In this case i would do a small toy and a gift card to a children's store.

Clothing is perfect. I usually add 6 months, so I'd get an 18 mo. outfit. Give a gift receipt.

My auntie gave my older son one of these for his first birthday. Then I bought one for my younger son's first birthday. We finished burning the first one down last year on DS#1's 21st birthday, and DS17 has a few years to go. We light them at the birthday breakfast, and every meal that day, as the centerpiece on the table. Hokey? You bet. A fun tradition? You betcha!

I've seen them with 13, 18, and 21 years on them. You could also do a small musical birthday candle holder for the cake. Or I found this darling little sterling candle holder!

I am baffled by infant birthday parties for any attendees other than close family. With every passing year the gift giving opportunities seem to increase exponentially.

Guess it depends a bit on how close or good a friend, but at the friend level, I would probably think about a developmentally oriented toy (possibly musical since we are a music oriented family) music for play or nap time or a book. At that age, it's less likely to duplicate a title than when they are older and have more, but it might be a good idea to refrain from writing inside and having a gift receipt just in case. I don't think kids can have too many books or be given them too early.

I do think books are a great gift, and not too expensive. Definitely with the gift receipt.

Beginning walkers seem to adore push toys, like toy shopping carts. But they will zoom around the house with them (and crash into things), so make sure the parents are okay with that.

As she was learning to talk, my daughter adored the book "My Very First Mother Goose" by Iona Opie, illustrated by Rosemary Wells. She knew where every single picture of a horsey was in the book and would flip to them and point and tell me what they were. Lots of pictures with things to point to that showed off her blossoming vocabulary, which she loved to do.

Birthday parties for really young kids aren't for the kids, they are for the parents. I loved getting together with all my mommy friends. But when the guest list was long, I would often request "no gifts" on the invite, since no kid needs that much stuff.

kswl2, for my daughter's first birthday, we requested no gifts. So our party was certainly not a gift grab. (Though many will find fault with requesting no gifts as well, so there seems to be no way to win on this.)

We were (and still are) delighted to have adopted Dd and her birthday was an opportunity to share that joy with our friends. I was honestly torn on having the party because we adopted our older son when he was over a year old so we did not have an opportunity to celebrate his first birthday. I worried that he would feel cheated somehow if we made a fuss over his sister. But he asked to have a party for her. I felt that his generous impulse should be honored.

We served a casual lunch and let Dd have a whole cupcake all to herself. She has always been very social and she had a lot of fun at her party. I also had a great time and I certainly hope our guests did too.

If anyone felt it was somehow inappropriate for us to have a party to celebrate our child's first birthday, I hope they declined the invitation.

Everyone I know including myself who has bought THIS for a baby learns it's baby's best toy. Look at the reviews. If you do buy one, ask mom first if the baby already has it.

Is the gift bond too old?

Books, clothes (fun accessories!), or toys. It's all fine. No need to go overboard and I would include a receipt.

young children LOVE shape sorters -- http://www.amazon.com/TUPPERWARE-Shape-Ball-Children-Avner-Toys/dp/B000CFZP3A/ref=sr_1_13?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1453140937&sr=1-13&keywords=shape+sorter

There are less expensive ones, but this was what my boys had 40 years ago and it was still loved by their children. More fun than the cube-type ones, as it functions as a rolling ball as well.

Shape sorters and stacking toys are great for little ones -- adn the push or pull walking toys. We bought some wood walking toys at farmers markets or craft fairs that we loved -- a caterpiller or dinosaur on a rope that wiggled as the pulled it, a duck with flappy feet that went around on a wood stick.

Books or a gift certificate to a book store. At age one, definitely some age-appropriate board books (and gift receipt). Personally, I can't think of a more wonderful thing than a small child having access to many, colorful board books that he/she can play with and look at without an adult hovering over them making sure they don't rip pages. What better way to start a child off loving books and reading?

You could go old-school with simple wooden alphabet blocks. Even if they have some, more means bigger towers. Board books for now or some nice books for later (Madeleine is one I love to give). The Wee Sing series of children's songs with CD's are also good fun for many years. I found at that age my kids had more clothing than they really needed so I would probably opt out of that.

Crl, belated felicitations on your two successful adoptions. I am still baffled by infant birthday parties :-)

I always give clothing, too since they grow so fast and all the stuff they've received at the shower is usually outgrown. Kids seem to get nothing but toys at showers I attend, and birthday parties are the same way.

Kswl, do you mean parties where other than family are invited? Or just family for the party? Because I can assure you, when your first grandbaby turns one, you will be there with the biggest cake you can find, along with party hats and noise makers. :)

I think infant parties are mostly an "excuse" to have a party, and I don't see that as a bad thing! They are usually very casual, a chance for folks who might not see each other often to visit, and of course there is a good deal of attention paid to the little ones in attendance. I still recall my niece's first birthday party fondly (she's 13 now). It was a summertime BBQ with people spilling out onto the patio and having a nice time. As had been suggested above, it's not something that anyone would force on you, so either go and enjoy the "excuse" ... or stay home. ;-)

Yes, oak, I meant parties where guests are other than family. But we never need an excuse for a party either :-)

I recommend Global Babies. It's a book of baby faces with minimal text that benefits The Global Fund for Children. Children that age love looking at faces. When I give this book, I usually hear back that the child can't get enough of it!

I would suggest one of the many books from the Llama Llama series by Ann Dewdney. My favorites are Llama Llama Red Pajama and Llama Llama Mad at Mama. I bought these for my DGC and is my go to gift for children's birthday parties.