Christmas present ideas for new parents - help?

[Trills]

Not something for the baby.

Something for the parents.

All the suggestion lists I can find online are for "baby things" and that's not at all what I want.

All of the things that I think make for good presents (alcohol, books, cinema vouchers) are not going to be much use for a good while...

Cook vouchers are my go-to presents for parents of young children.

It's nice restaurant-style food but you do them in your oven at home. A bit like the M&S Dine In for £20 deals they sometimes have.

A voucher for somewhere that does home delivery (eg deliveroo or Uber eats) would be lovely

www.cookfood.net

A handmuff for the pushchair (this will benefit the PARENTS not the baby and was a gift I received that I was thoroughly grateful for).

Why not alcohol? I drank while breastfeeding (lactation expert who spoke at our antenatal classes said that a couple of glasses won't harm the baby). Make it nice alcohol - the kind you would savour - rather than the kind you'd down loads of.

A nice nursing top for the mum

Invite them over for a really nice dinner

If the baby is very young the parents might appreciate some films to watch - so a Netflix subscription or similar

If you are close to the parents and feel happy to, then some babysitting vouchers might be a hit (my next door neighbour did this and it was the most wonderful present because it meant I knew she was genuinely willing and wanting to help out). ie. 'An evening's babysitting provided by Trills'. My neighbour made several vouchers for different amounts of time and times of day.

Vouchers for somewhere that does take away ie Pizza Hut or something similar.

A food hamper would also be good. Nice nibbles always go down well.

I was given babysitting vouchers and found it quite awkward, nothing on earth would have separated me from my baby for an evening in the first few months and I never took the friend up on them, it was well meant but not the right thing at all.

At that time I really did only want baby stuff, I wasn't interested in stuff for me at all. If Cook had been around then I would have appreciated a gift card and maybe some chocolates or similar, I didn't drink alcohol at all in the early days though, it was knackering enough without it.

Not alcohol because I bought some "nice alcohol" for the mother on her birthday this year (just before I found out she was pregnant!) so it'd look a bit thoughtless to buy alcohol again - at least until she expressly says "yes I will have a nice gin and tonic".

(I know you can drink a bit while breastfeeding without anything bad happening, but lots of people still don't like to)

Cook voucher, the food is really lovely and no need to defrost.

Board game for two. DH and I often played with DD in bed or happily on a mat.

Nefflix subscription

When I had DD, food or takeaway voucher would have been amazing. I’m pretty sure just eat do a gift card....

Hand cream for the Mum. All the hand washing after nappy changes and use of baby wipes play havoc on hands.

To be honest, the best present anyone can give new parents is an offer of babysitting. Was so frigging sleep-deprived during those first few months, I wept with gratitude when someone volunteered to push DS around the park for an hour....

Cook vouchers

Nice hand cream (pump bottle as don't have time to unscrew cap!) as hands get very sore from all the nappies etc.

Massage vouchers

Lidded coffee cups!

I'm currently sitting with my 5 week old lying in my arms.

For Christmas, I would like one of those travel mugs with a lid. 90% of all the tea I make goes cold before I get a chance to drink it. Some good biscuits would also be appreciated.

My hands are wrecked from endless washing so hand cream would be amazing.

A nice photo frame for baby photos

Alcohol. I've been deprived for 9 months.

Candles/a blanket to make the living room cosy. I'm spending a lot of time in there!

A solid 8 hours sleep...