New mum gifts - what does she need that's not body lotion??

[Happymumofonee]

Hi all,

Please can you help suggest some fun/unique items I can send my friend after having a baby?

For context - my friends and I thought it would be nice to club together and get her a giftbox subscription with stuff solely for her (i.e. no baby items) for 6 months or so, so she has a little something to look forward to each month... however everything online is either for baby as well as mum, or just candles and body lotions etc! There's about 10 of us old school friends contributing and we're all happy to put in £15-£20.

I feel like there's sooo many more exciting things for her to receive than just bath stuff and candles, so we're going to each divvy out the months between us and send her something - we all live around the country so should ideally be something we can post.

Some ideas so far:

• Selection of magazines, some snacks and teabags


• New garden trowel, and a nice plant pot (she's a keen gardener)


• New book and leather bookmark


• Flowers


• Mini cocktail set and shaker


• Box of brownies


• Meal voucher for a company that sends ready to make meals


• Epsom salts, tea tree and lavender set for immediate post birth baths


• Reusable coffee cup, mini cafetiere and ground coffee

I'd appreciate feedback on the above, or any more ideas - some low energy/pressure craft activities would be cool to add.

Thanks in advance!

You know your friend so you know what she likes

I don't think women suddenly need/want baths or special tea/coffee just because they have a baby

Its a nice idea but not necessary and be mindful
Of buying things that will go to waste

Food hamper could be good but forget the faff/ subscription smellies stuff as it's probably not stuff she will want

Does anyone need a cocktail shaker? They just gather dust in a cupboard

Thermos is a great idea. My mum got me one and it was a lifesaver!

Food voucher or something similar again great idea. My friend got me food delivered to my house and I was so grateful! I had batched cooked loads but it was still so helpful!

Both Thermos mug and a water bottle that's easy to grab with one hand
Cook vouchers
Hand cream not body lotion, great for moisturising but not too perfumed

Cake, cake, and more cake
Chocolate
Caffeine
Pasta evangelists
Chiropractor/ massage voucher for recovery
Bath salts/bubble bath-lovely idea
Magazine subscription-great plan
Afternoon tea/meal voucher a good plan and gets her out the house
Comfy luxury loungewear/pjs-long sleeve/long leg- so that its comfy and cosy for the night feeds

Thank you everybody for taking the time to make a suggestion! <3

There's some really fab suggestions. I love the idea of the more practical gifts to give her support over the upcoming months. The gardening trowel and cocktail makers are definite marmite gifts so might have to shelve those 😂

Some homemade, prepared meals ready to go in the oven.

not sure a cocktail shaker will be needed just yet 😁

Definitely food, both "Cook" ones and cake.

You can get ground coffee in coffee bags? Not sure how they taste admittedly. And maybe little bottles of long life milk so that a cup of tea can always be had?

Fancy cordial? Especially if breastfeeding the thirst is unreal.

Fancy insulated water bottle or thermos mug, depending on the season.

Extra long charger wire for her phone (sounds bizarre, and I always get a complete "wtf kind of present is this, I'll smile and be polite and say thank you" reaction, then a few weeks later I get a message saying thanks because they've just been trapped under a sleeping baby but they were able to keep their phone charged)

Cashmere socks.

Amazon vouchers for the questionable 3am purchases.

All the fancy food that is straight out of a packet. Biscuits, fancy popcorn, fancy nuts etc.

Membership to a local stately home type of place, I.e. somewhere with somewhere to walk and with a tea shop.

And a card just for her? I gave a friend of mine a "get well soon card" after her c section and she almost cried because someone actually remembered her.

If she's a really really keen gardener, maybe keep the gardening stuff in? I've a friend who's a keen gardener who would have appreciated it as gardening is "her" time.

Nespresso coffee machine with capsules.

To be fair though, it will depend on her parenting style. If she's breastfeeding the alcohol and caffeine presents aren't going to be helpful. If she's not, then crack on.

You can have alcohol and caffeine and breastfeed.

Personally, I didn't drink a lot of alcohol in the early days because I was so tired so really nice alcohol would have been appreciated - like craft gin - so I could enjoy more what I did have.

This 100%.

Lansinoh Nipple cream if she’s breastfeeding! It’s like magic how it stops the soreness.

Definitely vouchers for a decent take away.

Audible or Netflix subscription if she hasn’t already got them. She’ll probably be stuck on the sofa a lot.

I would second a long charger lead and wireless headphones.

This would be my wish list:
Foods that can be safely prepared and eaten with a baby in a sling.
A litter picker because it's difficult to bend down with a baby in a sling.
Fabric stain remover.
Clothes in 3-6m and 6-9m sizes. Stick to vests and sleepsuits that popper at the front.

I completely agree.

We were given Cook vouchers, which was a lovely thought but we didn’t even manage to find the time to look at the options/agree/place the order. I think they’ve expired now… Deliveroo or something would have been better for us, because we’re already used to ordering from them.

Would definitely also have appreciated deliveries of things like cakes/brownies/flapjacks etc.

I did enjoy receiving flowers but only because I got other people to put them in vases etc for me.

Things need to be super easy in my experience. I am usually a big reader but DS is now seven months and I managed a couple of pages of a book one afternoon before he woke from his nap… That’s it!

Someone physically bringing prepared meals round (or maybe really easy but nice things to stick in oven/microwave from M&S) would have been useful (with no need for any admin from us!).

I would have appreciated nice loungewear/pyjamas because I spent so much time in them and felt really grotty. Still do when DS is having a difficult morning and not letting me get myself ready. Just ordered some white company pjs for precisely this reason.

Oh and I was also a keen gardener. It’s now totally overgrown…