Thursday, March 03, 2016

a 1st birthday giveaway with lucas loves cars

First birthdays are synonymous with heirloom gifts so I've spent the past few months collecting a few treasured keepsakes for Percy.

If I'm being completely honest, Percy only cares for the dustpan and broom, crinkly paper and my wallet so I've bought gifts that will hopefully be adored when he's a little bigger. Instead of following my gift giving rule of something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read, I've opted for two special gifts that will last for years to come and are uniquely Percy's (rare considering he's the third child).

I enlisted the help of a talented quiltmaker to make him something that will be warm and comforting for years to come and I went on the hunt for a sweet wooden toy that was handmade and perfect for little hands.

Helle from Lucas Loves Cars promoted her new range of Milton Ashby toys a few weeks ago and I was sold from first glance. Handmade in Melbourne from beech and maple and finished with natural oils, the Milton Ashby collection comes packaged in a gorgeous silver tin that will be the perfect place to keep birthday cards and first drawings.

The helicopter is superbly made. I find that many wooden toys are cumbersome and far too heavy for little ones but the Milton Ashby collection is sturdy yet light. As a bonus, it's soft and smooth; a lovely, tactile experience.

Lucas Loves Cars has been a long-time sponsor of this space and I respect Helle's dedication to stock quality Australian brands, including Milton Ashby. "I stock products and brands that I believe in," she says. "There are some fabulous Australian toy designers out there and they're creating really beautiful products. I love working with emerging businesses like Milton Ashby and it's a pleasure to know that we're helping each other succeed."

Helle has a strong customer base who adore her collection so she's reached a point where she knows exactly what her clients want for their kids. "My customers want beautiful, quality toys (of the car, automobile, plane, helicopter and dinosaur variety) that are made to last and are delivered within days of ordering," she says.

To celebrate Percy's birthday, Lucas Loves Cars is offering one reader a beautiful blue helicopter. To enter this giveaway, simply comment and tell us what you think the perfect 1st birthday gift is. Open to Australian and NZ readers, winner will be announced on Percy's birthday, March 9th. Good luck!

Comments closed. The winner is M - absolutely adore the charm bracelet idea. We hope your little boy loves his helicopter x

This is a sponsored post. Thanks so much for supporting the brands that continue to support PS. 


40 COMMENTS

  1. A photo album to treasure all those memorable moments

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  2. Lots of books is my favorite gift for a first birthday!!

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  3. The perfect first birthday gift is one they can look on as an adult and understand to be an expression of love.

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  4. My son's first birthday present arrived a little late. It was an album of his first year with a letter I had written to him each month. The final pages were pictures of his first birthday party which obviously needed to happen before I could finish the album. He loves looking through it as much as I do and I really think it will be something he comes to treasure. His second birthday is coming up later this month and he is obsessed with all forms of transport so this little helicopter would be perfect!

    Happy Birthday to Percy for March 9 and well done Mum because let's face it, that first year is HUGE!

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  5. First birthdays from my experience are a celebration of meeting that first major milestone, mostly for the parents, siblings, extended family and friends to give a big cheer and take a long outward breath! Gifts to last and to be used in the years to come are wonderful, this time round I chose a handcrafted timber rocking horse, a smaller one that will see her through until three or four.

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  7. I think the perfect 1st birthday gift is being surrounded by the people that love them most and doing all the activities they love best, bouncing a ball, rolling a car, licking the bottom of a shoe..... Memories

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  8. I'm about to birth our third child but first birthdays are important milestones and usually I gift a handmade treasure. Something made to cuddle or play with and ethically made.

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  9. It's our second boy's first birthday at the end of the month and I've spent quite some time deciding what to give him. We gave his elder brother a beautiful Australian, handmade wooden ride on (which he still uses daily) and I wanted to get our second something that would be loved and also used well beyond his toddler years. We eventually decided on a wagon. He'll be too small for it at twelve months but give him six months. I can see our boys carting all manner of things, including each other. The only problem will be the nearly three year old claiming it as his own.
    PS - I love Milton Ashby toys and had no idea they're made in Australia. Another reason to love them.

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  10. I recently gifted a friend a "name a star" gift pack for her son for his first birthday. When I asked what he would like she said that he had been given so many things for Christmas - this was the perfect option. The idea is that you get to name a star. You fill in and send in the paperwork and you are sent a certificate, stating the name of your star and the co-ordinates of where to locate your star in the sky. This is available from Australuan Geographic stores.

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  11. I like to give a Triang Build Up Peg Board to children of friends as they turn one.

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  12. I like to give a Triang Build Up Peg Board to children of friends as they turn one.

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  13. I love the idea of wooden toys, they have the feel of a piece of art. And first birthdays are a great time for those kind of toys that offer a little bit of interactivity. My baby boy just turned one in January and I got him some wooden toys. He would be so into the helicopter right now!! So adorable!

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  14. The perfect first birthday gift is one that sets a precedent about the kinds of toys you want your child to invest his/her imagination in playing with. I also think it's wonderful to gift toys that avoid too narrowly defined gender roles. A helicopter for a little girl, for example, would be a beautiful and encouraging gift!

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  15. I've only had one first birthday so far. And I wanted to get long lasting gifts. So I found a book that was written by one of his favorite authors (with all the pop-ups) and two wood pull toys from an antique shop. I wanted the wood toys to be something he can show his future children as his first gifts.

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  16. The perfect first birthday present for my two girls (2 years, and 3 months) was/ will be a handmade felt birthday crown (made by me and my husband). Everyone in our family has one now and they are all decorated with the persons name and unique embroidery that means something or says something about the wearer. Love them, and so special to pull out on birthdays and christmas!!

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  17. I think a book with a special message written inside��

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  18. We give time........ Lots of time! my husband takes a week off work for there first birthdays Just as he had done when they where born and we spend the week playing and playing and playing. The housework gets left, the washing piles up and we just enjoy them as an amazing little person. All the grandparents visit and we fill there world with all the people who love them most❤️ There's always a special gift but the real gift we've given our children is us.

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  19. The perfect 1st birthday gift is definitely something unique that will be a 'keeper' ; something a child will cherish with fond memories for a life time. For my daughter, I chose a lovely personalised wooden puzzle of her name.

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  20. I made my little man Art a photo book celebrating the first year of his life. It's the perfect size for little hands. I hope he will enjoy looking through this for years and years to come.

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  21. For my sons first birthday we gave him a table a chair set, something that later on we could sit at with him to do activities. I also gave him a book and a journal that I'd written in everyday since I found out I was pregnant up until the night before his first birthday. I think gifts that last a lifetime are the best gifts for a one year old, but also something that they can enjoy right now like a book.

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  22. A photobook with a family trees page option with notes of important events with lots of pages more for his future. Something to be treasure forever.

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  23. What a beautiful little gift! I do love handmade wooden toys and think a keepsake toy that will last is the best gift for a one year old.

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  24. What a beautiful little gift! I do love handmade wooden toys and think a keepsake toy that will last is the best gift for a one year old.

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  26. As you said in the post, most one years olds are after wrapping paper and string, Arlo was no different. We decided to get him a wishbone 3-1bike. It's beautiful, and it will last. He would love and treasure that little helecopter. A year on and he is now equally obsessed with all things transport as he is with the scrunched paper, brooms and toilet paper rolls! Xx

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  27. a second hand wooden rocking horse that has been revamped! or a beautiful handmade mobile.

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  28. a second hand wooden rocking horse that has been revamped! or a beautiful handmade mobile.

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  29. A gift doesn't need to be something purchased with money, our greatest gift on our little boys 1st birthday was celebrating with him, he has been the most incredible gift, reflecting on the day he was born and then here he was turning 1. He was totally oblivious to everything, he was happiest with the wrapping paper and tapping on a boxes full of toys for him. And of course given cake for the very first time, here we were with a little boy grown so much in a year, eating cake.....

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  30. A toy that empowers would make a perfect first birthday gift. A toy that celebrates the baby's newfound mobility, for example, or one that encourages other milestones recently reached or soon-to-be reached.

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  31. What a beautiful quilt! When I was 5, my aunty sewed me a double quilt, and it has been on my bed ever since. 22 years later, it's rather worn in some places, but its something I have honestly treasured for 22 years, living both at home and now not at home. I think the best first birthday (and well, any birthday) gift is the gift of time - time spent together, celebrating, or perhaps just being. So much emphasis is placed on "things" these days and time is something that constantly seems in short supply. Sometimes it is nice to have no plans except to share time with people we love who are important to us.

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  32. I agree first birthdays are the perfect keepsake birthday, a gift should be something that can be looked upon in years to come with fondness. The quilt it a lovely idea. We got my daughter a charm bracelet & have been adding a charm each year with the intention of giving it to her on her 16th birthday, the charms have been symbols of the year that was... First year we got a pram as it was the only place she would sleep, second year Eiffel Tower as we'd been to Paris and third year a castle as she is princess obsessed & wanted her very own castle! My son is approaching his first birthday and my mind keeps wandering to what i should get him... Thanks for the ideas!

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  33. I remember my 1 year old loving sweet stacking/nesting boxes... You know, the ones where each side tells a story or has a number or letter on it.

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  34. To be very honest, ive got it wrong so far. Ive gone for gifts i would like in the house, a beautiful ride on bike that my one year old never touches and an oyoy car mat that he is yet to use. When i play cars with him on it, they end up driving up the wall, table and kitchen. Its a good lesson for me, what i like and what mr 1 likes are irrevocably different. Maybe a beautiful little wooden plane, train or helicopter would be a simple beautiful keep sake. I think i need to look to his individual interests rather than the modern trap of instagram.

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  35. To be very honest, ive got it wrong so far. Ive gone for gifts i would like in the house, a beautiful ride on bike that my one year old never touches and an oyoy car mat that he is yet to use. When i play cars with him on it, they end up driving up the wall, table and kitchen. Its a good lesson for me, what i like and what mr 1 likes are irrevocably different. Maybe a beautiful little wooden plane, train or helicopter would be a simple beautiful keep sake. I think i need to look to his individual interests rather than the modern trap of instagram.

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  36. Around one year old is the time that many children seem to start enjoying having a cuddly friend to love. My eldest was given a soft pink teddy with a nice face and limbs that were floppy and easy to grab. My nephew already had the teddy's blue counterpart, who was given the name Max, so our furry pink friend was automatically named Maxine.
    I think that a teddy or other soft animal (with a doppelgänger so the first can be washed) to become a special friend is a lovely first birthday gift that can be treasured for years to come.

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  37. It's difficult to find the perfect first birthday gift, I think books are a great place to start.

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  38. For both my children, I've gifted them gorgeous wooden keepsake toys on their ever so special first birthdays - for my first born, a set of lovingly handmade wooden blocks and for my little guy - my one year old son - a beautiful handcrafted wooden swing. I gravitate towards natural, wooden toys and steer well clear of cold and brash plastic playthings - there is simply nothing that compares to the loveliness and warmth of wood.

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  39. First birthday presents should be simple, have endless play possibilities and have the potential to be a treasured, timeless keepsake. We have chosen a wooden rocket and a set of wooden animals to mark our older children's first birthdays. However the most sentimental accompaniment is a hand written letter from mummy and daddy to our child. It gets stashed away in their memory boxes to be read when they are older. In it we reflect on our babies first year, write our hopes and dreams for them and describe what our life is like at present. It's now become our family birthday tradition. My third child will be turning one shortly and I have been searching for the perfect gift for him. I think with this beautiful range I am spoilt for choice!

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  40. Definitely something that can be treasured for years to come. I love pulling out special toys of my 4yr old that he received from his 1st bday and I think he may just be appreciating them too. I also love the idea of a toy that not every child will have, which makes it even more special.

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