Any ideas for a meaningful gift?

I love the children’s book-of-the-month idea. Here is a site.

Start her a college fund.

At one, she’ll be more into boxes, and not really opening things. www.uncommongoods.com. My girls really liked the Bitty Babies from americangirl.com and carried the doll they got at age 2 until they quit playing with baby dolls. I bought my niece one and add to the clothing, etc. on a regular basis.

@seenmaker good idea(:

A puppy. Her parents will love you.

@steve6 That’s twisted but at least there will never be another invitation to a gift giving occasion<;}.

A 1 yo doesn’t know what is going on and most have more toys and clothes than they need so I would either open a college account and keep adding to it over the years or if that is too rich for your blood, buy the baby a savings bond.

plant some trees in her name. give to a charity in her name. that or what @steve said.

All good ideas but why? The kid won’t enjoy trees or bonds until years later.

@steve6 A meaningful gift for a one year old is really meant to be a meaningful gift indicating ones relationship to the parents of said one year old.

For small children of good friends, I often give a large book of stories I loved when I was a child. Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories or A.A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh come to mind. I always write an inscription in the book. Something like “One of my favorite books for one of my favorite people. I loved this book when I was a child, and I hope you will, too.” Always remember to date your inscription.

I once worked with a woman who had a great collection of silver pins. They were given to her by an uncle on her birthday. Each one was a symbol of the previous year. One was a bicycle, for her 5th birthday, tragedy/comedy masks for her 17th birthday, and her part in the school play, etc. Perhaps something like that, or start her on a charm bracelet.

Start her up with a Ticket to the Moon fund. So she will be he first in the family to visit the Moon when Virgin Airlines launch their service in the future.

yeah at 1, it doesn’t matter to her what she gets, it matters to the parents what she gets.
so dolls or plushes are good, preferably one that isn’t mass produced (e.g. Beanie Babies). or on top of it offer to babysit an extra time.

She’s 1? She won’t remember the present. Which is exactly why I suggest you pool as much money from as many people who want to donate to a college fund and start one up for her. That gives it a lot of time to mature and gain 18 years of compound interest, and when she’s 18 she will remember the present you set up for her when she was 1 :)

And buy a little trinket or something to keep the day special. Maybe write her a poem and put it on a card that will be kept for her. Doing anything tradition-establishing is also fun and neat.

a cookie!