Well, every baby needs their own silver cup with initials, or spoon.

As far as the news...that’s a great idea! Obviously, the virus is a huge thing, but I would focus on the good that has come from it...the way people are helping each other, how pollution is decreased, the interesting way animals are enjoying the lack of people (there was a huge herd of goats running through a neighborhood the other day!) I would put something about kids learning online beside their parents working online, and how families are playing games together. I guess just keep it to the lighter end of things. Congrats on your new nephew!

DD’s best friend from childhood, and our old neighbors, had a boy recently. Her nursery is a safari theme and I sent her this from Pottery Barn Kids. I thought it was an out of the ordinary gift and could hold books, toys, etc. They have other animals too. I have also given personalized step stools from Etsy. If I want to be very practical I gift crib mattress pads and sheets—-I remember always needing a good supply of both when babies are sick.

Thank you!

You know what's funny that never occurred to me? I am his Great Aunt. OMG that sounds like Mrs Haversham. LOL

All ideas welcome on baby's first email from his Great Aunt in the midst of Armageddon.

Heirloom blanket, personalized? Nice quilt? Emmett loves his quilts. I like a bigger quilt like 4’ square or larger.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/789323130/modern-quilt-rainbow-blanket-gender?ref=shop_home_feat_2&frs=1

https://www.etsy.com/listing/764657584/beautiful-baby-quilt-blue-baby-quilt-lap?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=baby+quilt+lap&ref=sr_gallery-1-23&organic_search_click=1&frs=1

As a mother of 3 I can tell you you are correct about that household not NEEDING anything..BUT this third child will look back and I would encourage there be SOMETHING for them. Mom most likely feels the need for STUFF not so much but your letter FULL of memories of the birth, of the anticipation of the goings on preparing for them..are all things I did not take the time for #3 to document like I did for #1. In the spirit of fair fair I would suggest savings bonds or straight up cash for necessities i.e. DIAPERS, wipes etc. I know as I received beautiful layettes for #3 all I could think was "gosh I wish it were DIAPERS"!!

A baby book? Do people still buy them? Maybe ask the mom if she has one. I dunno. I just woke up. :)

Not quite Armageddon!

Do they do Tiffany silver cups? All my kids got them except my fourth as I guess people didn’t bother at that point. I cherish mine.

Oh, I know! When my husband’s cousin had a baby, we gave him a blue cashmere baby sweater from Boden kids. It is the best website. All the kids look like royalty. This sweater was totally impractical, but beautiful. Their baby was born just about this time two years ago. I bought a one-year-old size so he could wear it in winter. Can I add that I was thrilled to open their Christmas card and see him wearing it?

Jojoco, I could be wrong, but I think i recommended that Boden cashmere sweater!

The gift conundrum here is that they are not at all into anything "fancy;" def not cashmere or silver, alas. But they don't really need diaper money either. I love to give blankets but I thought they were out of favor.

I love that giraffe! But their house is a cape and I think it'd hit the nursery ceiling LOL

Any ideas about what people would write in a baby's first email? I don't really know this family that well; see them once a year or so. So it'd be more historical that personal.

Is this nephew on your side? If so, Tell him stories that you remember about his dad growing up. Tell him about your mom, his great grandmother.

Add some highlights of current events on his exact day of birth and month of birth. (I still like looking up what was happening in the world on my day of birth.:))

Perhaps it is my life-long love of all things block print, but these are sweet little quilts for baby/toddler. Simple and useful.

I've ordered from this little shop and she is very quick and I love the shirt I purchased. Quilts

From what I "know" of you, you will compose an email that will hit all the right notes. Broadly, I would focus on how this pandemic experience brought disappointment and despair for many but also maybe taught us how to slow down and view our lives differently. What new opportunites may rise, how family and work balances may shift, etc. And leadership - how important it is in a time like this and what happens in its absence. Include examples :).

Basically, what a wonderful world this new little person is going to experience and what an impact they can make.

I am a great aunt too! I was weirded out by it at first-- but then I remembered that some of the coolest women I knew were my great aunts!

When my nephew was born, I gave onlythis small turtle music box (it plays Brahms' Lullabye) and I FILLED my niece's freezer with premade food. (Also overloaded her on shower gifts because she needed everything!)

BTW I have one of these on my desk too.. it fits so well in my hand, I kind of use it like a stress ball/worry stone.

Mtn, I understand what you are saying about the note being more historical than personal-- but I think it SHOULD be personal. There will be lots of accounts historically but they won't reflect a personal experience and perspective. I'd direct it to an older teen/adult nephew.. and i'd include the good, the bad and the ugly.. but with a positive focus on the human spirit and what good has come out of these trying times.

Things *I* would address if I were writing the note:

• the dismay/shock/fear of how at this point of our history with so much science-- that there is still so much unknown, so much miscommunicated, misrepresented about the virus, testing it and developing a vaccine for it.
• The political divide in response -- which has carried forward to social response. (You may not be seeing the same but in my heavily republican community with lots of small business owners, the social response has been very divided, vocal and hot)
• The affect on a city so vibrant and alive as NYC.. and so many other great cities across the world
• The beauty and camaraderie coming out of communities across the world..
• The impact of all the death.. the inability to memorialize or grieve properly. How the loss of my father felt in the wave of deaths all around me. Locally and globally.
• How my own family responded to the social impacts of the quarantine-- how we spent our time, what activities we discovered, what we learned about ourselves and our connections to each other.

ETA link to music box.. but really, you can get them many places. I got mine locally at Boscovs.

TBH, I cannot recall in recent years fancy items such as the silver cups, etc. being given. Even so, I have my mom's and my silver baby spoons (monogramed)!

I love Joanie's ideas. That giraffe is adorable! The stools is another great idea. A savings bond is a good idea too. Even though they don't need clothes, with kids that close together matching outfits might be a cute idea.

I love the idea of the letter.

Congrats on the new GREAT nephew!!

How about a Steiff teddy bear? Love the email and can well imagine what a wonderful epistle you will compose.

You crack me up with the great aunt realization! My eldest niece is 13 years younger than I (her father, my brother is 11 years older than I) and her eldest son is 28 - I was an great aunt at 38!

I have my silver baby cup on my desk as I type. I don't know who gave it as a gift or if my parents bought it, but it's something I treasure.

I think anything personalized for a third child is great, because they get so many hand-me-downs. A special monogrammed blanket? My DD had her own little step stool with her name on it — she’s 19 and it’s still in her room.

I'm leaning toward a personalized blanket I think. IMHO blankets are like clothes; they are constantly getting dirty so you can have too many. Plus I always liked to coordinate the blanket colors with the outfit. I was shying away because babies tend not to sleep with blankets any more, but they still use them.

Maybe it’s (again) a Southern thing? Sterling items don’t seem to go in or out of fashion here. To me, some things (the birth of a baby) are just so monumental that gifting something like a sterling baby cup that will last forever and actually can be USED forever (i keep paperclips in mine, I have a friend who tied velvet ribbons to the handle of her kids’ cups and hung them on the Christmas tree.) I mean, I get not needing a million footed sleepers or 50 riding toys, and some things are taste specific (like art and decor) but a classic silver cup is just a rare item that combines form and function. Baby can actually learn to drink from it without a straw or lid! 😂Especially if you know the family has the means to purchase basic essentials like diapers....I‘d get a memorable gift.

ps...I LOVE that silver turtle!!!

I know I've made this suggestion on this forum before, but I think it would be particularly nice with a third boy. One of my favorite gifts to give is children's books with the child's name in the title. It can't always be done, of course, depending on the name, but when it can, it's such a sweet gift. We had a family friend with a Felix recently, and I found three lovely books for him. My own daughter, Lily, has an entire collection, which I started when she was an infant and added onto every bday and Christmas. She's 24 now and it's one of her favorite things. With Amazon's search options, it's incredibly easy to do.

All great suggestions; really for a 3rd it's tough. I know my daughter just had her 3rd, and definitely receiving less stuff (also in covid times has a lot to do with it too). I know her other 2 each got the step stools with their names as a puzzle and they love them. I think that is a great gift.

Following on Bestyear's book suggestion - giving a book with the child's name - Hallmark and other companies offer children's books that they will personalize with the child's name.

My go to baby gift is a personalized blanket or outfit from The Blanket Lady. Pick from 100s of color combination. (My granddaughter, age 18, still has her blanket).

The Blanket Lady

I have a friend who tied velvet ribbons to the handle of her kids’ cups and hung them on the Christmas tree

That is sooo southern, and sounds abs. gorgeous. I agree with you, what I would like to buy is a small silver gift one has forever. My children have several such things and they are very dear.

But in gift giving, know thy audience. I am 99% sure they don't own a single thing that is silver and would find it kind of odd. Millennials, what can i say?

Each of my grands has a Little Giraffe blanket, monogrammed, of course. The 3 y/o twins are allowed to sleep with theirs. Littlest is not. They also each have this bunny, again monogrammed. Both the blanket and the bunny wash up great.

I bought sterling monogrammed cups for the twins when they were born. DD and DSIL were on the verge of moving when Littlest was born, so DD asked me to wait until they got into their new house. They moved in about 6 weeks ago. It just occurred to me that I haven’t ordered Littlest’s cup yet.

I am buying a pewter monogrammed cup for DSIL’s brother’s new baby. Traditional but no polishing needed.

I had a friend who had quite an assortment of baby cups because her 4 children had each been gifted multiples. When she had a dinner party, she would have the florist arrange nosegays for each cup to use as part of the centerpiece. Then she would send each female guest home with a lovely nosegay at the end of the evening! I loved it.

My six year old granddaughter has two of the small Little Giraffe blankets (14” x 14”) that were newborn gifts. I bought one of them on my daughters recommendation, thinking “why would one want a blanket that small?” She still loves them.....they have always been her “touchy-feely blankets, perfect for car seats, naps, etc. she still sleeps with one and has one in her car seat. Would be nice monogrammed for a keepsake.

Yes the suggestions for the personalized books! My daughter requested that after her first child had received some. Of course if the name is a common one, there are books already with those names, but our grands have pretty unusual names (especially #3) so might have to just order one where they plop the name in (and ask gender, if you have a preference for theme etc).

I love love this blanket (all colorways, I could use a girl gift too). But it is curbside only but not avail anywhere!

https://www.potterybarnkids.com/products/fuzzy-animal-baby-blankets/

Have you seen anything like it?

@mtnrdredux_gw, DD told me I had sent the wrong link for the bunny. The kiddos have the Jelly Cat bunnies. DD’s absolutely loves them. She throws them in the washer and then into the dryer, although I notice the care instructions tell you not to machine wash and dry. They are soooo soft, too. This is the style they have.

Mtn, I forgot that the suggestion for the boden cashmere sweater came from you! (I should be posting on the senior moments thread, lol.) It was a fabulous idea and so perfect for the recipients. I'm following along as their second child is due in a few weeks. I love Pottery Barn kids blankets and got one for my niece for a baby shower gift. It didn't have animals (unfortunately) but was a classic blue pattern. Funny aside, her last name is "Fox" and she beseeched everyone to please NOT get anything with a fox on it. Evidently, she was getting tons. Glad she said something as I probably would have looked for a fox theme.