New parents receive plenty of advice. Family, friends, neighbors, doctors, and yes, complete strangers all have their opinions on parenting newborn babies, whether you asked for advice or not.
At I See Me, we believe one piece of advice is absolutely indispensable: enjoy your new baby. Those first few months of life are precious, so experience them to their fullest. They also don’t last long—before you know it the little one’s already six months old, then a year, then five, then off to college for the first time and you’re so proud and scared for her and . . . .
. . . They grow up quickly is what we’re saying, so take every opportunity to create keepsakes from this special time. We’d like to suggest three keepsake gifts for babies we think parents—and children—will cherish for a lifetime.
Keepsake Shadow Boxes
Shadow boxes make wonderful keepsake gifts for babies, and they’re so much fun to make. Available in craft stores, shadow boxes are usually 12×12 inches, so you can secure a piece of scrapbook paper to the backing easily. Possible items to include in the shadowbox include:
- A newborn photo
- A wood letter symbolizing the baby’s first name
- Birth announcements
- Hospital ID bracelets
- Small toys
- The clothing, booties, or hat baby wore home from the hospital.
Most of these items can be secured to the backing with push pins, or arranged so they won’t move about when the box is hung on the wall.
Personalized Books
Written and illustrated by award-wining artists and authors, personalized books make unique and unforgettable keepsake gifts for babies. Debra Frasier’s personalized book On the Day You Were Born, for instance, is a delightful story in which the animals and natural wonders of the earth welcome the new baby. Parents and child alike will adore the book, which inserts the child’s name into Frasier’s lyrical poem.
First-Year Scrapbooks
Most families have a treasure trove of photos from baby’s first year of life, so why not start a scrapbook? Not only is scrapbooking a fun hobby with an ever-growing supply of page designs, stickers, and designs, it’s a way to preserve your best photos for the future. Children love seeing themselves in photos, and scrapbooks offer a chance to share the story of those magical first months with kids as they grow up.
