Christmas Gift Guide 2021 : Best Toys For Babies 6-12 Months
Babipur Christmas Gift Guides
If you’re looking for natural wooden toys and gifts for babies you have come to the right place! We specialise in natural toys for babies, we only stock toys that are safe to chew on made from natural wood and natural rubber and are finished with water safe based paints.
We are proud to stock such a wide and varied collection of ethical wooden and natural toys for babies from the very best sustainable toy brands. But as a parent the choice can be a little overwhelming, so we’ve narrowed it down to some of our favourites. You’ll find some tried and tested toys that kids and eco-parents love and discover some new brands that have arrived on the Babipur shelves this year. So, whether you’re an avid wooden toy collector, or simply trying to navigate the world of eco-friendly baby toys this Christmas then this blog post is for you! Here you’ll find our top gifts for baby’s first Christmas toy recommendations.
Christmas Gift Ideas for Babies 6-12 months
We’ve split our Christmas gift guides into age groups to make shopping easier for you. Over first 12 months babies develop at an incredible speed! One minute they are a sleepy newborn, and the next they are sat up exploring the world around them. Between 6 and 12 months old your baby may be rolling over, sitting unaided, pulling themselves up and maybe even crawling or taking their first steps. Of course, all babies are different and will do these things at different times. Your baby is probably spending longer times awake now, looking for more opportunities to explore and learn about the world around them.
In this age group, babies are working on their gross motor skills. Their movements are becoming more coordinated and purposeful. Senses are becoming finely tuned and they are listening and watching our every move. There is something so rewarding about sitting with your baby exploring a treasure basket or stacking wooden blocks. Talk to them about the colours and textures, how they move, sound or feel.
The Best Natural Toys For Babies
Natural toys provide interest and encourage new learning experiences. A small selection of carefully chosen wooden toys that will not overwhelm or overstimulate young, rapidly developing minds. Wooden blocks, vehicles and sorting and stacking toys are all a popular choice. Bigger items such as walkers and Triclimb pikler triangle for developing gross motor skills are also highly recommended.
At this age babies will still be teething and putting things in their mouths. All our teething toys are made from natural wood, natural rubber and non-toxic paints and dyes. Being free from harmful chemicals and toxins, all these toys are safe for your baby to put in their mouth and chew on.
We’ve selected some of our all-time favourite natural baby toys. Bringing together toys recommended by our Babipur Hangout community, customer favourites and our bestselling baby toys this year. Choosing a natural toy for a baby for Christmas is a lovely way to introduce children and parents to the wonderful world of wooden toys. From much loved stacking toys by Grimm’s and Gluckskafer, walkers from Plan Toys, pikler triangle from Triclimb, and dolls by Lanka Kade and Hoppa, there’s plenty of special gifts that will be loved, kept and passed down to future children. Without further ado, let’s take a look at what makes our Christmas list for babies this year.
Ten of the Best Eco Friendly Gifts for Babies this Christmas
Grapat 10 Element Treasure Basket
This beautiful Grapat treasure basket includes 10 elements made from natural wood and finished in safe, eco-friendly waxes. Designed to be used for babies discovery through play, stimulating all the senses. The elements come in various shapes including spools, bowls, balls, rings and coins making up each set – the perfect size for little hands to discover and explore.
Treasure baskets are often associated with heuristic play. This is where babies explore the relationships between objects around them by being allowed to play with various elements freely. This Grapat 10 element set is a great starting point to form part of a larger treasure basket by including other suitable materials such as metal or fabric items. Recommended for 10+ months.
Plan Toys Bird Walker
A wooden baby walker has got to make it into our ten best baby toys! Wooden baby walkers help your child take their first steps, encourage movement and those all important gross motor skills. A classic first birthday or Christmas gift, Plan Toys baby walkers have lots of features to keep little ones entertained and are built to last.
The bird walker by top sustainable brand Plan Toys has two flying parrots on the front, 16 colourful building blocks and an adjustable handle. As the walker is pushed along not only do the 2 birds heads peck up and down, but it also makes a unique sound – a great encouragement for movement and walking. Take a look at the video below!
We have a great range of wooden baby walkers by Plan Toys – check out our selection >HERE<
Grimm’s 6 Piece Natural Tunnel
The Grimm’s 6 piece natural tunnel is a beautifully simple take on the classic Waldorf rainbow toy. Crafted from natural lime wood and finished with non-toxic plant-based oil. It’s the perfect size for little hands to build, stack and get creative, and a wonderful introduction to open-ended toys.
Triclimb
Triclimb is a classic Pikler activity triangle that encourages children to climb and discover through their own experience developing gross motor skills, strength and confidence. This indoor climbing frame is suitable from birth. Once babies have the strength they can use it to pull themselves up by grasping the rungs. It encourages discovery and exploration of movement at each baby’s own pace, and will grow with the child.
There’s lots of great attachments to extend its play opportunities as the child grows and develops new skills. The Miri slide is an awesome example, securely attaching to the frame using a cleverly designed and unique joint. Triclimb is fully safety tested to 100kg, and made in Wales. It’s a top quality toy that will be enjoyed for many years and be passed down to future generations.
Find out more about pikler triangles >HERE<, and what makes Triclimb unique >HERE<
Gluckskafer Cubes
A set of wooden building blocks is a classic baby toy that has lasted the test of time. There’s really nothing better than a simple set of wooden cubes for babies to hold, stack, bang together and later for building. The Gluckskafer cubes set has 16 colourful wooden cubes which sit together in a solid tray. These Waldorf style blocks are beautiful in their simplicity, enjoyed on their own or in conjunction with other blocks.
Playing with wooden blocks promotes creativity, hones fine motor skills and develops problem-solving abilities. This wooden block set has been ethically made from solid FSC wood and treated with oil-based plant pigments and oils. Recommended for 12 months +, however will not present a chocking hazard so safe to use under adult supervision.
We have a wide range of wooden blocks by top eco toy brands, browse the collection >HERE<
Plan Toys Sensory Blocks
Babies love to make sense of the world with this set of six wooden sensory blocks by top sustainable toy brand Plan Toys. Each of the blocks is made from smooth, tactile solid wood with it’s own unique sensory feature relating to sound, sight and texture.
Whether gazing at their reflection in the mirror, wondering at fractured effect of the prism, stroking the textured corduroy or shaking a sound block by their ear, these blocks are sure to captivate little ones. Great for stacking and making little buildings too! Made with sustainable rubberwood and decorated with eco paints. These sensory blocks make a fantastic educational toy for growing tots and are safe for teething gums too. Recommended for 12 months +, however will not present a chocking hazard so safe to use under adult supervision.
Hoppa Doll
Hoppa is a fabulous fair trade brand that boasts exquisite handmade dolls and toys for babies and children. Unlike most soft toys it’s made from organic cotton and wool stuffing, making them fantastic eco-friendly baby gifts.
These typical Waldorf dolls are lovingly hand-made with natural materials, high quality and appealing to the senses. Made with organic cotton and stuffed with lambs wool. This eco doll which will take on familiar scents from the child, parents and home. Their unique scent is a comfort to babies, and will ease away their worries whenever they give their doll a cuddle.
Grapat Balls and Bowls
Suitable from birth, this Grapat wooden toy ball and bowls set is perfect for heuristic play, a hands-on approach to learning through play. In the beginning you can play peekaboo with babies, hiding the ball inside the matching bowls, toddlers love to replicate this game.
Encourage a simple colour matching game by sorting the balls in to their correct bowls. Toddlers will love rolling the balls and finding treasures to put in them and stacking them up.
Lanka Kade Dolls
We’ve been stocking Lanka Kade dolls for many years now and they have always been a favourite! Ethically handcrafted in Sri Lanka by skilled artisans, each has a dress or trousers and a top made with Lanka Kade’s colourful fair trade woven fabric.
Each doll is beautifully unique as the coloured woven fabric is all made on short runs, so each will be individual. Lanka Kade dolls come in a range of skin tones and different hair colours too, representing our multicultural communities. Every child can enjoy playing with a doll that looks like them and have diversity in their home.
Find our full Lanka Kade Dolls range >HERE<
Bajo Red Wobbling Chicken
The Bajo Red Wobbling Chicken will delight babies and toddlers as they rock her back and forth. Bajo toys are superb quality toys from Poland with a keen eye for design. Made with solid sustainable wood and rusty red coloured with eco paints, tots and parents will love this little toy.
Perfect for tummy time and encouraging your baby to reach out and rock this cleverly weighted little red hen. A great toy for developing gross motor skills. This wobbling hen is recommended for 12 months +. As it isn’t a chocking hazard it can be enjoyed by younger babies with adult supervision.
You can find out more about top eco toy brand Bajo >HERE<
Plan Toys Shape Sorter
Last but not least is the Plan Toys Shape Sorter. Introduce simple shapes and colours with this modern take on a traditional shape sorter. Made from super sustainable, smooth Plan Wood. An easy to hold shape sorting board with three shape cut-outs. The matching shapes are held together by a cord to prevent them getting lost. Each shape is a different pastel colour and passes easily through the matching cut-out.
Babies will enjoy working out which of the three holes the coloured blocks fit through. Playing with this wooden shape sorter is a fun way to develop shape and colour recognition skills. Hone hand-to-eye co-ordination and fine motor skills with this fab sustainable toy.
