# What is a good gift for a new baby girl? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 18, 2008, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566 "2008-10-18T21:45:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/21 "2008-10-19T15:22:28Z")
> [@Unsquare\_Dance](#): > > …or buy a bunch of onesies (the most useful article of baby clothing on the planet). Totally! You’re obviously trying to be thoughtful. (And on behalf of every person who’s ever had a baby: Thank you!) And cute outfits are frequently not very useful. As others have said, new parents often have more hand-me-downs than they know what to do with–even new or nearly new items. And they’ll be getting lots more outfits from other people too. But onesies, socks, and ordinary bibs weren’t so likely to be handed down because they get ruined or lost. Of course, with a gift card to someplace like Target or Babies R Us, the parents can buy what they need, be it onesies or cute outfits or both. Don’t get me wrong–clothes _are_ a good gift. But they’re not the _only_ good gift. > [@Butterscotch](#): > > So, we got the parents a little something each and for the baby we got some girl power: [http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/ProductDetails.aspx?catalog=Unwrapped&product=OU3544ED](http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/ProductDetails.aspx?catalog=Unwrapped&product=OU3544ED) > They loved it! Great idea! When the Sprout was born, some friends gave him some chickens. Or rather, they made a donation to a charity that buys livestock for people in underprivileged areas. It was a wonderful present. ---
**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/22 "2008-10-19T15:44:01Z")
The baby showers I’ve been to had guests show up with gift cards as their gift – and this is the shower, where unwrapping objects is part of the event. And new babies in particular seem to be one time where practical gifts are appreciated, so I doubt you could go wrong. If you would like to make it more personal then pick up a simple card and take a few moments to write a nice note inside. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/23 "2008-10-19T16:23:18Z")
Baby facecloths and towels. These are cheap, but every time I’ve given them, they have been very well received, because babies are MESSY! 100$ worth might be a bit much, though. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/24 "2008-10-19T16:23:26Z")
> [@sugar\_and\_spice](#): > > …and this is the shower, where unwrapping objects is part of the event. Sorry to be nitpicky here, but unwrapping gifts isn’t always part of the event. ---
**Author:** ![Typo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5fc32e/32.png) [@Typo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/25 "2008-10-19T16:38:42Z")
Diapers are good - like the clothes, get some of the larger sizes as well. I was thrilled to have 3 packages of size 2 on hand even when she was still in preemie diapers. I wouldn’t buy formula because you never know which brand someone will be using - same with bottles/nipples. Gift cards are wonderful, too, and I would have squee’d my head off at a $100 grocery card. I will also agree with towels - definitely something that gets overlooked. I got a big fluffy pink bunny bathwrap deal at my shower and it is just wonderful. I have several adorable outfits that have already been outgrown after one wearing (if that) and it makes me feel very guilty that someone bought these outfits new and she barely got to wear them. I had a “dress-up” day where I changed her into multiple outfits and took pictures of her in them. Luckily she’s a happy baby and let me do this without a problem. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/26 "2008-10-19T22:33:03Z")
Get a silver napkin ring engraved with the baby’s initials. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Cloud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bcef8e/32.png) [@Little\_Cloud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Cloud)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2008, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/27 "2008-10-19T22:47:40Z")
My standard baby gift - always appreciated by the time the baby reaches toddlerhood - is a Dustbuster. Parents often tell me it was the most useful gift they received. And its unisex to boot. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/28 "2008-10-20T02:41:38Z")
Check the crafts section of the store for little kits that let the parents take impressions of Ittybitty’s hands and feet. They’re only about ten or fifteen bucks, and you can give the rest in a gift card. My best friends just acquired a fresh-squeezed baby girl about 4 months ago (they’re foster parents, we’re keeping our fingers crossed that the adoption process works out), and I’m having fun knitting little pink baby things, even though the baby has taken to screaming every time she sees me. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/29 "2008-10-20T07:16:18Z")
A savings bond is good. Also, as someone else said, consider a book. There are plenty of great infant and toddler books, and even if a baby doesn’t understand a book, she’ll enjoy being read to. I read to my daughter from birth, and she always enjoyed snuggling up with me and the book. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/30 "2008-10-20T15:33:07Z")
One of the gifts we got that was of immediate utility was a baby bathtub. You gotta give the little one frequent baths, and a good bathtub is a real blessing. The one we received was made to sit on a countertop or table, and had a sort of fine mesh “hammock” that could be stretched over it for bathing newborns. It supports them, keeps them out of the water (important until the umbilical remnant falls off), and water you pour onto the wee one passes right through the hammock into the tub base. That plus some soft washcloths, towels, and baby wash and lotion, and your gift will get used within the first week. Blankets are nice, but believe me, new parents get TONS of blankets. Odds are they’ll never even use 'em all. Clothing-wise, onesies are awesome. A newborn will wear those more than anything else, and the more of them you have, the less often you’ll have to do laundry. If you’re thinking bigger, baby swings rule, and they usually run just under $100. I called ours the “Neglect-O-Matic”; it ran off wall current, not batteries, so you didn’t have to worry about it crapping out on you. Put the wee one in, she goes right to sleep, and if you’re lucky, so do you. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/31 "2008-10-20T16:13:40Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > Open up an interest-bearing account, put your $100 dollars in it, and present it (with a card) as the beginnings of a college fund. Classy, practical, and something more worthwhile than toys and clothing that she’ll outgrow in just a few months/years time. I wonder if that mightn’t be tricky, however, without the child’s SSN (if the bank doesn’t have the SSN, any interest would have income tax automatically withheld). I like the idea of a savings bond, because that eliminates that need; the interest is paid out when the bond is redeemed, so you don’t need any SSN info until then. Clothes: don’t bother. Chances are they’ve gotten a ton of stuff from other people. A gift card to some place that sells clothes would probably be a better option, as such a place would sell other essentials also (e.g. Target or Wal-Mart). A silver mug or spoon or bowl would make a lovely keepsake, especially if engraved with the child’s initials. ---
**Author:** ![Kalea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@Kalea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalea)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/32 "2008-10-21T00:35:33Z")
I agree with **Unsquare Dance**. Get something indulgent for the Mom. She’s going through a tough time, and could use some TLC. I like to give decadent soaps, lotions, bath salts or bubble bath, etc. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/33 "2008-10-21T01:36:13Z")
Well, I only a few more days left until I visit the new baby. I’m leaning towards: Buying two books. 1. The Velveteen Rabbit. I love this book. 2. A Dr. Suess book. 3. The 100 gift card to the supermarket down the street. I know the baby can’t read and I also know the mom isn’t much of a reader. Still, I like the idea of starting a library at an early age. The two books I picked can probably be passed on or donated to a library easily when she gets older. ---
**Author:** ![PastAllReason](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@PastAllReason](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastAllReason)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/34 "2008-10-21T02:00:05Z")
FWIW I love the Velveteen Rabbit, too. I have a copy of it that I bought for me about 10 years ago. What I’ve bought for friends has depended a bit on whether it’s the first child or second, what I know about what other gifts they may have received, and also what I know about their financial situation (if I know well enough to know). I’ve given the very practical where I had a pretty good idea it was really needed. I"ve also given more of the keepsake type thing when I thought the practical was taken care of and that a keepsake would be appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 9:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/35 "2008-10-21T09:30:56Z")
Gift certificate to get her portrait taken? Baby hand/footprint molds? ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566/36 "2008-10-21T12:18:48Z")
Two front teeth. 😉 ♪ All I want for Christmas is… ♪ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-good-gift-for-a-new-baby-girl/468566.md?page=1)