The Best Gifts for New Parents Are Services, Not Things.
When my daughter was born, friends came to visit us and brought flowers. “Do you have a vase to put them on?” one chirped. As I sat on an exercise ball rocking my blurred-eyed newborn, my brain couldn’t compute the request. Thank you, they are beautiful, are n’t they? Looks like I have the ability to care for another living thing ?!
Yes, yes, your presence is the greatest gift, but if you want to give new mums and dads something to help them in the long sleepless days and nights ahead, do them a favor, be it your own or one that is outsourced. At this point, they will most likely have all the jumpsuits, swaddling blankets and, yes, flower arrangements they need.
Here are some ideas:
Give out a freeze or food delivery subscription
- If you’re a lover of cooking yourself, Lifehacker writer Claire Lower has some great cooking tips that hungry young parents can quickly heat and lower, including assembling dishes from the freezer (remember to freeze them ). and use muffin molds to “make a batch of hearty omelets or a bunch of ‘ smoothie snacks ‘ for breakfast all week.”
- If you don’t want to cook, we would be very grateful for signing up for a food delivery service. Munchery has a cool group gift tool where you can create a personal donation page and send it to any number of friends asking them to contribute to the service. Your friends can prepare a couple of weeks of ready-to-eat meals.
Walk the dog
Grab a leash and walk Fido on your own, or give a gift card for a dog walking service. Wai! offers 30-minute GPS-tracked dog walks for days when young parents can’t leave the house.
Be a “sleep nanny”
You usually watch your baby while the new parents sleep. When can you do this? Anytime, damn it. Better to be specific – instead of a vague half-sentence (“Let me know if you want me to come over sometime!”), Say, “I’m free on Sunday at 3 o’clock. can you take a nap “
Buy them a subscription to something useful
Look for any service that eliminates the need to get in the car (because getting in the car with a newborn and their belongings is a process ).
- Amazon Prime . For all their diaper delivery needs.
- Yoga videos. Yoga Download offers unlimited streaming (a little exercise can help prevent postpartum depression ).
- Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video. Because they won’t make it to the cinema anytime soon, believe me.