SupplyToy

A one-year-old does not know it is their birthday. That is useful information, because it means the best gift is one that works on a normal Tuesday six months later.

A play kitchen is the largest toy most families will buy for a toddler. It is also the one most often bought on looks and regretted on ergonomics. Here is the checklist that matters.

Pretend play sets are extremely easy to buy badly, because the impressive ones do the imagining for the child. Here is how to pick props that leave room for a story.

Ride-on toys look simple and are surprisingly easy to get wrong. Height, wheelbase and steering decide whether a child uses one confidently or ignores it entirely.

Ring stackers, nesting cups, peg boards and block towers all get called "stacking toys" — but they ask for very different skills. Here is how to pick the one your child is actually ready for.

A stocking is the one gift format where nothing is boxed, nothing carries an age label, and every item ends up in a mouth. Work through the choking and battery questions before you worry about which one is cutest.

Between six and twelve months a baby changes more than at any other point in the first two years. Here is how to match toys to that change instead of to the age band on the box.

A one-year-old is not a smaller two-year-old. Their toys need to survive mouthing, throwing and being stood on — and they need to do it without an adult demonstrating anything.