New Baby Gifts‎ and our favourite Scandinavian baby brands

stureandfolke_babyblanket
This weekend we visited friends who is celebrating the arrival of their new baby girl. She’s the new little sister to Little M’ -and the littlest Scandinavian! You might remember LittleM from some fab reviews on the blog. We were invited over and wanted to bring something for the baby. So what New Baby Gifts are there? And what to get?

As these are dear friends and we wanted to share their joy, we wanted to bring a special gift. The Sture & Folke baby blanket is exactly what we were looking for. Handmade beautiful Scandinavian design for babies in natural fabrics. It’s functional and practical and can last for years, if not generations. On that note, we thought we’d share top 10 tips for new baby gifts!

1. Ask the parents what they need.
There’s nothing wrong in asking what they already have and what they need. A quick phone call can easily reveal what essentials the baby might need. You are not supposed to know this, so no shame in asking. This way you know the present will come to good use.

2. Know the correct size
Babies are different, and not all are born as a size 50. Ask the parents what size the newborn is. If the baby is currently wearing size newborn, get size 3 months. Such a shame to outgrow the clothing barely before it’s received. And babies grow fast!

3. Think season
Bamboo and cotton for summer, merino wool for winter. Summer tops and dresses are only for the hottest months of the year wear as a cardigan can take you through seasons.

4. Buy unisex
There could be siblings, or families or friends that would have babies. If the baby clothing is unisex, preloved baby clothes could easily be handed down.

5. Handmade
There’s nothing more precious than handmade. If you master the art of knitting, a little cardigan or a baby hat would be on top of the new parents wish list. Handmade is often valued differently and would most likely, if in a timeless design and colour palette, be saved for coming generations.

6. Organic and natural materials
Newborn have sensitive and delicate skin. Choose organic and natural materials that helps temperature regulate the little baby and would be comfortable to wear, such as pure cotton, bamboo, alpaca wool and silk mix.

7. Quality, not expensive
Choose quality not designer label. A classic designer could en up being kept for the best, and so never used. Also, quality in lower priced brands could be as good. Chanel can come later in life!

8. Functional and pratical
Machine washable is a must. You may be happy to dry clean or hand wash your laundry, but don’t expect the new parents will be. Most natural materials are machine washable these days -but make sure it is!

9. Independent labels
By choosing independent labels you are more on the safe side on getting something unique, something they do not already have. Independent labels also tend to be of good quality, and it’s wonderful to be able to support local, emerging designers. You’d have to expect to pay a little bit more, but it’s a gift for a special occassion and totally worth it!

10. Don’t forget siblings
If the newborn has older siblings, bring a present for them too. It will make the siblings feel valued and as part of the celebration of the newborn. A toy is a good choice, as they can unwrap and play with it whilst you say hello to newborn, before giving them your attention again. It’s not a good thing to contribute to sibling jealousy, so make sure older siblings come first.

If you are a new parent, you might want to check out our post were we have gathered our own experience, our advice on top tip for buying baby clothing . Also, just to give you some names, our favourite labels for baby clothing includes…

Danish Poppy Rose
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Danish Noa Noa Minature
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Norwegian Memini
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Swedish label Livly Clothing
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Swedish label How to Kiss a Frog
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There are of course beautiful books too. May we recommend having a look at Floris Books for classic children’s books by Elsa Beskow and Astrid Lindgren.
But whatever you choose, a listening ear and a pair of helping hands can never be replaced by any gift in the world. Hope your friend enjoyed the arrival of her new baby and aren’t we fortunate to share in on the adventure of the new life!

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