Need ball ideas - what are your favorites?

[MommyAllison]

A good friend's DS is turning 1 soon and I have about a week to put his gift together. He LOVES balls so I am thinking of putting an assortment of balls together for him but am looking for a few suggestions. I will probably get one of those big $3 balls from the cage bins at Target, and a blow up big ball, but other than that I don't know? I would like something unusual/fun that they haven't seen before, but don't have time to order online. Ideas? We don't have much for specialty toy stores here, but do have one that I am going to look at. TIA!

Allison
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[MarisaSF]

Get a Gertie Ball. They are billed as "the easiest to catch." they come in different designs. We have one with nipple-like nubs on it. They have one that look like basketballs and soccer balls too. http://www.gertieball.com/shop/index.php?cPath=21&gclid=CMyfgqfRt4YCFR_HSAodwWUJCw

We don't have one of these "O Balls", but DD loves them whenever she sees one: http://www.whatshebuys.com/for-child-rhino-toys.html

I listed websites above, but I've seen them both in regular stores too.

[jgriffin]

E loves balls, too! I got him some cloth balls at TRU for the water. They don't bounce or roll much; they're kinda foamy/squishy inside. They're meant for playing in the pool, we play with them everywhere, and they're easy for him to pick up. Add benefit: each one has a tag! :)
Earlier this summer TRU had medium balls (~10-12") for 99c in different colors.
And I have a very large yoga ball (aka birth ball) hanging out in the living room that E likes to bang on and play with.

[annasmom]

The gertie ball is a must. It is a great ball for small children because it is so easy to catch. My dc also really like the balls that Gymboree sells - the small colored plastic balls with holes - the holes make it easy for little hands to grab. As for some interesting and cute looking balls - I have always really liked the balls made by Crocodile Creek - here is a link

http://www.oompa.com/cgi-bin/category/OutdoorBalls

Have fun!!

[lilycat88]

Gertie Ball is a fav...we have 4, I think. The next favorite in our house are ping pong balls and/or those hollow plastic practice golf balls. We have a basket full and DD loves carrying them all over and putting them in different containers. We often get "golf ball tea" served to us.

[dules]

We love our O ball (it's packable, lol!) and a stuffed one, I think it's Gund, it rolls but does not bounce and is great for first games of catch and indoor play.

Best,
Mary

[Momof3Labs]

How about a customized wool ball? They are small, lightweight and perfect for little hands. Samara did a couple for me, and her work is beautiful - $2 for whatever you want on a ball is a bargain!! Plus, she turns them around very fast!

http://hyenacart.com/FunkyFelts/

We also like the o-ball.

[katydid1971]

My DS LOVES balls too and we have the Gertie ball and lots of other balls. Ones that are big hits around the house are small beach balls (you know the kind that sell for $.50) they are easy to pick up and throw but won't hurt anything (or anyone) becuase they are so light. Also I got two bags of wiffle balls at Walmart that are used all the time. A bag with those would be a huge hit.
Sarah

[zoestargrove]

Another Gertie Ball fan here. We have the blue bumpy ball and the one that is heat sensitive that changes color. My boys love both of them and and they ARE easy to catch. I also loved the O Ball until we lost it.

If you want to add differnt sizes etc...My boys also love the orange plastic wiffle ball style practice golf balls. You can get them in the golf section at Target.

[MommyAllison]

Thank you all - I will be searching everywhere for a Gertie ball and an O Ball I think :) I am really excited to go shopping now! I've never seen a wool ball IRL - are they totally filled with cloth? How soft are they? Or are they filled with something else? I am considering one but she doesn't have much in stock. Thanks again!


ETA: Any fun ideas for how to wrap this gift? I would like them all together in a fun, decorative way - I don't mind if he can see the gift through the wrapping.

Allison
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[stefani]

Kidsurplus has Gertie balls, but check on how long shipping will take.

I have seen them at The Little Gym as well, although it is about $10, instead of $7 or so from Kidsurplus (but there is shipping if that's all you are getting).

HTH.
Stefani.

[supercalifragilous]

This is a recent thread - in case it gets buried with other posts, here's the link:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=12&topic_id=55425&mode=full&page=

We got the glow-in-the-dark one and we have the color-changing (with touch) one too. Both are too cool and still are easy to catch even though they don't have the nubbies (it's the smooth version). It's really the texture of the material that makes Gerties easy to catch.

[Momof3Labs]

Wool balls are filled with more wool, though it is all felted (so packed together tight) and are very lightweight. They aren't squishy soft, but are can't-hurt-the-walls-or-your-head soft. If you want one, I'd suggest that you e-mail her directly; she was a lot of fun to work with!

[DrSally]

I second the pp. I just bought a bumpie gertie and oball at a local independent toy store. Both are very easy to grab even for younger than 1 year old. I also bought a nobbly wobbly, which had many loops and a shiny ball inside the loops that has a bell in it. It's a little heavy for my 7 month old yet. BTW, great gift idea!

[DrSally]

BTW, there was a recent thread with places to buy the Bumpie Gertie. Oops, I see someone already posted it.

[vdrake71]

I keep all my balls in a basket so that might be an idea to wrap it. That way all the balls have a home at the new house. My DS loves to move the balls to a black garbage can that we have. An idea might be to buy a basketball hoop and attach it to a garbage can.

Some other balls I would recommend is a squeaky ball (think dog toy) and my DS loves the stress balls that are very soft.

[rlu]

We have been sucessful finding rubber balls at the $1 stores.

Target has plain white wiffle balls - we got a bag of 8 or 9 for about $3. They also have raquetballs but our dog tries to eat those so we haven't got much play out of them yet.

[zoestargrove]

I bought a large denim/canvas collapsible storage bin from Target and that is where I store all of our balls. You could wrap/store them in a mesh bag - the kind a soccer coach would bring to practice. Gertie balls come deflated with a straw and plug. (it's actually a cool feature...easily packable for outings)

[MommyAllison]

We had fun shopping! We found a great sunflower yellow crate on an endcap at Target to put it all in - only one ball is too big to fit. :) Here's what we ended up with:

- Gertie ball 9" Nobbie
- O ball (got one for DD too!)
- Nobbly Wobbly ball
- Hair ball (kind of like a koosh ball)
- Poof 4" foam ball
- Nerf micro football
- 2 Splash bomb water footballs
- Flashing tentacle ball (this may be for his older brother)
- 5 pack of rainbow colored, various sized foam balls
- 8 pack of white wiffle balls
- Huge 18" air filled ball from the cage at Walmart

I wish we could keep it all for DD! :) Thank you all for your suggestions! And Lori, I think I may order DD a felted wool ball - we will appreciate it more than they would :) they look cool!

Allison
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