When you need to find Christening baby gifts people sometimes remind you that you’re buying for the parents, not for the baby.

But that’s not always the case. And sometimes you can do both.

Parents of a new-born baby will certainly appreciate the effort made by someone who finds a baby gift which is original or even unique. One of the great ways of doing this is to look for a personalized gift, or perhaps something which is hand-made. Such gifts will certainly appeal to the parents and may even turn into something of a heirloom. So your gift might be remembered for years to come.

But Baby’s not likely to notice the difference.

Another approach is to seek out presents which will appeal to the baby.

The gift which Baby goes back to again and again will also stand out and be remembered. The one which the child chooses above all the others – the one thing which will always quieten the cries, or buy the parents a few moments off to perform vital ‘non-baby’ chores or even a few moments to themselves – now that’s a Christening gift which will definitely be appreciated. And the parent’s gratitude will last for months, if not years!

The secret to finding a present for the baby like this is to go with what works. Choose a present which you know most babies will like. So this is a case where ‘original’ or ‘unique’ is not the best choice.

If you’re a parent yourself the thing to do is to think back to when you had a young baby to keep happy. What worked for you? That kind of insider knowledge, based on personal experience, is vital. If you don’t have children of your own, then the thing to do is ‘ask’. Ask friends with babies, ask your own parents or – these days – ask on line!

Here’s the golden tip for finding the right gift fast:

Yes: the easiest way of finding really good Christening baby gifts is to search on line. You can try blogs and forums for new parents, of course. But in fact it’s even easier than that. Look for sites which include customer reviews of best baby gifts. Amazon is one obvious example, but there are plenty of other sites. Remember: your search is for a present which is special not because it’s unique, but because it works. So look for bestsellers which have lots of reviews, then check the reviews to see what the parents are saying.

Doing it this way you end up with a present which really will be special. Months, if not years, from now those parents will still be looking at the present which made such a difference to. You can bet that they will be very grateful indeed to the person who gave them the perfect baby Christening gift — some quality time for themselves!

Technorati Tags: baby ideas, christening baby gifts, christening presents

http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com/2009/12/christening-cake.html

And so did the sight of the Christening Cake that “Green Gourment Giraffe” baked for the occasion:

Apparently there’s a whole pot of Nutella in that beauty, and it fed about 30 adults plus kids. The full recipe is on the web site, and it set me to thinking that perhaps the most memorable thing you take to a christening might not be a gift for the baby. A cake like that would make many people’s day.

There’s loads of other vegetarian recipes and other foody items on the site. It’s well worth a look.

http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com/2009/12/christening-cake.html

The article is about the “Mummy PA” service offered by London-based “Consider It Done.” A subscription of £295 per month buys you 8 hours of help organising all those things which have to take second place once baby has arrived.

“The brunt of household management still falls to women,” says Sue Reeve, the founder of the company in the article. “And when you combine that with a busy career and children, it’s hardly surprising people need to call in help to manage the demands of daily life. Lifestyle management isn’t confined to the lives of celebrities.”

She goes on to give an example of a client who even asked her to organise the baby’s christening.

“We did everything from booking the church to sending invitations and organising the caterers and the reception afterwards. I think the priest was a bit surprised, but I know that it took the strain off the client, and that’s what I’m here for.”

It strikes me that a subscription to a service like this would make the most wonderful gift. If you can find someone offering such a service locally, of course. And if it’s within your budget…

But what about the rest of us?

Well, wny not provide the service yourself. Of course, friends and family will often great the new arrival with offers of help. But how often do we actually deliver on those generous impulses? And do we keep offering, a few weeks and months down the line when chronic exhaustion is setting in and ‘normal life’ seems a distant memory?

So why not be a bit more specific? How about a christening gift based on one of those time-barter schemes? Something more along the lines of a written contract? A card, perhaps, containing a specific number of hours which can be used a bit at a time, like your own subscription to “Mummy PA”.

You can check out the original Sunday Times article here.

Or if you’re in London, why not take a look at the Mummy PA service itself?

Technorati Tags: christening baby gifts, christening presents

If you’re looking for a baby Christening gift which will be remembered and might even last a lifetime, you can’t go wrong with a soft toy.

I was reminded of this when I read this article in The Daily Telegraph about famous British artist, Grayson Perry.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/02/17/smworld117.xml

Not ony does he still treasure his childhood Teddy Bear, in fact he’s also made him the subject of several works of art:

“What would you never throw away? My teddy bear Alan Measles, which I was given for my first Christmas. He was always hugely emotionally important to me, and ruled over the imaginary land that I made up. It’s amazing that he came through all the turbulence of my teenage years and beyond. He must have gone through all those flats and squats and somehow managed to stay intact, still in the jumpsuit that my Auntie Mary knitted for him. I made his throne in 2000 when I recognised his majesty. I’m making quite a lot of work about him at the moment: I’ve made a shrine to him and now I’m making a statue.”

It’s not just Grayson Perry.

Think about Winnie the Pooh: those stories started out based on a real Teddy Bear belonging to the son of author A A Milne. Some of the later additions to the family were bought later, specifically for their story-making potential, according to the autobiography of the real-life Christopher (Robin) Milne: The Enchanted Places

No doubt about it: a soft toy has the potential to be a real winner and makes a present which will last for years, not months. No baby can ever have too many of them. Soft toys may not be unusual, but there’s a reason for that: they’r e one of the best baby christening gifts you’ll ever find.

I was reminded of this when I read a heart-warming story about a couple from Australia who travelled all the way to England to have their little boy Christened in the same church they were married in. That’s more than 10,000 miles. It’s also probably around 24 hours in a plane with an eight month old baby, which is quite an interesting prospect in itself!

Christenings are wonderful occasions because family and friends gather together to celebrate a new arrival. So please don’t forget that one thing the parents would probably welcome even more than a gift is your company on this special day!

The original story from the Worcester News is here and it certainly brought a smile to my face.