The Ultimate New Parent Gift Guide
The Ultimate New Parent Gift Guide
Struggling to find the perfect gift for expectant parents? One way to help make sure they have everything they need is to ask them to create a Baby Wish List on Amazon. Similar to a wedding list, they can share it with friends and family to avoid duplication. Failing that we've asked the experts (our Photography Studio Mum's and Dad's of course), to make a list of what they would put on their wish list. They've also been honest about gifts to avoid.
Gift Guide
Food - The top suggestion from our studio parents, the gift of food was described as a god send. With a new family member to take care of, the last thing new parents have time for is cooking let alone eating! Some home cooked meals to pop in the freezer will go down a treat, or companies like Chef On Board make lovely home cooked dinner hampers like the popular 'First Week Food Box for Mummy & Daddy'.
Tropic Skin Care - Natural products for parents and baby without any of the nasties. Parents rave about Tamanu Healing Balm - it's great for nappy rash, eczema and stretch marks. The So Sleep pillow mist is safe and soothing for both baby and for parents which has got to be a winner. The Tahitial Vanilla and Coconut bath foam smells like paradise and because it's also 100% natural its perfect for baby as well as parents. A gift from Tropic is a gift for the whole family.
Ollie The Owl - With soothing sounds including a heartbeat, rainfall, white noise static and a lullaby, as well as a warm light Ollie The Owl helped give baby Lara her first full nights sleep!!
Don't forget the parents - A voucher for a meal out will give the new parents just a few hours to enjoy each others company (you may also need to be available for baby sitting duty). Or perhaps some bath stuff for Mum and a treat for Dad, it's not just about baby.
Vouchers - sounds boring but very useful. With a voucher parents can buy what they need, when they need it. Especially useful as the baby gets a little older. ASDA and Mothercare vouchers are always gratefully received, and an Amazon voucher will get used up during those night time feed shopping sprees.
Gift of time - Take a home cooked meal round, offer to do some house jobs like ironing or cleaning. You can't wrap it up and put a bow on it but the Parents will love you forever!
A Keep Sake - ....like a photo shoot! Suggested by some of our lovely Mummies and you know we couldn't leave this one out. A precious newborn session is a perfect way to capture the first family photo and beautiful newborn photos. Buy a voucher and create memories which will be cherished for years to come. The voucher can be used for a newborn photo shoot or a mini session to capture milestones as their baby gets a little older.
Still not sure? - have a look on Don't Buy Her Flowers, this site is great and full of ideas for really thoughtful gifts not just for new parents but for any occasion. We love the hampers they do for Men, Women and couples
Gifts to avoid
Okay, so the lovely new parents would never be as rude as the lady in the photo, but no one wants to give a gift that isn't useful.
Baby bath - Big to store and heavy to lift with water in, our studio Mum's tell us that bath seats are much more useful.
Don't buy just for the sake of it, - you are bound to waste your money. If you're stuck, get a voucher from Mothercare, ASDA or Amazon.
Clothes - it's so tempting to buy the super sweet teeny tiny newborn clothes. But in reality, babies spend their first 3 months mostly wearing sleepsuits as they need to be changed... often! Lots of parents sadly pack away beautiful baby clothes that haven't even been worn. Resist the urge and refer to our list above.
Thank you to everyone who helped put this guide together. We hope you've found this useful and you've managed to get a present the new parents will love.
Kate & Pete
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