Christening gift suggestions please

[tex111]

I need to buy christening gifts for two sisters, one is two and the other is almost one. Any suggestions? My budget is around 30 pounds each.

[bijou]

I bought a silver beaded braclet for a 6 week old girl from a site called baby-pearls.com recently. The service was fine and braclet very sweet.

[wilbur]

My dd got a lovely wooden jewellery box which I thought was a brilliant present for when she's a big girl. Looks very pretty on her top shelf for now.

[mandyc66]

ooops too late!!!!

[mandyc66]

bibles ar good but dont God parents usually get them? Also I always t hink its a shame to get something they grow out of! Maybe start a collection of some kind of pottery like bunnykins etc that they can add to as they grow or even open a savings account?

[tex111]

Thanks so much for all of your suggestions. I liked the idea of a cutlery set or some tiny china and I found a really sweet set of silver cutlery. I bought a set for each little girl in a different pattern. Hopefully it's something they can both use now and keep for their own children one day.

I really appreciate all the top tips and have made notes for next time!

[Littlemissbusy]

Amongst other things I run a web-site called www.idealpresent.co.uk - we don't sell anything
it's basically a gift advice service - to help people find the ideal present for children between 0-10. With the vast choice out there, for every occasion from Christening to Christmas, so many parents had told me it was hard to know what to buy. I launched idealpresent having had 10 years experience working in the toy industry (for Hasbro - one of the world's largest toys and games companies). All you do is answer some simple questions about the child you are buying for, you can specifiy the occasion, then idealpresent tells you what to buy, and where - from over 10,000 toys, games, books, CDs (anything you could imagine, and things you wouldn't think of!) from over 150 different retailers. If you're searching for a present under £10 in value, the service is completely free of charge, and there's also a free "what's hot" section. There's a small charge for ideas over £10 in value

• but if anyone wants to try it for free, simply type in "Mumsnet05" (without the inverted commas!) when you register.
  Hope some people find this a useful service!

[triceratops]

The only christening gift of mine that I still have is a lovely gold crucifix from my Grandma. I know it is not fashionable at the moment but it is supposed to be a religious ceremony.

Ds got about 8 money boxes all with winnie the pooh on. I am not keen on that kind of thing and I think tooth boxes are repellant. He got a china bell as well, I can just see him displaying that on the mantlepiece in later life .

His godfather bought him a lovely antique fountain pen. We liked this idea so much that I bought a similar one for my god daughter and had it engraved.

[jolovett]

I bought my nieces and nephews a star! Thought it was a pretty cool idea. The star gets named after them with the international star registry and you get a framed certificate and a pack showing you how to find the star in the sky.

There's a few companies doing it but I bought mine from www.lastminute.com for £20 - they're half price from £40 at the mo. They seemed to offer the best package for a gift - you'll find it listed under the unusual gifts area of the websites. Delivery only took a few days as well, but you can print a certificate out of the gift if you need it in a hurry.

Hope this helps!

[fisil]

The best gifts we received from important people (ie family and godparents) was a Complete Works of Shakespeare and a gorgeous wooden bowl. They're grown up gifts, so the boys will love them throughout their lives. From friends we liked getting clothes and toys.

[bambi06]

signing plates..where everyone or just family write an inscription on a plate/bowl which is then painted over by the professional potters and then glazed and its ready to give .. theres a company near us that do pottery parties for kids/hen nights/ adults etc and theres lots of plain unglazed pottery that you can choose from which you then paint and then they glaze it for you and a week later you get it back but i saw some lovely signing plates that were used as christening gifts/anniversary presents etc . have a look at "all fired up" in east dulwich , they should have a website see what they`ve got

[tortoiseshell]

this site has lots of different gifts.

[desperatehousewife]

in ideal home this month (?!) it suggests a silver plated bubble blower - from MOthercare (?!) at £8 - bargain!

Or a silver marmite pot top.

or a tiffany engraved key ring.

[fishfinger]

she could put ehr teeth in this for the tooth fairy

[fishfinger]

JOhn lewis do nice christenign frames

[Carameli]

my daughter got a lovely set of Royal doulton. Its made of melamine(I think thats what its called) a sort of plastic which means she uses it all the time. She also had a lovely set from Wedgwood but we have not really used that much as its china. Still nice for the future though.

There are also some lovely money boxes around. DD got a lovely silver pig one, Pooh bear limed oak one and a Royal Worcester SUndays child....etc All really lovely.

[tex111]

Sorry gals, off agonising over baby names. Thank you so much for the lovely ideas. I do have two issues though - the family lives in Singapore so unfortunately plants and trees are out (but I'll definitely remember that for future christenings as it's a lovely idea) and the christening is on Sunday so no time to order anything elaborate.

I do like the little plate and cups idea, or some nice cutlery. Also some nice books. Does anyone still give silver for christenings? I did wonder about some nice silver frames, or is that too naff?

[desperatehousewife]

A tree to be planted in their garden, so they can watch it grow as they grow!

[hayleylou]

name a star as a joint present!

[fishfinger]

oi tex what do you think

[anorak]

I make cross-stitch birth samplers for thirty pounds each, including frames. If you want to see one CAT me and I'll email you the pictures.

[jayzmummy]

have a look here

[acnebride]

You could look for a rose or fruit tree that has a similar name to the christenees - a favourite thing in our family.

Or consider 'buying' trees planted by the Woodland Trust or Future Forests.

[spacecadet]

when my ds2 was christened, my friend bought him a 25 pound baby bond.