baby presents!

[splodge24]

Hi all you parents, i need your help!!
I don't have kids of my own and i am quite clueless really!
My friends all have kiddies and i need to buy a present for a new born boy and one for a 1 year old boy.
I need help...i have not got a clue!
What would you like to have, as parents, for your child? All i can think of is clothes or a blanket, i'm sure all babies have plenty of those. As for the one year old i don't know what toys they are into at that age!
Please help me out!!
Cheers in advance!!

[Hgrove]

Actually I think clothes are a good idea for the one year old;  usually you get a lot of clothes when you have a new baby, but after that it's toys all the time;  try a large branch of woolworths or mothercare and I think it is nice to give the receipt to the mother so she can change the clothes if they don't fit.  But if you'd rather give toys, again, have a look in woolies, all the toys will have written on the box "from birth", "from six months", etc.

[Lindy Loo]

For the newborn, what about baby bath, lotion, talc, shampoo etc, and nappies! I have done this kind of 'New Baby' present before and it was very well received as these things are always useful.

For a 1yr old, yes clothes are a good idea, or what about opening a savings account, then for birthdays and Christmas a 'deposit' could be made.

Good luck

[Philtaz]

What about opening a savings account for each of them?  Start it off with �10 apiece.  You'll find that as they get older they are showered with gifts by parents and grandparents alike so you can always make a donation to their accounts in the years to come as opposed to buying presents.

[blueeyedlass]

when i had my son i recieved a baby book that you fill in with all the details first smile,first tooth etc and i took great pleasure in filling that in hes 2 now and im still filling it in,it does until hes five and i think its a great thing to look back on .

[woofgang]

I am a great aunt, who has never been a mum. When my great niece was born, on the advice of friends of mine with kids, I gave second and third size clothes as they all said that they got loads of first size, the mum was delighted. I take pleasure in buying books for kids, there are loads of lovely ones, not too expensive. My niece is now just one year old, has been read to since birth and now goes and gets a book and sits on the floor "reading" to the cat. If you want to give a bigger gift then I think that cash is a good idea. Eventually the children will want to go to uni, need driving lessons, a gap year etc and a nest egg then is going to be a useful thing.

Other suggestions would be a cot mobile, there are some lovely gizmos that project pictures around the wall and have a motion sensor in so they start as baby moves. For the one year old, they are still at the everything goes in the gob stage, so you need to be a bit careful what you choose.

[Ouisch]

For the newborn, a baby book (as someone already suggested) is a good idea.  What I do when I give a baby book to someone is to personalize it a bit - I add a page showing a sort of time capsule of the day baby was born.  I list the day's winning lottery numbers, the top songs of that week, top movies at the box office, and maybe cut out a few newspaper headlines from that day.  Interesting reading for baby once he's 20 years old or so!

[nrmatth]

my one year old LOVES to put things inside each other.  Stacking blocks and nesting cups are great.  Plus at this age, they grow out of clothes very quickly, so maybe some roomy "footie" pajamas that are a tad oversized so they'll grow into them.

[splodge24]

mich m and ouisch, thats a lovely idea and so easy to do! Think i may just do that!
Lindy loo, i'm using your idea in a few months time when my other friend is due her first born!

Thanks to everyone else as well, it is much appreciated!

[mumma]

Re NewBaby Box with talc etc......  I got one of these from a non-parent when my baby was born.  It was a very thoughtful gesture and I know I may sound ungrateful, but most of the stuff was not useful!!  Talc/baby powder is not recommended as the baby breathes in the dust and it can damage their lungs, baby oil and stuff like that is quite purfumed and has other chemical stuff in it that is not good for baby's skin.  However, you can never have enough wipes or nappies and instead of lotions or baby oil, olive oil from the chemists is fab and won't upset their skin. 

Also woolies clothes come up very big - mine is nearly 9 months and is just starting to wear ladybird 3-6 month stuff!

[mumma]

And I forgot to say to be aware of the seasons if you are buying clothes as I ended up with snowsuits that only fitted during the summer and lovely summer dresses through the winter!!

Also Mothercare is VERY expensive.  Try Primark if you have one as they are VERY cheap, so you can get loads more things for the same amount of money.  The quality is fine for what they are - may not be lined and triple stitched but remember that they are only in them for a matter of weeks anyway so won't wear them out.  I've never had any complaints with Primark stuff - even second hand.