How much is too much?

[Practicalpet]

I am thinking of giving a cash gift for a newborn. My best friend of 25 years has just had her first baby, how much would you give her?

we gave our friends £50. we are all in a simslar financial boat to each other, which helps!

similar

depends how much you can afford and how much the recipient needs / would appreciate it over a carefully-chosen material gift.

as much as i could afford. as much as she can afford to give back to you when it is her turn. but not so much that if would embarass her.
personally, i wouldnt give a cash gift,but take her shopping for soemthing she wants for the baby, and then pay for it.

when dsis got married, i insisted dh give her a wedding present of equal value to the one he gave his brother two years ago. the present cost almost one grand. at that time and that place, i knew we could afford it at a stretch. at another time and place she would be lucky to get a card from us.

My friend is very choosy so buying for her is a challenge, I thought if I gave her cash that she could either use it for something specific for the baby or open a savings account with it.

why not buy premium bonds or gift vouchers?

Really? premium bonds? not being ignorant but aren't they a waste of money? Like the idea of vouchers but for which shop?

You can't buy premium bonds in amounts of under £100 any more. I wouldn't think £25 would cause embarrassment but you might want to give more, but I really appreciated the thought that I might want to choose how I used gifts for my new baby, though I was very touched by some presents of clothes too.

I wouldn't see them as a waste of money. You can win on them (better odds than the lottery) and the government promises to buy them back at the value you paid. The only way you lose is if the economy collapses I suppose.

Always been a traditional baby present in my family.

They have two drawbacks.

1. you don't gain interest (the interest earned is put into the prize draw fund)
2. YOu have to spend a minimum of £100 - which is a lot.

Gift vouchers depends on where your friend likes to shop.

When my god daughter was born I bought her a beautiful gold bangle/bracelet with garnets on it [her birthstone]

She has grown out of it now she is 13 but she said it will belong to her own dd one day

Sometimes clothes/vouchers seem a bit impersonal, especially if she has been your friend for so long. Other times, vouchers are a god send! Like when we were shopping last week I was able to clothe dd & ds from voucher given to me by MIL last Xmas

She had a boy, but how much do you think is too much to give? How much would embarrass you?

I am never embarrassed by gifts of cash (or indeed of anything else ), just stunned and grateful, unless the giver has obviously bankrupted themsleves or has an agenda.

Give as much as you can comfortably afford and if she is a good friend she will just thnak you profusely.