A friend or a family member expecting a child? You are invited to a baby shower and are struggling with gift ideas, then this article might just be for you. A gift speaks tremendously about how you feel about the person receiving the gift. If done right, a  gift communicates your thoughtfulness, love and affection for the receiver of the gift. So, what do you give a newborn baby with whom you are yet to make any such bond? Here are few ideas that might help :

1. Books: A good book is probably the best gift you can give to a child. Books play very essential role growing up. They introduce babies to the world of colours, shapes, build their vocabulary, lay the foundation for their imagination, give them company, introduce them to emotions and their benefits are endless. A good book is the child’s best friend for the next 3 to 4 years so pick it responsibly.

2. Bibs: Yes! I know you might be thinking, Bibs , what kind of gift is that? But believe me when I tell you that there is no such thing as too many bibs with a growing child. Bibs are the most convenient thing a mother of a newborn baby can carry to be prepared for any spillage during the feeding time, post feed time,before feed time and all other times the child is awake. Apart from being super useful the humble bib can also be used to style a child. If done right a bib can be used to accessorize a baby’s outfit and take it to the next level.

3. Baby Blankets: So basically, mothers are hoarders. They like to keep a backup for a backup and another backup for that backup! Whew! That’s a lot of backups. Yes, that’s true. So, if you are thinking that the baby would already have a blanket, you are right! But,you can always pick a pretty looking and exponentially utilitarian back up! On a serious note, baby blankets make a great gift as they not just look cute, they are super useful during the winters as they can be used in layering a baby to keep him/her warm.

4. Toys: Toys are probably the most obvious choice yet, it can go wrong in so many ways. While buying a toy for a newborn you have to keep a few things in mind, like the material it’s made of, it should not be very hard as the baby can hit herself with it. They should be lightweight and easily washable as babies tend to put everything in their mouth. Since a toy’s journey mostly begins from baby’s hand to mouth they should be made of natural materials with no toxins in them. Most importantly, the toy should have no small bits and pieces as that can be a potential choking hazard.

5. Clothes Sets: On an average a baby’s clothes are changed at least 3 to 4 times in a day because of various reasons (known best to their Moms) this frequency might come down to 2 during winters but the outermost layer of clothes might still be changed more frequently.

So it’s no brainer that babies need clothes and that too a lot of them.Though the smallest members of the family they have the largest wardrobe in the house. While buying clothes for babies do keep in mind that they are made of the softest materials and keep in mind the size of the child. It's always a good practice to buy sizes bigger than the current size of the baby as they are growing at a rapid rate and bigger size will meet their growing needs.

If it’s winter then buying a nice handmade knitwear set would be a good option. These sets normally come with matching booties and cap which look adorable.

Other honorable mentions that didn’t make this list are diapers, hamper of baby products like shampoo, soap and skin régime products. Well, though these are very practical gifts but are also very personal in nature and mothers today are quite particular about the brands, contents and environment friendliness of the product. Some of these  products can also cause allergic reactions, so it’s best to avoid them.

Hope you found this information helpful. You may like to visit the website TheOriginalKnit.com for their cutest selection of baby blankets, handmade knitwear sets, bibs, beanies, booties and other products all handmade with love by mothers and grandmothers in the majestic hills of Himalayas.