I'm going to buck the trend here and say get nothing for her birthday.
My favorite uncle growing up never did birthdays or Christmas. He'd surprise us with things all year 'round. You never knew when Uncle P would show up with coins from Siberia to put into our foreign coin purse. He traveled the world, and even if he was just bringing us spare change, it was the best thing in the world for me and my sisters. When we got older, he'd call us up and see if we wanted to go to a concert for whatever band was coming into town and take us.
My grandma also had a neat tradition for gifts. She'd give us a certain amount of money, but take us to the mall to spend all of our gift money. And we'd go through all the stores and mark down in a notebook what cost how much where, and what I really wanted. It made me think before I just spent all my money at the first store.
Creative storage units are always fun, too. Go to a thrift shop or a crafts store, get a blank box, and then take time with the kid to decorate it together. Even a 1 year old can do this, with water based paints. That box can hold special toys or special books or SOMETHING, but that box will always be special because they helped make it.
Or if the kids are old enough, take them to a Build A Bear Workshop. I took all my cousins there when they were 3, and it was the coolest thing ever. (Quintuplets, it was quite a trip. I'm glad I had another adult to help out.) I actually collected money from other family members who didn't know what to get them, so they had a budget of I think $25 each for a bear and clothes, and sis and I would help them with the math to see what they could afford, but they each got a gift that was perfectly uniquely theirs, and they've cherished them ever since.