Gift Guide for New Parents

It's not too late to give them what they really need

A home-cooked meal is a new parent’s dream. Photo by Jennifer Schmidt on Unsplash

If you’re a grandparent, auntie, or friend of someone who recently gave birth, it’s tempting to fill their first holiday season with gifts for the new baby. You want to believe that Wonder Woman onesie is the thing they truly covet. But trust me, the only thing they want right now is sleep. Also, they would like someone to wash the dishes, do the laundry, take out the trash, and mop the kitchen floor. If chore-gifting isn’t your thing, here are some other ideas:

Meal Delivery Service. During my son’s first year, we relied on services such as Sunbasket and Hello Fresh to keep us fed. These companies offer meal kits and pre-made dinners that are more nutritious than Stouffers or Lean Cuisine, and provide leftovers when you’re foraging in the fridge at 2 a.m.

Meal Train. If a subscription service exceeds your budget, use the Meal Train app to provide weeks of home-cooked meals for the young family. Exhausted parents want someone to take care of them (not just the baby), and you can meet that essential need by dropping off chicken soup or mac and cheese. Don’t worry, you won’t be doing all the cooking. Meal Train lets friends and family sign up to donate food on a rotating basis.

Diapers. I know, it sounds like a boring gift. But my son’s diapers cost about $50 a month. You’d be taking a huge stressor off the parents’ monthly budget if you contributed a diaper allowance for any length of time. Amazon also lets you set up a diaper fund through a baby registry.

Housecleaning Services. I don’t know any parent who can find time to clean their bathroom, much less the floor their child is currently licking. My mother saw the dust bunnies under our couch when my son was five months old and wrote us a check to hire someone. We’ve never forgotten it.

Night Nurse or Doula. This is pricy, but if you want to give an extravagant gift that will change the trajectory of a young family’s life, give them professional help overnight. According to What to Expect’s guide to hiring a night nurse, some may cost upwards of $200 a night, but they are worth it. The parents will sleep and (hopefully) learn how to help the baby sleep, and the world will be brighter in the morning.

Operating Instructions. Anne Lamott’s essential, hilarious diary of her son’s first year of life. I’ve gifted this countless times, and it was the only book I could stand reading when my son wasn’t sleeping.

I’ll Show Myself Out. Comedian Jessi Klein’s book of essays on becoming a mother at 40. I felt like she was walking around inside my head, taking notes and cracking jokes.