Choosing a Unique Baby Gift

When it comes to baby gifts, you’re spoilt for choice today, with an incredible number of products vying for your attention – and wallet! Yet, when it comes to choosing a gift for that special person’s baby, you often get stuck for ideas. How do you personalize the gift? What can you do to make the gift unique?

Making your own baby gift set
Buying a readymade gift set is convenient, but remember, the baby will invariably be receiving several of these. Why not put together a handpicked collection? For instance, you could combine baby wear, skincare products, a hooded towel and a small musical mobile.

Another great idea that’s also of practical use is putting together products that can be used as the baby grows; for instance, a blanket, teether animals, sippy cups with handles and bath toys or asthma-friendly soft toys. It’s all up to your imagination, and, of course, your budget.

Blankets n’ quilts
Tag blankets, popular from last year, make for a gift that the baby will enjoy. These are security blankets with loops around the edges that keep little infant fingers busy Etsy, the website for handmade products, features Tag Trendie by Karen Radtke. Check this one out for custom-made security blankets that come in a host of funky color combinations and ribbons.

If you’re a good DIY-er, you could plan to make a baby quilt. Customize the design according to your friend’s tastes. For instance, an acquaintance of mine gifted her Indian-born friend and mother-to-be with a baby quilt featuring typically Indian motifs like peacocks and mangoes.

Odds and ends
How about gifting a collection of lullaby CDs? The soothing music comes in especially handy while driving around with baby!

Babies are never too small for books. From the time they start sitting up, babies can be shown brightly colored board books while ensconced in mommy’s lap. A happy experience for both concerned which, hopefully, will lead to a lifelong love for reading!

If you’ve watched babies, it’s often the simple things that they seem to love. How about hand puppets? Like board books, these too have an interactive element, allowing for fun-filled, entertaining and stimulating moments between parent and child. Look out for hand puppets of familiar creatures like Winnie the Pooh. Much more fun than a regular soft toy.

Rather than gifting a run-of-the-mill baby mobile, consider a Fisher Price Ocean Wonder. This remote-controlled “aquarium” fits onto the side of baby’s crib, keeping her fascinated with aquatic sound effects, bubbles, and brightly colored fish. You can choose from five soft tunes that will lull baby to sleep.

Baby equipment
If you’re looking to gift something bigger, you might consider a baby swing. Compare swings for features like safety, varying speeds and other add-ons. Fisher Price’s Rainforest Open-Top Take Along Swing has great design features; it folds up easily, making it convenient for taking along in the car on visits, or simply from room to room. The open top is ideal for quickly lifting the baby out.

What toys should you buy for a newborn?

The world is a new place to an innocent newborn baby. How do you keep the little baby happy? The first thing that would strike you, other than showering your baby with love and warmth, is a basketful of toys. Some say that toys actually get interesting only after the baby is a year old. However, there are still all sorts of toys that would delight your infant. But what kind of toys should you give to babies who are less than a year old? In the first few months, a baby has good hearing but fuzzy vision. So when you buy toys, factors such as vision and sound should be of utmost concern.

Some top picks for newborns and toddlers:
Bright colored toys: Baby’s sight improves day by day. He is likely to appreciate things that move closer to him. Brightly colored toys are a good bet. Initially, a baby’s vision is blurred. Hand held toys in black, white and red stimulate visual development. Baby would enjoy textured toys with bright colors, like an octopus with different colors, textures and sound. Though he won’t be able to hold the toy for long, he will enjoy batting the toy over and over again. 

Music box and mobiles: Music is one of the best ways to help baby relax. You could hang a set of wind chimes over the baby’s cot or crib. Babies love the soft fleeting sounds. They also tend to enjoy rattles. You could attach a soft rattle to their wrist or try out socks with built-in rattles to see the happy sparkle in their eyes every time it makes a sound. Since babies lie down most of the time, it is a great idea to hang musical mobiles on the cot rail. This will entertain them and also help them learn to focus on an object.

Rest and play nest: Safe and snug, this is perfect for a baby that has just learned to roll over. It can also be used as an activity gym as babies learn to sit by themselves.

Symphony gym: A gym with dangling toys, music and lights is a good choice to keep the toddler active and busy. When you lay your baby down, he/she will start kicking vigorously at the lights and toys. This is good exercise for the tiny leg muscles.

Some other toys for infants include plush toys that make a sound when pressed. Soft toys have been a classic choice as they are safe and babies will not injure themselves. Dangle toys on the crib or the buggy. The little one will have something pleasant to watch and listen to after frequent naps.

As the baby gets older, he will begin teething. During this time, prefer teething rings that provide soothing relief for sore gums.

Baby toys go a long way in developing a child’s abilities. These toys are fun not only for the little ones but also a great source of relaxation for parents. It’s fun to watch your baby play, laugh and discover things. So, choose quality baby-friendly toys that not only bring giggles of delight but also help the child develop faster, right from the first smile to the first step.

Toys for 1 to 4 year old kids

Toys are one of the most memorable things in one’s childhood – a rattle for an infant, push toys and stackers for toddlers and puzzles for older kids. Right from birth through the growing years, toys have a great influence on children and aid in their development as well. Here’s a brief guide to buying suitable toys for different age groups.

For the 1 year old toddler
After having mastered the rattles and stackers, this is the time for the little champ to try bigger toys to improve his/her brain development. This is the time babies become more mobile and learn to balance. Some of the best choices in toys are push and pull toys, cars, toy planes, toy phones, toy laptop, and colorful train sets with tracks. Soft and cuddly teddy bears are quite archetypical. Most kids of this age carry teddy bears to bed. You can also start reading to baby from books with colorful pictures.

Toys for 2 year Old Kids
Little ones tend to explore a lot during this time. They can be quite demanding and love to play with other children. Toys that support their new skills are ideal for a two year old. Top toys for this age group are: blocks or ride on toys and sports toys that help in building confidence. As your little boy or girl can now walk and run comfortably, early skates are a good way to develop balance and coordination. Some plush soft toys of well loved characters such as Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Noddy soft toys, and Sesame street characters find themselves in the top toy spot.

For the 3 year old tot
Three-year olds are more mobile and are familiar with the basics of speech. You can read from a pop-up book to the child as reading is more fun and interactive at this age. Kids in this age group like to do things that they see their mommy doing. The little chefs love to mess around the kitchen. Give them a play kitchen and children’s cookbook and watch their imagination at work. Animal toys and dolls are also much loved. A nice assortment of bath toys can make your kid’s bath time more fun too.

Toys for 4 year olds
Kids in this age group get more interactive and their toy preferences change. While little girls love to play with dollhouses and toy kitchen sets, boys go gaga over race cars, dinos, Superman and Batman toys. Outdoor games are a great way to entertain four-year olds. Some of the great toy ideas for this age group are tennis rackets, cricket bats, tricycles and climbing frames. A simple jigsaw is also a good choice. And there are lots more to choose from – educational toys of popular cartoon characters to interactive books and crayons that keep young minds busy and active.

Besides being fun, toys can be an integral part of a child’s physical and mental development. And one to four years is the crucial time for such development. Choose toys that interest your kid and encourage him or her in the developmental stages. Also buy only from stores that emphasize consumer safety standards.

Puzzle Games for Kids

Introducing puzzle games to kids as early as possible has many benefits – it arouses their natural curiosity, stimulates their imagination and develops logical thinking and concentration. For older kids, it staves off boredom and is a better alternative to television! Here’s a look at some puzzle games for kids of all ages, both traditional and new.

Jigsaw puzzles – keeps those little minds and fingers ticking!

Check out Hasbro’s Nickelodeon Dora the Explorer Alphabet Learning.
This 48- piece floor puzzle measures 2ft. x 3ft. It’s ideal for kids 3 years and above who’ll enjoy piecing it together while learning the alphabet at the same time. Available at leading toy stores or online at HasbroToyShop.com.

This one is a must-have for fans of Captain Jack Sparrow! From Buffalo Games comes the Pirates of the Caribbean puzzle. It consists of three puzzles – Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and Capt. Jack with Davy Jones. The jigsaw pieces snap together neatly. Children will love the spectacular colors and of course, the bonus poster from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean – Dead Man’s Chest. Available at leading toy stores, Barnes & Noble or online at Amazon.com, Boardgames.com and PuzzBuffs.

Scene It? Jr.

This one is a DVD game from Mattel for kids ages 6 and above. There are real clips from popular TV shows, films, sports and music with questions and puzzles based on the clips. Available at all leading stores (Toys R Us, Target Stores, Wal-Mart and K-Mart).

A Classic

The Kaleidoscope Classic is one of my favorites, a pattern recognition game for both children and adults. It can be played by a solitary person or as a collaborative venture by more people. The game consists of an 8” x 8” square board and 18 pieces in different shapes. Each piece is double-sided and contains 1-8 squares which are to be placed on the board to match varied patterns. A pattern book is also enclosed, with diagrams that range from simple to extremely complex. (Available at leading toy stores)

Word Game

Want to improve your kids’ vocabulary? Try Briarpatch Nerdy Wordy Game, for ages 7 and up. In this family crossword puzzle game, players have to think up 2-5 letter words, picking letter tiles from a central pool of letters. Players who can create words within words get extra points.

For older kids

Situation 4 (Parker Brothers), for 2-4 players from age 8 upwards, is a war game-cum-jigsaw puzzle, the final objective being to conquer more territory than your opponent and score more points. It’s a test of speed, pattern recognition, hand-to-eye coordination and your ability to strategize, all rolled into one!

A new offering from Kadon is Pseudo-Coup. Based on the popular Sudoku number puzzle game, it’s played with colors.
You can play either Pseudo-Coup Solitaire or 3 strategy games for 2-3 players. A Pocket Pseudo-Coup verson is also available.