Baby Christmas Presents

[MaplePumpkin]

Hello!

Just looking for some advice/suggestions.
Our baby will be around 4 months old at Christmas. Both sets of grandparents and some aunties etc have started asking what he’d like for Christmas, and they can’t wait to spoil him.

But the thing is… we don’t really need anything! I’ve got a few friends with children and they’ve given us SO much stuff since he was born, which ie amazing. He has play mats, bouncy chairs, loads of sensory toys, and we have clothes coming out of our ears. I don’t know what to say to people!

I guess my options are…

1. We have loads of 3-6 month clothes and a few 9-12, should I maybe ask for more 9-12 clothes or even 1 year plus?
2. Tell people thanks for being so kind, but we don’t need anything. But I know they’ll want to buy him stuff.
3. Ask for money or vouchers so when we do really need something, we can get it. Or would this be disappointing if they’d rather get him a nice present?

I know this is a good problem to have, don’t get me wrong. And maybe I’m over thinking. I just wondered if anyone has been in this position before, or if anyone could suggest something I may not have thought of, that we can ask for?

Books or pay for a baby class?

Books definitely
Winter coat/ snowsuit in next years size
Toys for 6 months+

My same age grandchild is getting money in their savings account. We have agreed they really don't need anything at the moment

It's horrific, but mine really loved the Baby Einstein Ocean Explorer octopus. Still does, to be honest. It moves around, lights up and plays irritating tunes, which is useful for encouraging them to roll and crawl.

You could also check your stash of clothes for seasonality - it may be that you could actually do with some warmer stuff in 3-6 or 6-9 sizes. Also Jojo Maman Bebe does some really good padded waterproof bootees which are handy for winter when your baby isn't walking yet.

Money towards a season ticket for soft play? Or swimming?

Books books books! It's difficult (although not impossible, hah) to have too many.

Ask for Special Christmas Books, get them to write something lovely on the flyleaf and bring them out every year.

Do you have all of the weaning bits, and toys for 6 months+?

I found that once my daughter turned 6 months old-ish there was suddenly loads of new things to buy because she needed all the weaning bowls/plates/cutlery/storage pots/bibs etc, plus she had outgrown the proper baby toys and was sitting up so things like activity cubes/tables were much better for her. Maybe ask for things like that, toys for the next development stage?

I would ask for the next size up in clothes, money for a savings account or vouchers for any local sensory classes/baby swim, baby winter/xmas photoshoot etc

Or maybe look at toys for 6/8 months+ to see if there's anything they can get for when they are a little bit older

Books - you can never have too many and they're nice and personal so good for the gift giver as well.

They could club together and pay for swimming lessons or another baby activity.

If there is a place local to you that's good for children (often a farm or a zoo) you could ask for annual membership. That'll be good come the summer when baby is a bit bigger.

You could ask them to hold off for now but ask if they could buy baby's first shoes when he/she needs them.

You could ask them to pay for professional photographs if you're into that sort of thing.

Some people buy jewellery to be put aside for when the baby is grown.

Some decoration for the nursery, a special picture or similar.

My daughter was 4 months old her first Christmas and I asked for things that would be needed over the next 6 months.
We did cloth nappies so I asked for some for when she would outgrow her newborn nappies, we asked for weaning stuff, clothes for later on and books that they'll grow into as well.

I'd look at toys that can grow with them. My daughter has toys she's still playing with at 5! We have a wooden rocket that stacks with shapes in between layers. When she was a baby she loved knocking it over and watching me rebuild it. We have used it for learning colours and shapes and now is capable of building it herself.

I'll have a 3 months old this Christmas and it's even harder as we have everything thing from my daughter. We are asking for money to go into savings and we will get things as we need over the rest of the year

You don’t need thousands of books at that age. One or two is absolutely fine. It’s more about the sensory thing, and my daughter was more than happy to have the same few books over and over again.

Bath toys were something that was always missed, but certainly the things you use regularly or they grow out of quickly is a good shout. Vests, sleep suits, sleep sack. Bibs, muslins and anything else for the weaning stage, we went through loads of that stuff.

What are the grandparents like? One set of ours are very transactional as they hate clutter and detest waste. They were really keen on an ISA contribution.

My parents are much more emotional buyers and would be offended if we asked for money, vouchers or even an experience type thing. We asked for bath toys and they got a range of random bits, some appropriate, others less so.

Obviously at this age Christmas is more for the adults. So I'd think about what they actually want to give. Soon baby will have strong opinions of their own!

I’m in a similar situation and am planning on asking for money for swimming lessons, a memory bear made from his old baby grows, books, specific things for his bedroom (we haven’t sorted the nursery yet), and if they’d rather - money for his junior ISA. I’ll probably give a bit of guidance about clothes because I hate waste and we’ve previously been given some stuff that was unsuitable.

Definitely a snowsuit in next year's size - he'll need it before Xmas next year and when it's his birthday they probably wont be in stock. Jojo maman bebe ones are excellent.
Books
Bath toys
Sleeping bags in the next size
Annual pass to a local attraction e.g. farm park, soft play (if they have a baby section)
Block of swimming lessons
Classic wooden toys like a shape sorter and stacking rings that he'll be able to use once he can sit up
Big chunky plastic cars
A high chair or Bumbo seat?
Baby cutlery and plastic plates/bowls
Lots of small plastic tupperware for freezing baby food
Pram gloves - those hand warmer things that go over your pram handlebars

Aww thank you all so much! Would love to dedicate the time to replying to you all individually, but my baby is demanding attention🤣

There are some amazing ideas on here, I knew I’d come to the right place!

Love the idea of asking for swimming or baby classes paid for, as that’sa huge help to me!

Books are a lovely idea, especially with a personalised message inside.

Asking for more clothes for when he’s older, and seasonal clothes and boots is a great shout.

Love the sound of the octopus- I haven’t seen this before so will definitely look into it.

Toys for 6 month plus are a great shout, saves us having to buy them in a few months time.

Weaning things are a good idea too, especially because I have no idea about anything like that yet!

Love the idea of a photoshoot too!!

So grateful, I feel inspired!

When asking for the next set of clothes check his growth chart, I had a small slow growing child. She was gifted summer dresses when she was born for when she was ~9 months but she was still in 3-6 months at that age.

Look at things that bridge baby and child so we got my daughter a xylophone for her 1st birthday there loads of baby themed ones but we got her a proper one. As a baby she didn't care that it wasn't the shape of a unicorn but as a 5yo she's happy to be able to play it properly.

Rather that a baby light we got her a light projector. This was especially good as you can set the colours and we have it set to red near sleep time so the blue light doesn't disrupt her sleep. You can also connect your phone to it through Bluetooth to use it as a speaker for music or white noise.

Weaning bits definitely! Toys for 6 months plus when they start moving.

I'd be a bit wary about clothes as you need to be very careful about the season and growth. So I wouldn't go too far in advance. Maybe some nice 6-9 bits.

Definitely weaning bits, also what about a nice lunch/snack box and bag for when you're out and about in a few months time and bring snacks with you? I would also suggest an annual pass to your local zoo, or national trust.

We honestly didn't buy for our kids at this age at Christmas. We just got the next size up of winter clothes from relatives and went to a couple of Christmas events and church as a family. Photoshoot sounds like a lovely idea. Make the most of this age, it goes so quickly.