First birthdays are important. They are important because you are celebrating making it through the first year of something without screwing it up, and in the case of a child, this seems to be an epically crucial point. While you still might screw them up later, that milestone of one is evidence that you are not completely terribly at the parenting gig and that is something to pop champagne over.
Ideally, you will do this in the presence of one hundred of your closest friends, toasting the sweet child with a face full of cake whilst you proceed to celebrate in the only way suitable – with sugar and champagne.
Now, as much as the parents want to enjoy their moment of glory, it is equally important that the guests arriving at this swarray come bearing gifts, much like the three wise men at the birth of Jesus. When buying gifts for a one year old, however, frankincense and myrrh won’t cut it. Gold will.
I encountered this dilemma just last week – what gift of genuine excitement could I buy for a one year old? Something she would cherish and feel had special significance in her older years. My boyfriend scoffed – why would you get a one year old anything??
Having bought her older sister – my first niece – jewellery just two years prior, I felt I had to set the scales in balance. The gift for the second child had to be equal in significance, and impart as much love from me as the first. Oh the horrors of buying for a one year old!!
In the end a visit to Seed Heritage on the Saturday morning the day before the masses descended on fairy bread and honey joys seemed the only way to fulfil the gift buying endeavor. Stuff it – I had thought. She won’t remember anyways!! A little gold polka dotted frock jumped out at me, and I thought ‘oh, I’d wear that!’ and I pulled it off the shelf with vigour.
And then I saw it. The holy grail of first birthday presents for the little princess in your life. This Little Piggy Went to Prada. A collection of nursery rhymes reinterpreted for the Manolo wearing mums (and aunts!!) among us.
I inscribed the opening page to my niece, wished her a fashionable life, and felt rather fulfilled that I’d found not only a gift she could keep, but one that would educate her in the best way possible as she grew. The best kind of gift an aunt can give, really. Don’t you agree?
