Maternity gifts do not have to be expensive, as long as they are chosen with care and have a little wow factor. Therefore, avoid brightly colored plastic and don’t buy maternity gifts from Action or any other cheap store. Choose quality, and something that looks good in the home or nursery.

Original maternity gifts

A baby gift doesn’t necessarily have to be original. Practicality is also nice. Still, of course you like to give something that looks nice. As a mother of three young children, I would like to share my personal top 10 baby gift favorites with you. I hope you get inspired by these affordable ideas for beautiful, original and practical baby gifts.

My personal top 8

8. Voucher

A very practical (but not such a big wow factor, therefore at number 10) gift for a baby is a voucher from a baby store. There are plenty of clothes, bedding or other goodies to be purchased in the coming year. My favorite is a voucher from a baby store. After all, no baby can go without clothes. Add a little something (a bar of soap, for example) and you have a complete gift that is sure to come in handy.

7. Children’s cutlery set

Especially for a first child this is a nice gift, because then you can be sure that it is not yet in the house. There are many plastic versions, these are not that expensive and fun to give in combination with a matching plate and (spout) cup. For the real wow factor, I would go for a steel version so the child can learn to dine in style. A nice steel safari set at a great price is a fun and will last a long time. A practical and fun baby gift.

6. Wooden music box with dancing figures.

A wooden music box looks very nice in the nursery. Children love to fall asleep to familiar music and it is even more fun when two wobbly animals are dancing around on their own dance floor. What is unfortunate is that it is not a toy. When you drop such a box, the music becomes ‘false’. But then again, beautiful things must be well looked after.

5. Wooden Shape Box

Every child wants nothing more than to get stuff in and out of something one day. Blocks, shapes and colors also become fun and with a shape setter, the child can then have a blast. The blocks are also interesting individually and a little later they will be used to build towers. A wooden version looks best in your living room and is therefore the most fun to give. My favorite is all plain wood, with 12 different blocks (shape and color) with a lid that can be opened and with a string to lift it.

4. Wooden Fantasy Blocks

There are very cute blocks for sale these days. Their fun shapes, sounds and sometimes windows really stimulate the imagination. You can go in any direction with them. You can choose an affordable version of wooden blocks with sound. The wooden blocks from more expensive brands often look a little nicer but don’t matter to the child. They are often a bit higher in price.

“The time of stuffed bears is over now. It is not original and often ends up in the cuddly pile.”

3. A book of songs for toddlers

I received the booklet with CD ‘Daar buiten loopt een schaap’ when our oldest son was born. They are incredibly sweet songs, not loud or busy but just pleasantly ‘pretty’, with very cute drawings. Nice gift, nice price. The cardboard version is best for little hands.

2. A beautiful picture book

Again, a book. Books are nice as maternity gifts but also nice when the child is older. I always find that such a “luxury” gift. A picture book by no means always contains text but rather beautiful pictures that all children (and parents too) will love. As you look at a picture book more often, you also discover more and more jokes. Choose a nice cardboard version so that it can be read and enjoyed enthusiastically. A local bookstore often has many varieties!

1. Stacking tower made of recycled material

Some brands are doing well to make products from recycled materials. Toys are also made from eco-friendly materials or recycled plastic such as some stacking towers, for example. A stacking tower is a toy that every baby wants to play with. What a “wow factor” it is to give a wonderful sustainable gift made from recycled milk bottles!

Maternity gift with name

Other fun but now less original baby gifts are presents with the baby’s name on them. Think of bibs, bicycles, sippy cups, hats and so on.

Something nice for the mother

Don’t forget the new mother, after all, she did all the work! For a gift for the mother, think of something personal. It doesn’t have to be something big.