Are you looking for fun gift ideas for babies ages newborn to 12 months that will be fun to play with and help them learn? I’ve got some great toys for babies your little one is going to love!
If you have twins, I suggest you get two of each item as they likely won’t want to share, if they’re anything like my twins! They’ll love exploring the toys themselves while also watching the other play and explore in their way.
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Stacking Rings
These stacking rings have been around forever and continue to be a favorite even for kids these days! They’re so inexpensive compared to many other toys and can be used to not only help their motor skills but also teach colors!
- The classic Fisher-Price stacking toy becomes extra-large -over 14 inches tall!
- 6 colorful rings for your baby to grasp, shake, stack, and explore
- Shake the top ring for fun rattle sounds
- Wobbly, bat-at base
- Fosters fine motor skills, gross motor skills, and problem-solving skills for infants and toddlers ages 12 months and older
O-balls
O-balls are perfect for baby’s chubby hands to grab onto and shake to their hearts’ desire! There are many different colors and shapes available. We even have an O-ball car! They are soft and squishy though the spot with the colored balls are in is a hard plastic.
- Shake up fun with three rattles in one
- Award-winning design is made for little fingers
- Smooth, flexible toy for newborns and up
- Keep in the diaper bag, nursery and playard
Rattles
Our twins loved these rattles that are soft on the top which is great when they weren’t all that coordinated as babies and would accidentally hit themselves in the head while excitedly shaking the rattle!
My twins are 4 now and just found these in the bottom of their toy bins recently. They loved them as babies and they’re loving playing with them again! It’s pretty cute.
- Set of 2 newborn rattle toy maracas for little music-makers
- Sized just right for little hands to grasp and shake, helping to strengthen baby's gross motor skills
- Colorful beads make fun rattle sounds to engage and delight baby's senses
- Soft, colorful pom-poms
- For babies from birth and up
Shape Sorter
There are many different types of shape sorters for babies, from wood to plastic, basic shapes to foods as shapes, etc. Here are some favorites of our kids’.
The Fisher-Price Baby’s First Blocks is the basic shape sorter that always comes to mind for me, a true classic toy.
- Set of 10 colorful blocks to sort, stack and drop
- All blocks fit inside bucket for storage
- Easy-carry handle for take-along play
- Introduces baby to colors and shapes
- For babies ages 6 months and older
Leap Frog Picnic
This Leap Frog picnic shape sorter has been a big hit in our house for years. It’s perfect for twins or households with two children as there is two of everything. My twins still set up little picnics for each other or their stuffed animals from time to time and they’re three! They started liking this set when they were about 8 months old and continue to like it to this day.
Features 15 brightly colored play pieces including plates, forks, cups, food and a tablecloth, perfect for a pretend picnic for two
Soft Balls of Different Textures
These soft balls are of different sizes and textures which are great for developing the senses and feeling different textures.
These have also made a reappearance in our house now that our twins are 4 and our oldest is 6. They loved them as babies and are enjoying playing with them even now that they’re older!
PERFECT FOR TACTILE AND SENSORY STIMULATION - These sensory toys have different textures for tactile exploration and sensory development. Their bright colors are ideal for visual stimulation and can spark your kid’s imagination.
Squeezy Building Blocks
These blocks are fun to play with, stack, watch roll across the floor, and they even have numbers and animals on them!
They also really love these soft blocks.
Cinkle Books
Our kids LOVED books the crinkled when they were younger. There are many different sets available, here are some that I came across.
Activity Centers/Jumpers
All 3 of our boys loved their activity centers/jumpers. We actually called them command centers as this Baby Einstein one looks like it could be a command center like in Star Trek or something because the baby can spin around in it and play with different things.
- Secure Support Seat has added height and padding to provide additional comfort for babySeat rotates 360°
- Light up piano with 3 play modes - spinning frog bead chaser; spinning rattle drum; sun stalk and spinning bird
- For use when Child Can Sit Up Unassisted. Toys and Frame are wipe clean
- Seat pad is machine washable
We also had a Jumperoo like the one pictured below when we had our twins. This way there was more variety for them and they’d often want to each be in them at the same time. As they got older and their legs stronger, they’d even have jump-offs where they’d see who could jump the longest and the highest before they got too worn out.
- Freestanding baby jumper and activity center with exciting lights, sounds and music that reward your baby's every jump
- 360 degrees of play. Seat spins so your baby can explore a variety of hands-on activity toys including peek-a-boo tiger, bat-at monkey, rattle lizard, and more
- Grows with baby with 3 adjustable height positions (Max. height 32 in/ 81 cm)
- Sturdy, freestanding frame folds for storage. Plus, fabric spring covers keep little fingers safe
- Soft, comfortable seat pad is machine washable and dryer safe
Pop Up Toy
This toy may seem rather basic and a bit expensive for what it is but let me tell you, our kids have LOVED these! Our first child loved it and how he had to do different things to get the different animals to pop up. Even better, our twins loved having races to see who could do it quicker. This went on for months and months. It was great!
The one we have is no longer available but a very similar one is.
Mirrors
Babies love looking at themselves in mirrors! Ours loved this mirror especially as it stands up on it’s own and is quite big so even the twins could look at it at the same time if they were in a sharing mood.
- Baby-safe mirror allows baby to focus on a human face; preferred from birth
- Symmetrical bee inspires vision and encourages tactile exploration
- Easel back supports mirror on the floor; soft construction is perfect for baby's environment
- Rainbow colors around spinning tracker ball aids in the development of visual perception
- Baby begins to learn self-awareness, visual observation, and fine motor skills
Sit-Me-Ups
Our twins loved their sit-me-ups. They loved finally being able to sit up and see each other. The sit-me-ups are washable and also can be folded up to take on the go. We would often bring them to family gatherings so the twins could sit up and participate instead of being stuck on their backs before they were steady in their sitting.
- Portable and comfy infant chair that helps your baby sit up
- Supports your baby in an upright position with wide, sturdy base and cushy seat
- Folds compactly for space-saving storage or travel
- Comes with a clacker and flower teether for playtime
- Soft, cozy seat pad is removable and machine washable
Developmental Bumpy Ball
We got this developmental bumpy ball for our twins for their first Christmas when they were about 4 months old. They seemed to like the different colors and that it makes noise. They also were amused that they could hold onto the different colored nubs. We’d often roll it toward them to get them to interact.
This closes out our toys for babies list but check out gifts for 1-year-olds below and you’ll see a lot more fun ideas!
Create an Amazon Wishlist
Did you know you can create an Amazon Wishlist that you can share with friends and family? We have one for each child, and ourselves! We add items to the list all year and give the links to family who buy the kids birthday and Christmas presents. It’s great because as people buy from the list it disappears so no one buys a duplicate. To add an item to the wishlist, just click on “Add to List” on any Amazon product page then select the list you’d like to add it to.
- My blog post: How and Why to Create an Amazon Wishlist
As a mom of identical twins and a son two years older, I have gained invaluable experience in the realm, and chaos, of parenting. With a Master's Degree and Education Specialist Degree in School Psychology, I spent years as a school psychologist, helping children navigate through their educational and emotional challenges. Now as a stay at home mom and professional blogger, I combine my areas of expertise to help you in your parenting journey.