What would be a really fabulous present for a new baby? What was the best present your baby received?

[Isaidheyhoney]

Two of our friends are having babies this summer, one will be a firstborn, one a second.

I would love to give each of them a really lovely memorable present for the baby - price range I suppose between say £20 to £50.

What was the best thing your baby was given?

I have previously given other friends unusual toys or special items of clothing (just to give you an idea!) For various reasons I am not keen on giving a book, or christening-type gifts.

A really really lush blanket. Those taggies are nice too. A lady gave me hand painted plaques with their details on, a bit shabby chic really pretty. Steif teddy bears are a good one, quite traditional. JoJO Maman bebe has some nice stuff. I treated my own son to a blue blanket form there the colour was gorgeous. One of the best gifts I received fro my 1st born was a wrap type sling. I`d never considered wearing my baby but it was a good thing to do. Kari me do some nice ones.

flowers, bottle of wine, a 'throw in the oven' type dinner from M&S or the like and a bag full of biscuits / coffee / tea for the hoards of visitors that come a calling ....
but that's me..practical

Twinkletoes shoes, I buy them on ebay

My 1st child constantly lost her socks

My 2nd had starchild shoes

My 3rd had starchild shoes

My 4th has twinkletoes, they are much better than starchild and a fraction of the price...

Chrome free leacther so safe for toe suckers too.
here Very cute!

(btw, once they are outgrown I put them in a box frame on the wall, buy a frame too?)

If I had a baby now I would absolutely love one of those modern knitted blankets in bright colours. You know the ones, they are usually stripey stocking stitch. They are sooooooooooo fab, and will last, unlike any outfit you could ever buy.

Mmmmm, blankets seem to bit a bit of a favourite! I think we have a Jojomamanbebe near here.

Any other thoughts?

Some faves we still use (on number 3 now) - quality cot linen, thick sheep skin fleece (SO useful - we would take it to friends houses etc and put newborns on it to play/lie/sleep, and then also useful padding when baby is learning to sit), set of REALLY big muslin wraps - 120x120cm (impossible to find in the UK - her here the ones we have from Australia)

Other things we loved:

Daisy Roots shoes (sounds like twinkletoes asKickarse diescrbed), nice blankets (a friend knitted a stuning one for DD2), personalised pictures for their rooms, real tupperwear pots for baby food, crackers etc )like these)

and then super practical things like dinners, big pot of soup for snacking in during the day after LO is born, nutrtious muffins and snacks.

I like the tent idea! Would be great for the family who already have a child.

I'm a bit hesitant about shoes - I got a pair for ds but I struggled to appreciate them, don't quite know why. He just lived in babygros with feet.

what about a tiny love symphony in motion mobile that plays classical music? i got mine on ebay when ds was about 4 months old - but i wish i'd had it from birth. ds still loves it now (nearly 9m)

They grow up fast and soon need something to keep them interested. Our boys loved those Woozit (or something!!) toys that are bright and tactile to play with.

Strangely enough, I just had an email from my cousin to say that the present that I bought her DS is the BEST thing ever, that he plays with them for hours.

I bought plastic stacking cups.

So simple but so fab.

A massage voucher for the mother from local salon

I always buy this

babies get far too much stuff

I've bought two people blankets from Cath Kidston and they went down really well. You can use them for years - it's not just a baby gift.

I agree on the blankets front.

Wooden letters that spell out baby's name for the nursery door (cheap but lovely imo)

Woozit spider thingie (blue with black and white swirly pattern on one side and mirror under its nose on the other side)

Brio railtrack starter set - obviously baby will be far too young to enjoy but they will love it when older.

Lots of homemade ready meals for the freezer.

one of these here brilliant for car seats, buggies and then putting the (allegedly) still sleeping baby down...warm, snuggly, very cute. We used ours almost every day for about 6 months, and would have used it this year (she's 16 months now) if it was big enough

I often buy toys or books that will look nice in the baby's room and will be appreciated when older. A lot of baby stuff is for, well, babies, then gets given away or put in the cupboard. But a lovely book of nursery rhymes or a really well made wooden toy will still be used and appreciated in years to come.

I also make cot quilts or wall hangings. But as I sew really quite slowly, I don't make many. But I do think handmade gifts are just lovely.

trumpette socks were a great gift for DS1 - they never fall off!

Whatever you do don't buy clothes. I really disliked most of the clothes we were bought both times, and everyone buys you bleeding clothes!

I also second something as a treat for the Mum, even if just some nice bath stuff. It's too easy to get overlooked when there's a cute newborn about!!

Oh and someone bought us a kite. That was a good idea - made me look forward to all the fun we would have as the boys grow up, not just now they are babies. Still haven't used it yet though!!!

yay my twinkletoe shoes came today!

meanwhile my dd was sent a taggie blanket with her name embroidered on it. i am so proud of it its still hanging up on display for everyone to see. its like this

Actually I just remembered I saw Range&strSub2=Designer Range&code=811 this the other day and wished that one of my friends or family had bought it for DS2 when he was born (I know presents aren't really meant to work like that!). I think it would make such a lovely and unusual keepsake, especially for the couple who are hvaing their first child...

What's that last thing meant to be, Chunka?

Those Taggies are lovely! And the Trumpette socks are irresistible! Thank you so much. Making my own gift is not going to happen, I'm afraid.

Oh no I cant get the link to work... if you can be bothered to copy and paste it to your browser try this:

www.craft-ysp.co.uk/product.asp?strCartID=39224616052010&strCat=Gifts&strSub=Designer Range&strSub2=Designer Range&code=811

I bought my friend a hug-a-bub wrap, and she has used it almost every day. I like the shoes idea, but have to point out that when DS2 was born in September, everyone got that idea, and he got several pairs of twinkletoes...

Lovely blanket a great idea. My cousin (well, his wife really!!!) gave all of our kids a really nice blanket at birth and they all still have them on their beds and cuddle under them to watch a dvd etc - 6, 8 and 10 years later. What was nice is she got a nice bit of fleece and blanket stitched it herself so it was personal in an easy way!

My dd1 was given a tree! Planted in a milennium woodland, and we go to visit it if we are close! It has her name on it!

Or is they are in a house they are likely to be in for many years, what about a tree for the garden, or a rose with the name of the child - there are thousands of Rose names. A rose could even go in a large pot, as long as it was well fed in the summer.

My Dad has planted a fruit tree in his garden (admittedly 1/2 acre) for every grandchild and now has a fantastic little orchard of plum, apple, pear and cherry. Dunno if that is helpful.