I agree with Rita.

However, unless you know the person really well, there is always danger in a repeat gift.

Can you bump up the amount a bit? I would give the baby a $25 Gap Baby gift card.

Then, for the older child, I would try to find an activity book or craft. I think you can get something for $10. It's really the thought that the older one gets to open something up too.

I always give books. Favorites from my childhood, Eric Carle, board books, texture books etc.

Books are a great idea and something I give often. I like the idea of the Klutz books for the two older kids, ages 6 and 8. I may have to increase the amount. Gift certificates are always a safe bet. I doubt the baby needs anything although this one was a surprise and they had already purged all their baby stuff.

I think if you can buy the books at a local bookstore and get a gift receipt then you don't have to worry about duplications; they can return if they already own the ones you choose.

Check Etsy for some engravable baby spoons, plates and/or cups. I do agree to buy a small gift for the older child. I keep book labels for gift giving purposes and put one with the child's name on the inside cover, along with the date. It makes it a keepsake.

So many cute and reasonably priced items on Etsy: Engravable baby dinnerware

and here: personalized baby gifts

A friend's DD just had a baby and I am waiting for this from an Etsy seller:

Bonnie, those are just too cute. I can see that the baby would keep those forever! Oly, the gift receipt is a good idea. We have an adorable children's book store here.

There is a certain type of books called indestructibles that are a huge hit with babies. Better than board books!

This is my fave so far

Emmett also really likes his Sophie la giraffe teether.

some other fun toys: o-balls, the Lamaze animal toys (like Captain Calimari), the Manhattan winkel rattle, baby banana toothbrush are all good for little babies.

Indestructibles

Wow, Em is really giving that book a workout! All great suggestions. I am going to have fun shopping. Thanks so much.

Robo, I f you have a Manhattan Winkle, some were recalled. Please check

Recall

Thank you! Looks like ours wasn’t recalled but I appreciate the heads up!

Glad you asked this dedtired. My niece will become a new Mom in a week or so and while I already sent the car seat from her baby register I'd like to take a little gift with me when I visit her for the first time. Books are always at the top of my list and I often give the little book and stuffed animal sets from Barnes and Noble but I'm not familiar with some of the newer ones - like the indestructibles.

How was your trip to Ireland? I hope the weather cooperated and you had a fantastic time.

Maire

Ireland was absolutely wonderful. We had blue skies and sunshine the entire time! Beautiful country with great people. I recommend going to anyone who has not been there yet. Thanks for asking.

Just following up to say I took your suggestions and ordered Klutz Paper Dragons for the older boy, Klutz Pompom Animals for the girl and three Indestructible books, including Em’s favorite, for the new baby girl. I hope the kids enjoy them. Not sure how the mother will react. She’s odd. Thanks for the ideas.

Had to bump this back up to say I gave her the gift three weeks ago. She lives next door, so close I could stand in my kitchen door and hit her house with a ball. She has my email address. So far NO thank you --not a note, not an email not a spoken thanks. Nada. Never again.

That stinks, I’m sorry you don’t feel appreciated! Although I agree that you should not give future gifts to these ungrateful people, I hope you don’t take this too much to heart as she could well be existing in a sleepless nightmarish purgatory (if her baby has hit the four month sleep regression) and is letting normal behaviour fall though the cracks. She still should have thanked you though!

I think I feel a little more sympathetic because we are going through the eight month sleep regression and I cannot handle myself right now. I am normally a very tactful person, but in a meeting on Friday I basically engaged a university dean in a peepee measuring contest. She insisted on threatening me (light threaten) with a certain piece of legislation binding government to a certain duty. I am sure this legislation and duty do not exist. Anyway, she told me it was “right there in the document” (300 page document) and I told her that she better give me a page number. Normally I could have handled things a lot more smoothly and not let it escalate to that point.

I am so sorry your kindness fell on such a graceless clod. She may well be in horrible shape and your gift may have meant a lot to her, or she may just be your garden variety ungrateful nincompoop. Regardless of which kind of person she is, you did what you thought was best and that is far preferable to letting boors set our standards.

The baby is two months and is #3 (surprise!). I have no doubt she has her hands full but I do see her sitting in the yard staring at her phone while the kids run around and taking her brood to the pool every day. I don't feel underappreciated exactly, but more like a sucker for having bothered. Oh well, I hope the older kids enjoyed the books and activities. They are very cute.

A pee-pee measuring contest? LOL. I had visions of poor Em, ... oh never mind! I'm sure he would have won.;)

Rita, graceless clod describes her pretty well. Her husband is a very nice guy with an interesting job.

People are sometimes weird Dedtired. You did a nice thing because you are a nice person.

I pretty much am to the point that I never expect acknowledgement for kind deeds. I just do it because I enjoy it.

In your neighbors case, well, there is much you do not know about her (still no excuse for a non-thank you) perhaps she's mentally ill. Maybe her husband is not as he seems. Maybe she can tell that you find her odd.

The bottom line is that the children have nice gifts from the nice neighbor lady. I wouldn't stop. Eventually the children will learn kindness from near strangers. They might not understand it now but will remember as they mature.

If giving books write something nice on the inside cover and sign.

Sorry she hasn't acknowledged your graciousness. I've found that when it's someone I don't have a vested interest in, I tend to go with a generic gift card. That way I don't feel like I've wasted my time if they don't acknowledge my gift.

I definitely believe in thank you's... and I see you even mentioned she has your email address so you are not waiting on a formal mailed thank you. That said though, I would still give a few more weeks to see if it will happen. Even though she does seem to have some down time and she should have already thanked you-------maybe it's coming.

I know my daughter recently had baby #2 and she is generally very good and prompt at thank you's but she mentioned she is getting rather behind. I think a month is ok and if it goes to 5 or 6 weeks, that's fine too.

I do hope you get one and I do think you should.

How did she react when you gave the gifts to her? Did the little kids know to say "thank you"? (A good thing if they did, it means they are being taught some politeness.)

eta: I don't worry about not getting thank yous for gifts I give. If I don't receive a thank you, I can easily blame (in my mind) the parent of the recipient for not teaching their child.)

I left the gift bag at her front door because I did not want to disturb her with the new baby. The very few times I have knocked on her door it is never a good time and she acts exasperated. My neighborhood has very little through traffic and we all know each other so no one lifted the bag.

If the kids got the gifts, I do hope they know they were from me! Oh well, I am going to let this go. It's not worth the mental energy.

One time I got a thank you for a wedding gift one year after the event and it was a generic printed card with no mention of what I actually gave her! I had handed it to her mother,so I knew she got it.