Why is buying a simple birthday gift such a task?

Yesterday, was my girlfriend's sons First birthday. She came to me for help organizing and planning the party. Putting the party together seemed like an easier task then going to the store and trying to find a present. I decided to go to my favorite toy store in Charlottesville, Shenanigans.  Now my daughter is 20 months old,  a lot of her toys she played with at as a year old are still around the house,  I knew exactly what I wanted to buy him. Stella had a school bus that was a shape sorter. It was about a 10 inches high and a foot long, give or take. The bus had eyes in the front that moved when you pushed it. It also came with two little drivers that make noise if you shake them as well as 4 shapes that sort on the top with a large door in the back.

So I asked the woman working at the shop if they still had it, thinking I was well prepared with a gift and this was going to be a short trip. Boy was I wrong. I never knew so many different brands and shape sorters existed! The particular brand I was looking for had sold out of. Now what was I going to get? I start looking around and completely mesmerized at all the new stuff that had come out in such a short period of time. I first thought Thomas would be a good gift, but that could get real expensive, very fast. Why a little wooden train costs so much is beyond me! The tracks themselves can cost over $50. That brings up another important question, what price range should the gift be in? Having planned and had my daughters birthday party, it seemed that a safe price range is $20 to $30. You can definitely find a great toy for less or more. I always say quality before quantity, so even if you only get one thing or it is small, just make sure it is made well. So after about 20 minutes of picking up one thing and putting down another,  I settled on a 3 piece set of these large toy cars and truck that seemed to be perfect for a 1 year old boy.