Affordable Gift Ideas for New Parents

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Having a child is a life-changing experience and can be overwhelming and exhausting for new parents. Thoughtful friends and relatives can use this opportunity to give meaningful gifts that are truly useful and valuable for the new parents.

Here are great ideas for new parent gifts:

Read on for more information about affordable gifts for new parents.

One of the best simple gifts you can give to the parents of a baby at the start of winter is a big cuddly blanket, one big enough so that the parent can get warm with the baby while sitting on the couch or in a chair.

Having an extra blanket around means that it’s easy for the new family to always have a blanket near any seat in the house.

Almost every new parent is glad to have plenty of baby supplies on hand, including diapers, wet wipes and formula. Give new parents a big bundle of one kind of supply, bought in bulk.

If you put in some extra effort and really dig for coupons, you can often find a bunch of coupons for formula, wipes and diapers. Use a coupon yourself to buy the item, then attach the rest of the coupons to the package, so the new parents can save on their future purchases. For this purchase, stick to trusted name brands such as Pampers and Similac.

If you live near the couple, offer to do their laundry or home cleaning for them on a regular basis. You can pick up a big batch of laundry at their house, take it home, wash it and deliver it back folded, or else you can simply go over and clean for a few hours. New parents often don’t have the energy for cleaning or laundry, so this is a great gift.

One great way to package this is to give the new parents a large laundry bag with five coupons attached that say: “Fill up this laundry bag and call me.” You simply stop by, pick up the laundry bag, wash everything, fold it and deliver it back to them in a day or two.

Many new parents fall into a routine of getting takeout or eating unhealthy prepackaged meals from the store. After all, they’re often exhausted and dealing with a lot of life changes.

A good way to help with this is to give them healthy prepackaged meals that are easy to prepare. If you have the time, you can make them yourself by assembling soup and meal kits that have minimal steps for preparation, or you can even make complete meals that the parents can stow in the freezer. Make a big pot of soup, separate it into a bunch of individual containers and give them a cooler full of meals.

If you find that you can’t make meals in advance, consider giving a gift card to a meal-kit service such as Blue Apron. While the price is more expensive, what you’re buying is the convenience for the family.

Many new parents receive a bunch of clothes for their new baby, and while that’s helpful, the outfits are often too small for the baby as soon as they’re opened. Rather than buying baby clothes that are the right size for the baby now, buy some clothes that will begin to work well in a few months.

Doing this enables the parents to get full use out of the clothes, as they can start using them even when they’re a little big for the baby and keep using them until the baby has almost outgrown them. Buying clothes that are big right now maximizes their usefulness for the parents and baby.

These are simply handmade coupons you can give to the couple that entitle them to a night of babysitting, so they can go out to a dinner or simply have a quiet evening at home together. You take the baby for a few hours and handle diaper changes and feeding while the new parents enjoy some time with each other.

With gifts like these, you may have to nudge the couple to actually take advantage of them, so stick a note in your calendar to nudge them in a month or so to use one of the homemade coupons. It’s also helpful to be flexible, as they may want a weekend afternoon together rather than a date night.

This goes a bit beyond a homemade babysitting coupon if you want to throw in an actual gift. A “date package” could include something like a gift certificate to a restaurant and tickets to a movie or show, giving the new parents something specific to do together, so they don’t have to plan out a date.

Obviously, this can (and perhaps should) be coupled with babysitting, so they don’t have to worry about taking care of the baby while they’re out together.

Rather than promising a boys’ night out or a girls’ night out with one of the parents, leaving the other alone with the kid, give the gift of a night in where you stay at home with one of the parents and do something together while watching the child. This gives the other parent a chance to do something on their own with friends.

For example, you might get together with a few guys for a poker night where the new baby stays at home and is passed around the table while the other parent goes out. Or maybe you can give the new mom a copy of a movie she’s excited to see and promise to come over and watch it with her, giving the other parent a chance to go out for a few hours and see some friends.

If you want to take the healthy meal idea to the next level, promise a dinner delivery service for the next few months. On the first of each month or on a certain weeknight each week for a certain period, bring over a hot dinner for the new parents to eat. Give this gift as a note to them, where you work out the specific schedule after they open it.

You don’t have to make this last forever. Just do it each Thursday in January or on the first Tuesday of the month for three months. Bring over a meal you made yourself and drop it at their door, picking up the dishes (clean or dirty) the next day.

Most of these gifts are about giving the new parents some time to themselves and some rest, both of which are sorely needed. Plus, most of them are inexpensive, as they rely on a little bit of extra effort from you rather than spending a bunch of money.