddler's random swipe across the top comes out sounding like a tune of sorts.
ElectronicsFrom 6 months
American brand
Grown-ups keep lifting the real TV remote out of a crawler's reach, so a Laugh & Learn version of his own is one nobody has to take away from him.
He can point it at the screen the way the adults do and press its buttons as often as he likes. It works on the changing table, too, where a toy to hold cuts down on the wriggling.
Games and puzzlesAges 1+
American brand
Knobs make the difference in a first puzzle, since a one-year-old can lift each farm animal out by its handle long before he can pinch a flat piece.
Out they all come, one by one. Fitting them back into their own spots is the harder half, and he can practice it with a grown-up pointing the way.
Outdoor and sports
Swedish brand
Something to push gives a new walker somewhere to go besides the nearest chair.
The BRIO wobbler rolls along in front of him while he steers it around table legs and, now and then, straight into a wall. It is adjustable, so it can be set to fit him rather than the other way around.
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Not every family wants a TV character as the go-to cuddle toy, and a plain ginger cat skips that question.
At eight inches, the Mini Flopsie is small enough for a little guy to handle on his own, whether that means a hug or a toss out of the stroller.
Ages 1+
American brand
Does your little Sesame Street fan clap and point when Elmo shows up?
A soft GUND Take Along Buddy lets him finally hold the character he has only ever seen on a screen. Chances are it spends the months ahead dragged across the floor by one arm, wherever he happens to head next.
Ages 1 to 5
This Forest Friends tree case gives a one-year-old boy a woodland cast to sort and carry.
He drops each animal into its own cubby. Then he hauls the whole tree along to Grandma's.
From 0 months
American brand
Fisher-Price's duck matches a new crawler who still wants something to squeeze between trips across the rug.
Since it packs several playthings together, his hugging streak and his urge to roam get the same pal.
VTech's Moosical Beads cow rides in the car seat as a soft farm friend for a toddler who hugs whatever he grabs.
Patting and squeezing are how he explores right now, so a toy made for cuddling keeps his hands busy.
The Lovevery Buddy Stroller gives a boy who is starting to walk a doll stroller to push.
His doll or stuffed friend rides in the seat. He can steer it down the hallway the way he sees you push a real one.
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American brand
If the boy on your list bounces whenever a grown-up hums, this LeapFrog robot gives him a musical companion of his own.
One-year-olds answer a melody with their knees and hands, and a cheerful character to wiggle beside keeps that habit company. His clapping gets a steady beat to keep time with, right there on the living room rug.
Skip Hop's Jungle Beats egg maracas hand a music-loving one-year-old boy shakers to rattle along with songs.
Shaking things is a move he has down, and these maracas let him keep time with the grown-ups. Pass him one while the family sings carols by the tree, and he can shake along.
American brand
The LeapFrog Learn and Groove table makes a musical Christmas gift for a toddler boy forever patting tabletops.
Grown-up furniture earns him a sharp word for that habit, but this table is meant for patting out music. Set it beside the couch, and he can stand at it and play while you fold laundry.
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At cleanup time, a toddler who hauls his blocks around by the handful can push the VTech wagon from room to room.
Freshly upright, he likes bringing his things along wherever he wanders, and here they ride in front of him. His heap of blocks ends up beside the bin, delivered by his own hands.
This Drop and Go hauler carries whatever a toddler stuffs inside it, moving his treasures from the couch over to the kitchen.
Dumping out every basket within reach is his favorite pastime right now, and a dump bed turns that habit into a game of his own.
From 3 months
If the boy on your list crawls after anything that gets away from him, this Oball toy hands him a target to follow.
Crawling is his newest way to get around, and something that keeps leaving him behind gives him somewhere to head. Its rattle sounds off with every shove, marking where the car came to rest across the room.
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From 6 months
American brand
A toddler who dumps out every bin gets a Fill & Spill taco with fillings to unpack and restuff.
Pulling each piece free is quick, while fitting it back inside the shell takes a bit more care. Set it on the living room rug and he can clear it out, then load it up again, on his own.
From 12 months
American brand
Fisher-Price's Laugh & Learn vacuum gives a new walker his own cleanup tool to push like the grown-ups.
He gets something to steer from room to room while he toddles. While you sweep up after Christmas dinner, he can roll his alongside.
From 12 months
A busy toddler who pokes at every drawer pull and cabinet knob in the house deserves a workbench where fiddling is allowed.
Most of what he reaches for gets lifted out of range, while the Curiosity Table is his to handle freely. His own workshop corner ends up beside the couch, the one spot nobody shoos him from.
From 0 months
This Oball set gives a toddler boy a ball and a rattle to keep his hands busy.
Grabbing things and letting them go is his favorite game right now, and both toys fit it. At lunch, he can wave the rattle and drop the ball off his high chair tray.
From 0 months
German brand
A stroller passenger who swats at anything dangling nearby has HABA rainbow loops wound where his hands land.
Toys he flings overboard end up on the sidewalk, while this one stays fastened to the frame. Its bright coils twist toward him with each pat as the ride rolls on.
From 3 months
The Bright Starts Wobble Bobble ball gives a crawling toddler boy something to chase across the floor.
Chasing what rolls away is his game now, so he shoves it ahead and crawls after it. Once he starts walking, the same chase simply carries on upright.
A one-year-old who swats at everything near his high chair can whack these Hape rattles, and they stay put on the tray.
Sweeping things to the floor is his favorite game, and these hold their spot, so nobody keeps fetching them.
This Hape push walker rolls ahead of a boy taking his early steps and gives him music to make whenever he stops.
A toddler on the move wants to keep going and bang on whatever he meets; here those habits travel together. The racket he makes on each lap of the living room becomes his own tune.
American brand
LeapFrog's turtle tower belongs with a one-year-old who pulls every container apart to see what hides inside.
Smaller pieces tuck into bigger ones, so his habit of emptying things gets a way to fill them back up. His finished stack stays standing on the rug until his next swipe brings it down.
Electronics
American brand
If the boy on your list pokes at everything he can reach, give him a LeapFrog ABC tablet of his own.
Toddlers his age explore fingertip first, and this pretend device lets him jab at ABCs as long as he likes.
Electronics
After breakfast, a toddler who slaps at every picture can settle on your lap with the VTech sea turtle book.
His fingers get there long before the words mean much, so each spread gives them something to press. His fingerprints soon smudge the cover from front to back.
Games and puzzles
Swedish brand
The last piece is the payoff on the BRIO stacking clown, because it puts a face on top of the stack.
Pulling all nine wooden pieces off comes first and fast, while putting them back takes a lot longer, so the finished clown is a small win worth clapping for.
Games and puzzles
American brand
The Fat Brain Toys InnyBin gives a toddler boy chunky pieces to shove inside and tug back out.
Getting a piece in matters more to him right now than finding its matching shape. Set it on the living room rug, and he can dig the pieces out again while you fold laundry.
Building setsFrom 9 months
American brand
Soft blocks suit a boy who knocks towers down far faster than anyone can build them.
A grown-up stacks, he swats, and the pieces land on the hardwood floor without a clatter. Later on, the Match and Build pairs add a second game: sorting the look-alikes side by side.
Books
Baby Touch and Feel Merry Christmas gives a one-year-old holiday pages with patches to pat and stroke.
The publisher rates it for ages 0 to 2, so it suits him right now. On Christmas morning, a parent can read it with him on the rug before the wrapping paper flies.
Books
Dragon's First Taco is a board book for a one-year-old to hold while a parent reads aloud.
It is rated for ages 1 to 3, so it fits right from the start of that range. On Christmas morning, a parent can point to the dragon on each page as they read.
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The LeapFrog activity table gives that patting a proper home, since it is made for tapping out music while he stands beside the couch.
Chasing is the whole game with the Oball rattle car, which sounds off with every shove and leaves him somewhere to crawl toward.
Yes. The Jungle Beats maracas are made for shaking along to songs, and the LeapFrog singing robot plays tunes he can clap and bounce to.
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Chosen by our team from store data and what readers pick, not hands-on tests. Nothing is paid to be on this list. Recall notices checked . How we pick
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