Regardless of whether you’re able to visit your friend/loved one in the hospital upon the delivery of their newborn, two questions that’ll always cross your mind is “What to bring ah? Need to buy a present?” Honestly, prior to delivering Ruth, we had not much clue about what would make a suitable gift for the newborn and parents. Usually, we’d swing by Mothercare or Motherswork and pick up a random gift or two that look cute or had the potential of being useful. Obviously, it’ll be a lot easier if the expecting parents had a wishlist (which we did not give our friends or loved ones either) so that you could just assist them with checking the items of the list.

If you’re searching for some inspiration on what to buy for your friend and her baby, here are 16 Gifts That You Can Send To New Parents. We have based this list on various presents that our friends and family have purchased for us, and hope that it will assist you in your search for the right gift too.

Photo Credits: Le Petit Society

#1 Baby Clothes

Okay, this is a bit tricky. For us, we specifically requested our friends and family not to buy any new clothes for Ruth as we were blessed to receive a lot of hand-me-downs from my older cousins. Further, your friend might have a preference for certain material or style of baby clothing and let’s be real. Babies grow really fast so the clothes that you’ve bought won’t last them particularly long.

But, if you’re still keen to buy some baby clothes for your friend or your friend has mentioned that she has yet to build up her inventory of baby clothing, you can head down to Mothercare, Motherswork or even stores such as Le Petit Society (Baby Girl Romper in Tiger Print (S$32) pictured above) to browse through their clothing selection, and pick one out for your friend’s little one.

Photo Credits: Lazada.sg

#2 Baby Bouncer

With regard to the baby bouncer, this was on our list of “to purchase” items and thankfully, my friend Li Cheng, insisted on getting the bouncer for us. All we had to do was choose one that we wanted, and she’d purchase it for us and send it to our place. This was an extremely great suggestion because we could retain control over the brand, type and quality of the bouncer as well as the price point, as opposed to a relative insisting on buying a particular item for you, but from a brand of their choice, which may conflict with the brand you had in mind.

We picked out the Joie Meet Dreamer Rocker and Bouncer – Fern (O.P. S$189, but purchased at a discounted price of about S$89), because of its colour, durability and functions. When it was delivered, the bouncer worked perfectly. This is an extremely useful gift that will come in handy as Ruth grows older and is able to sit out of her cot more often.

Photo Credits: The Little Wardrobe

#3 Diaper Cake

I’ve never heard of a diaper cake until I fell pregnant, and this is arguably one of the more interesting gifts that you can pick out for your friends. Each diaper cake will come with gifts for your friend’s newborn, such as baby diapers and baby essentials (rompers, toys, bibs, socks and blankets), and there’s also a wide selection of designs that you can pick from e.g. a Star Wars Baby Diaper Cake, Tiny Babies Diaper Cake and Little Flower Hut Diaper Cake.

Pick up your diaper cakes from The Diaper Cake Company, Baby Diapers Cake, The Little Wardrobe Singapore, or Happie Diapers. Happy shopping!

Photo Credits: Josh & Cherie (Facebook)

#4 Educational Material

It never hurts to look forward and plan for the future especially when you know that this gift is going to come in handy. One request that we had for our friends was to grab a couple of educational children’s books for Ruth. As we had yet to look into procuring these “toys”, any books that were given to Ruth would definitely come in useful when we start teaching her languages amongst others.

Some suggested places you can purchase these books include the Friendly Giant Books, Josh and Cherie Books and My Greatest Child. Best of all, regardless of whether your friend’s next child shares the same gender as the first, these books will come into handy for all of their children, and can also be blessed towards those in need. But if you’re looking to give your friends more than a couple of books, Josh and Cherie offers a monthly book subscription (S$33.90 for the Month to Month subscription, S$32.90 per box for the 6 Months Prepay, and S$31.90 per box for the 12 Months Prepay) that will take your friend’s little one all the way to 7 years of age.

Photo Credits: Hello Flowers

#5 Flowers

Although it won’t strictly last very long or have any lasting contribution/use for the baby, flowers are always a nice way to convey your support and appreciation for the receiving party. Whilst we were in the hospital, a colleague from my short stint at YTLPS sent across a lovely bouquet which featured the use of hydrangeas, baby’s breath and two cute rabbits. The bouquet definitely added a touch of colour to the room and was always a treat for the eyes.

If you’re not sure where to pick up a bouquet from, we usually purchase our bouquets from our wedding vendor, Hello Flowers, because they offer delivery of the bouquets too. Other places that you can purchase from include Floristique, Floral Garage and Flower Chimp. For the avoidance of doubt, we have never purchased or received bouquets from the latter two floral services and hence, will not be able to account for the quality and delivery standards of the same.

#6 Fruit Box

Another less conventional way to bless your friends would be to send them a basket of fruits for consumption; an extra dose of vitamin C never hurt anyone! We were sent two beautiful boxes of fruit, one from Good Nature from Stella, and one from 888 Seasons, from Amos and Rebecca. It also stands out as a gift that is not just focussed on the baby but also the parents.

With Good Nature, you can treat your friends to their Premium Surprise & Customised Boxes (from S$60) which will feature premium fruits from various temperates around the world and at 888 Seasons, the prices for their gift boxes are slightly higher. That being said, the options available for your picking include the Auspicious Gift Basket (S$188), Elite Gift Basket (S$288), Surprise Gift Basket (S$200), Premium Gift Basket (Large) (S$388) and the 888 Exclusive Deluxe Gift Basket (XL) (S$450).

Photo Credits: The Elly Store

#7 Gift Boxes

Another meaningful gift that you can pick up for your friend’s little one is a personalised gift box. Our friend, Natalie, was so kind to bless us with one from The Elly Store and all I can say is that Ruth is so spoiled. With each gift box, you’ll be able to select the items that you want to include into the gift box whilst adding a personal touch to some of the items therein. If you’re looking for alternative places to pick up this gift box, do browse through the items available at His Little Champs and Le Petit Society too.

Photo Credits: Eu Yan Sang

#8 Gift Hampers

A similar concept to a gift box and diaper cake, you can also purchase a gift hamper for your friends, which will either feature products meant for their baby or for themselves. One of our favourite places to shop for hampers is Simply Hamper, simply because of the diversity of the gift boxes available and the affordability of the same. It also helps that they are able to carry out delivery of the hamper within the next working day. Efficiency is always appreciated. If not, why not purchase a gift hamper from a TCM shop like Eu Yan Sang? Starting from a price of S$68 per hamper, you’d definitely be able to find a hamper that is to your liking there.

Photo Credits: Pupsik Studio

#9 Grooming Sets

Gifted by Yi Fang, a fellow mommy, we received a Safety 1st Welcome Baby Grooming Kit Gift Set (S$67.90) which comes with everything that parents will need to groom a baby. Whether it’s giving baths to cutting their nails and brushing their hair, this grooming set’s got it all covered. This was indeed one of the more unique gifts that we received and we appreciate that there’s so much utility in the items in this gift set.

Photo Credits: NTUC Fairprice

#10 Herbal Products

If you’re not keen on grabbing a gift hamper from a TCM shop, you can also consider purchasing herbal products in smaller quantities as a gift for your friends. One of the repeated gifts that we received was the Benedictine D.O.M. Liquer, which is said to be able to introduce warmth into a woman’s body post-birth. This liquer is often incorporated into confinement foods or is also consumed directly by the new mother. Do take care to ensure that you consume the alcohol safely if you’re breastfeeding too.

Elsewise, a box of Chicken’s Essence or Bird’s Nest will also serve the same purpose of nourishing the mother’s body. And thankfully, these essence(s) are available for purchase at most supermarkets so you don’t have to hunt high and low to gift this to your friend. Perfect.

Photo Credits: Oh Milky Mama (Instagram)

#11 Lactation Cookies & Products

Look. Breastfeeding is hella tough and for new mothers like myself, this was an incredibly steep learning curve especially if you’ve got an infant who refuses to latch properly or if your milk supply has yet to kick in, hence leaving your little one frustrated with latching and you, in tears. If you’ve got a friend who’s just given birth, why not pick up some lactation treats to bless them and aid them with their milk supply?

Depending on how strict they are with their confinement practices, you can opt to send your friends lactation cookies or lactation drinks. We’ve previously put together a guide on 25 different lactation cookie businesses in Singapore that you can check out here. Alternatively, you can pick up a box or two of lactation oats from Ms Kinny (from S$62) which is specially formulated to help mothers produce richer, thicker and creamier milk for the little ones. I’ve personally tried Ms Kinny’s lactation oats and noted an increase in my milk supply too!

Photo Credits; OSIM

#12 Neck Massager

This is one genius gift that my friend, Christie, came up with: a neck massager. After all, you’re going to be spending plenty of time looking at your newborn, whether you’re breastfeeding, bottle feeding, changing your baby’s diaper or showering your baby. Given the aforesaid, no one can really expect you to consciously maintain a good posture so that you don’t suffer from needless aches on your body.

A few neck and shoulder massagers on the market include OSIM’s uCozy Neck Massager (S$109), IUGA’s Neck Massager (S$49.90) and OTO’s Neck Snuggler (S$108).

#13 Personalised Onesies

Now, this is one of our favourite gifts out of the lot, predominantly because of the quality of the onesie and the personalised touch to the entire gift set. If you’re undecided about what to get for your friend’s little one, how about purchasing a personalised onesie? One of my other YTLPS colleagues, Sharon, purchased this personalised onesie from His Little Champs, which came in a Personalised Name Romper Gift Set (S$57.90). This gift set comes with a personalised baby romper, a set of matching baby maplewood teether and baby bibs, and ours came in a specially packed gift box which was ribbon bowed.

Aside from being able to dress their baby in the personalised onesie, your friends would also be able to use it in their maternity shoot (and perhaps, newborn shoot)! Multiple functions for one piece of personalised clothing, what’s not to love?

Photo Credits: Playgro International

#14 Play time! Activity Gym

This was also another very thoughtful gift that came from my mom’s friend, Aunty SJ. To be frank, we weren’t looking at buying any activity stations yet because we felt that this would only become a necessity once Ruth starts crawling/she is at least a few months old. Nonetheless, we were happy to be blessed with items that we did not have yet. And at present, Ruth’s actually taking well to the activity station much earlier than expected, and it helps to keep her entertained to a certain degree especially during these days when she refuses to nap during the day.

We were gifted the Playgro Jerry Giraffe Activity Gym (S$69) which can be purchased from Mothercare. Other activity stations that you can purchase from Mothercare include the Skip Hop Vibrant Village Smart Lights Activity Gym (S$179) and the Playgro Clip Clop Musical Activity Gym. You may also purchase these (and other) activity gyms from Pupsik Studio. Whatever that you think will be suitable for your friend’s baby’s needs, go for it!

#15 Red Packets

And if all else fails, just a red packet would do. This will save you the hassle of trying to decipher what your friend(s) need for their newborn, whilst avoiding the possibility of them not even using your gift! Best of all, if your friend(s) are concerned about receiving visitors at their home because of COVID-19, you can send an e-Ang Bao over to them. That’ll do the trick.

#16 Wet Wipes

We actually received two gifts of wet wipes for Ruth and could not be more than thankful for the deliveries. Initially, we did prepare quite a few wet wipes in our inventory for diaper changes etc., but weren’t expecting to actually go through our wet wipes so quickly in a couple of days! If you’re looking for good deals for wet wipes, well today’s 9.9 so it’s your lucky day!

Whether Qoo10, Lazada or Shoppee, hop onto your favourite e-commerce platforms and shop to your heart’s content. Whilst checking out an order for your friend, why not also take a qiuck browse through the collections on sale and cart out a gift for yourself too!