Best Educational Gifts for Babies 6-12 Months

Babies who are 6-12 months learn a ton of new skills in this short period of time. They learn how to roll, then sit, scoot, crawl, and pull up to standing all in these few months! Additionally, their brains are continuing to develop at a rapid pace, they are developing fine motor and language skills and are teething!

My son will be 8.5 months at Christmas so I wanted to get him toys that will promote his development now and as he gets older and begins to master these skills. I am including some of his current favorites as well as some that are on his wish list!

* This post was updated in 2020 with toys that Henry received & loved for his first Christmas- many of which he is still loving today at 2.5! Toys are tried and baby through toddler approved!

If you are looking for gifts for slightly younger babies, I also have a gift guide for babies 0-6 months old here!

The links below are affiliate links. Anything purchased through the links on this page helps support our family and for that, I thank you!

Wooden Walker with Blocks

This wood walker is so sweet and if your baby isn’t walking yet, the wood blocks would be fun to play with in the meantime!

Looky Looky Crawl Along Mirror

Babies love looking at their reflections. This rolling mirror encourages babies to crawl after it! Even if your baby is not crawling yet, it would be great to use during tummy time.

Single Shape Puzzles

As your baby gets closer to a year, these Montessori inspired puzzles are a great first option. They are the perfect size to put a picture underneath and play peek a boo!

Elephant Wooden Push and Pull Toy

These types of toys are fun to pull once your little one learns to walk, but in the meantime they can push it using the built in handle!

VTech Musical Rhymes Book

This is one of Henry’s favorite toys. He loves the lights, the songs and being able to turn the pages. These kind of toys are noisy, but did you know that nursery rhymes have been proven to boost literacy and language skills as babies grow?

Hape Pound & Tap Bench

Henry received this toy for his first Christmas and it quickly became his most played with toy! He loves hammering the balls as well as playing with the xylophone. It’s a high quality toy that is great for developing hand eye coordination.

First Baby Doll

These baby dolls are so sweet and the perfect first doll! I also love the basket of babies for a more diverse option (and you get all six dolls!)

Crawl Through Tunnel

These collapsable tunnels are so much fun for babies this age who are able to crawl! I love that this one has mesh on one side so that they can see out.

Melissa & Doug First Bead Maze

Bead Mazes are great for developing hand eye coordination and fine motor skills. I love that this one has suction cups and is a small size so that it is portable- perfect for bringing to restaurants!

Fat Brain Toys InnyBin

This toy is great for developing fine motor skills and spatial recognition- and babies LOVE it!

Soft Photo Album

I love the idea of Henry being able to look at family photos without them going in his mouth 😉 This album provides a safe way for him to look at some of his favorite people’s pictures!

These blocks are another great option to expose your baby to friendly faces- so fun!

Fat Brain Toys Wobble Run

A classic toy that is perfect for exploring cause and effect! This similar car ramp is another fun version.

Fisher Price Piggy Bank

Around one year old, babies love putting objects in and out of containers- this piggy bank toy is so fun for developing that skill! One of those toys that is hard to see the appeal in as an adult, but babies really enjoy 😉

Pop Up Toy

This classic Montessori toy is so much fun for little ones! It is great for developing hand eye coordination, fine motor skills and introducing colors.

Stacking Toys

There are SO many of these out there. I like the simplicity of the Melissa & Doug Rainbow one and that the pieces can be stacked in any order. We also love this Infantino Soft Stacker where the rings double as teethers!

Musical Instruments

Henry loves any toys that make noise right now, so Santa will be bringing him some musical instruments. Music is so important for baby’s sensory and cognitive development. Instruments are also toys that Henry will be able to play with into toddlerhood and beyond.

This Infantino set looks great for younger babies. The smaller instruments store inside the turtle drum and there are no small parts like many of the sets I’ve seen! Santa will also be getting him this piano and this xylophone.

Montessori Object Permanence Box

Object permanence is a skill that babies are really intrigued by. This toy sounds simple but it is a HUGE hit with little ones at this age.

Oombee Cube Sorter

This toy is GENIUS because there are no loose parts to be lost! It is also a great toy to take when traveling or in even just in the car.

Rolling Rainmaker Toy

This rainstick is great for sensory development AND gross motor skills- it can be rolled on the ground for babies to crawl after! I love the neutral, classic design.

VTech Turn and Learn Driver

The daycare that I worked at in college had this toy steering wheel and it was a hit for babies through school age children! It is great for tummy time and sensory development for babies and older kids can use it to pretend to drive.

Melissa & Doug K’s Kids Match and Build Soft Blocks

I really want to get Henry some open ended toys that can be used in more than one way and will encourage him to use his imagination as he gets older. I love that these blocks can be used to build, but also for many other activities such as matching, creating a picture, opening the flaps, etc.

I also purchased these blocks for our youngest this year. I love that they are multifunctional and have a removable teether or sensory toy in each block!

Stacking Rainbow Toy

This is a much less expensive option than the popular wooden rainbow that you may have heard of 😉 So cute displayed in a playroom when not in use too!

Toy cars

Henry received this Kid O Go Car and continues to love it at 19 months. It was a GREAT first car because the handle made it so easy to push and pull.

These Melissa and Doug vehicles are another set that Henry really enjoyed. I love that they are soft! Cars are a great open ended toy that will be loved for years to come!

And if you’re looking for a more sustainable/heirloom quality piece- I LOVE this one!

Fat Brain Toys Tobbles Neo

A great first stacking toy- I love that they don’t have to be stacked “perfectly” in order to stay up. Babies have fun spinning the pieces too!

Playskool Play Favorites Busy Poppin’ Pals

Another timeless toy that babies love! It is great for teaching cause and effect and developing fine motor skills. Henry is always so surprised when the animals pop up!

Baby Newspaper

If your baby is like mine, they love to play with (and try to eat) paper! This is baby safe “paper” and is SO cute! I can’t wait to give this to him! The crinkly sound is great for auditory stimulation, the black and white provides interesting visual contrast and playing with it provides fine motor practice.

Toy Remote

What baby doesn’t love playing with the remote? This remote has bright lights, fun songs and teaches skills like numbers, ABCs and opposites! Henry played with this a lot in the car.

Bath Toys

As babies learn to sit up, bath toys can be introduced to make bath time more fun! I love these floating bath toys that rattle and spin. They are great because water cannot get trapped inside and grow mold, like some other bath toys.

Stacking Cups

These stacking cups have thousands of five star reviews on Amazon. At less than $4.00, I think it is worth seeing what the hype is all about! These have the potential to teach color, size, counting, build fine motor skills and so much more. We also have and enjoy these stacking blocks.

Wooden Shape Sorter

This toy is a little old for the age range, but is high quality and can certainly grow with your child! Before he learned to sort the shapes, Henry loved putting them in and out of the back of the cement mixer- and now as a toddler he loves using the toy “as intended” and also for imaginary play!