Buying a gift for a child can be really good fun! Let your imagination run wild, and don't just think of the here and now, but the future too. A gift that they can enjoy or benefit from when they're older is always a good idea, such as jewellery, premium bonds or commemorative glasses.

You might also like to think of the parents. With all the attention focused on their new addition, sometimes it's nice to receive a gift just for them to mark the arrival of their new child - a voucher for a restaurant for example, to give them a precious evening to themselves.

If you're a bit strapped for cash, there are many other ways you can show your affection. Of course, you could get out the knitting needles and rustle up a few baby outfits, but if that's not really you, how about offering to do a week's shopping to give the new mum a helping hand? Below are a few other suggestions you might like to consider:

1. Hand or footprints cast kit
   
2. A special-edition toy (to be kept in the box)
3. Open a first bank account for the baby
4. Make a voucher offering your services for a weekend's babysitting
5. Name a star after the baby
6. Treat the parents to a nice bottle of wine or a relaxation kit, including bath bombs, soaps, massage oils etc
7. A month's supply of nappies
8. A teddy bear
9. A hand-made photo album to capture those first few moments
10. Fish for the child's bedroom - it'll keep them quiet for ages!
11. Cook and freeze a week's worth of dinners that you know the new parents like. They can defrost these whilst trying to get back on their feet
12. A bottle of bubbly and two engraved mum and dad glasses
13. A baby sleep monitor
14. A hand-made patchwork quilt for the baby. (If you can't afford to buy lots of different materials why not use old clothes?)
15. The complete works of Winnie the Pooh/Peter Rabbit/Alice in Wonderland etc.
16. A hand-made mobile
17. A china money box
18. A Saint Christopher
19. Plant a tree
20. Make up a new baby kit, including nappies, vests, a baby grow, soft toy, book, mobile