[androdev]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Clothes are useful, gold isn't.

thanks for taking the trouble to post with the sole purpose of judging a fellow posters suggestion, and using the 'quote' feature so it will be impossible not to get offended.


who says gift has to be useful?

disposable wet wipes are the most useful stuff for a newborn but doesn't make a swell gift. and I can think of some extremely useful but totally tasteless gifts.

my apologies to B&T for spoiling his thread.

it is a tough decision but i say forget usefulness unless parents can't afford to buy the essential needs. jewelry, or take a nice picture of parents and the baby and have it framed with some artwork so it is good enough for display in their home. or register her @ team-bhp :-)

[phamilyman]

samurai has hit it on its head.

otherwise, nice fisher price toys are the wya to go. My niece got a nice cuddly bear that makes nice funny noises. About 1k from yoouessay!

[tsk1979]

A bottle of Chivas Regal. By the time she is 5 or 6 years old, the Regal will mature, and will be ready for her.
Moreover it will help the parents sleep better. I have heard that having kids means no sleep at all.

[Sam Kapasi]

Make a baby hamper Ajay. Take a little baby basket and fill it up with Johnsons baby powder and oil and cream, diapers, doodhoo botlles, nipples and everything. If you have the budget, get a chest harness, so the mother can hold the child close to her chest. You can find this at Atria Mall, worli.

Then wrap it up in pink cellophane and tie two red balloons on top. Then carry it to their home and kiss the child on the forehead.

No advice will be better than this one. Trust me. I love children.

[Eddy]

Sam,

Writing this to impress someone ?

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by Eddy

Sam,

Writing this to impress someone ?

No baba. I've always loved kids. They are wonderful.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

No baba. I've always loved kids. They are wonderful.

.... till I became a chacha. Then it turned out that the lovely angelic bundles of joy were often a bundle of a lot of crapp and piss as well.

Don't you think that kids give their cutest smiles just after they've just pissed their guts out and made a complete mess?

[tsk1979]

I remember reading somewhere
"Kids are so cute, because if they werent we would murder them"
BTW imagining the Yeti cuddling a infant and cooing had me in splits

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by Bass&Trouble

The baby rocker seems to be a splendid idea. Available easily?

Yup, you should be able to find these products (Fischer Price is a good brand) in most of the big stores. Should cost you around 5k.

Following other items would be useful as well. I have indicated very approximate costs as well.

- Car Seat (3k - 5k)
- Stroller (4k - 7k)
- A very good quality towel and blanket set (costs around 800 to 1000). For small babies you just can't have enough of them.
- Electric feeding Bottle Sterlizer (if/when parents decide to use feeding bottle, it is a life saver) (Avant is 3.5k)
- There is a sorta miniature mummy sleeping bag that is extremely useful to hold infants (500)

[benbsb29]

I have always wanted my gifts to be functional.
Had the opportunity to purchase gifts for two infants, and stuck to the functional Johnson's baby care items, and 2-3 sets of clothes.

Infants really do require a lot of clothes.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by androdev

thanks for taking the trouble to post with the sole purpose of judging a fellow posters suggestion, and using the 'quote' feature so it will be impossible not to get offended.

You started it Sir, by trashing the idea of clothes.

Originally Posted by androdev

who says gift has to be useful?

In a home with a new baby, any gift that is not useful gets stored away in attic or just gets lost. Growing babies will grow out of any useful gifts within matter of months, but that doesn't mean it is worthless. Useful stuff doesn't have to mean consumables like diapers, but it can be clothes, baby bath kit, swings, rockers, etc., all of which baby will grow out of soon.

What is a gift after all? One generally gift for two different reasons:
1) Gifter wants to give something to the Giftee during a special occasion, so that Giftee will remember the gesture. These items are usually non-consumables, symbolic in nature, mostly useless in functionality. Unless these are unique show items, they run a high risk of being transferred to some dark attic within a year.
2) Gifter wants to give something to help or prepare the Giftee who is entering a new phase of life, like new house, new baby, new marriage, etc. Often the Giftee is unsure of what is needed in that new phase (baby/marriage, etc), and often the gift can help bridge that knowledge gap. These items could be something the new parent or couple hasn't thought about or had a clue about. Experienced parents or long married couples can provide that insight with a functional gift.

As a parent of two kids, I feel functional gift would make more sense at this occasion. But you are also a new parent I think, you might think otherwise.

PS: Sam back-off, I know Giftee & Gifter are not proper words, but it helps me make my point.

[androdev]

i see what you mean, (i mean a truce...) though my preference is to give something where the giftee(TM) can feel nostalgic even after a long time. i hated gold before my marriage. but now i see that jewelery is used often and lasts long.. and each ornament is referred by the gifter's name. "i am going to wear this uncle's bangles for todays function"

but yes there is no "one size fits all" so we can leave it at this i guess.

[NetfreakBombay]

As others have mentioned, I would recommend a Car Seat. It is an essential item that not many people are ware of.

[suvi]

A Pram is a very good gift. it can double up for taking the child for a stroll in the park as well as put her to sleep.

[Sam Kapasi]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

.... till I became a chacha.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

BTW imagining the Yeti cuddling a infant and cooing had me in splits

I became a chacha a long time ago. Why do you think I keep running off to Pune?

See? You don't know everything about me. Ajay trust me, do the hamper.