Reckon we'll collect around 60quid for it

A sympathy card

It really depends on the colleague. But cash is always nice to have(regardless how tacky it may feel) so that they can get what they want/need. Babies grow very quickly and your colleague might be drowning in handmedowns (this goes for toys/clothing/certain accessories).

Booze and caffeine.

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish - helped me a lot, still does when I have the presence of mind to communicate effectively. I didn't spend a lot of time around kids until I had one, so a lot of this stuff didn't come naturally to me.

That and The Book With No Pictures by BJ Novak. Really fun way to get a kid to be able to enjoy books without the comfort of art on every page. And the first years are the most crucial with regard to being read to.

3 hrs worth of a professional home cleaning service.

Earplugs, they have nice ones made for concerts that reduce dB levels instead of just cutting all sound, could be handy

I wanna just throw my support behind this one, if there's a local service that does gift cards (and maybe even cleans dishes) this is an amazing option for new parents.

Depending on how close you are, a cheeky gift of prophylactics might get a smirk, but yeah, pretty much anything that offsets/diminishes the daily function task load would be a godsend. Laundry, tidying, sleep, meal prep, etc. 🖖🏼

Hard to say because for every useful suggestion, there's a chance somebody else has already bought it. Some things I'd have found useful - a nappy changing setup, with plenty of nappies and wipes and cream and maybe a changing mat. Sleeping bags. Boring clothes (vests, onesies). Professional cleaner. Takeaway voucher. If you can check what they already have that would help. Or if all else fails, get nappies and wipes.

The one certain piece of advice I can give is DON'T BUY TOYS.

So many toys...

vouching for "the book with no pictures", but maybe when they are 3-4 yo.

That's when they'll get the most out of it, but babies need to be read to. It helps them a lot, can't be overstated. Take it from me, my kid has severe ADHD but he's a stronger reader than most of his classmates.

When my brother had his first child, we spent a Sunday cooking up a load of meals, portioning them up into those foil takeaway containers (cheap on eBay) and freezing them and then gave them those.

They said they were a god send, it meant that they didn't have to think about preparing dinners whilst they were coping with the new born.

This is the best answer. Sixty quid in a card is much better than any items to the same value

Diapers. Lots of them.

Ahhhh I was gonna get a personalised teddy bear as part of the present. Good tips there thanks

ah I'm not disputing that! By all means read to them. I'm just saying that when they are babies and toddlers imho it's better something with some pictures. I think it makes more fun to them as they learn to point to things as well.

There's definitely going to be some of that, because that's pretty much the received wisdom according to every publisher. I'm just here to say not all of them should be picture-based. If all of them are, that teaches kids that less pictures equals harder and less fun. I'm going to bat for straight up textual matter.

I never said the kid should only have one book, after all!

Maybe I'm being too much of a downer. My wife loves the mountain of teddies. She's not the one who has to find somewhere to store them all though...

That's a really good idea thanks 😊

No i think you're right play it safe and don't get them yet another toy