10 Perfect Hanukkah Gifts For The New Parent
Image by Michelle Honig
If there were ever a group of people deserving of gifts during Hanukkah, it would be the new parent in your life. Bringing a baby into this world is hard work. And what better way to celebrate the miracle of the victory of the weak over the strong than with the miracle of life — where the weak (i.e. the baby) is victorious over the strong (i.e. the parents). Right?
1) Baby Björn Baby Carrier
Image by Amazon.com
The Cadillac of baby carriers, the Baby Bjorn is ergonomically designed for supreme comfort — ideal when you have to juggle all that stuff (i.e a carseat, a stroller and a diaper bag, a favorite toy whose absence could cause a full-blown meltdown of nuclear proportions) you suddenly are required to shlep anywhere you could possibly need to go.
Baby Björn Baby Carrier, $169.99, amazon.com
2) Eye cream
Image by Sephora.com
If the experience of becoming new parents could be condensed into a single word, it would be exhaustion. The sleepless nights, the guessing games of what-could-this-child-possibly-need-now?!, the inability to move an inch because the baby has decided that new parent’s shoulder is the perfect place to shluff (snooze) — all of that leads to disheveled clothes, hair resembling a bird’s nest after it was hit by a hurricane, and dark circles so deep it’s as if McGregor took a right hook to the ocular organ. Lucky for you, this eye cream from Ole Henriksen is packed with dark circle-blasting Vitamin C, puffy-eye fighting collagen and a yellow-toned “banana powder” that instantly camouflages.
Ole Henriksen Banana Bright Eye Cream, $38, sephora.com
3) Silk eye mask
Image by nordstrom.com
But sometimes baby falls asleep! In his or her own crib! To celebrate this miracle, new parent will want to fall into a deep slumber of his or her own. Make that experience extra luxurious with this silk eye mask from Slipsilk that both blocks out light and is gentle to the delicate skin around the eye.
Slipsilk Pure Silk Sleep Mask, $50, shop.Nordstrom.com
4) Baby Shusher
Image by Amazon.com
In order to get to that magical place where luxuriating in silk eye masks becomes a reality, give new parent a boost in the form of this Baby Shusher, which has a recording of a person making a shushing sound on repeat.
Baby Shusher Sleep Miracle Soother, $34.99, amazon.com
5) Go The F**k To Sleep Book
Image by barnesandnoble.com
When all else fails, and that colicky baby just won’t stop screaming, the new parent can always hide in their room and find comfort in this adult (the book is rated R for near-constant use of the “F” word) bedtime story. The sing-song rhyme and the acknowledgement that all babies are irrational about sleep will soothe any new parent. Bonus: The author is Jewish.
_’Go The F**ck To Sleep’ book, $13.19 (hardcover), barnesandnoble.com_
6) Nursing-friendly pajamas
Image by shop.nordstrom.com
After a woman goes through the exhausting, body-transforming process of pushing a baby out of her womb, the new mother will often find it incredibly difficult to look or feel cute, let alone chic. Luckily, that new mom has you as a friend, who will buy her this incredibly chic and nursing-friendly pajama set from Cosabella. So that even when she’s too tired to wear normal clothes, she’ll still look fabulous. The best part? It even has a cheeky, “Let Me Sleep” slogan on the back.
Cosabella ‘Let Me Sleep’ Maternity/Nursing Pajamas and Robe Set, $175, shop.nordstrom.com
7) Baby Brezza Formula Bottle Maker
Image by target.com
If the baby is formula-fed, the process to make a bottle can be such a drag, and can often lead to a glorious mess (for some reason, the powder finds its way onto literally everything). This Baby Brezza makes feeding baby a breeze — not only is it the perfect consistency every time (no clumps!), it even heats it to the perfect temperature.
Baby Brezza Formula Pro One-Step Bottle Maker, $179.99, target.com
8) Portachair Harness
Image by UncommonGoods.com
When a new parent decides to brave the big bad world of taking their child to a restaurant, equip him or her with this Portachair Harness. Not all restaurants have highchairs stocked, and even the ones that do, the highchairs are often uncomfortable with an ineffective harness (squirming baby will somehow find a way out of his or her restraints and onto the dirty floor where chaos will ensue). This portable harness does the trick, giving new parents the ability to enjoy eating a meal out, almost as much as they did before their bundle of joy arrived.
Portachair Harness, $49.50, uncommongoods.com
9) Baby Brezza Bottle Sterilizer
Image by Amazon.com
There’s nothing worse than having to wash baby bottles — the stress of having to make sure every crevice has been scrubbed, the worry over the bottle getting moldy, the overwhelmed feeling that hits as a new parent eyes the overflowing sink. That’s why this bottle sterilizer is such a life-and-time-saver. Just rinse the bottle, pop into the chamber, and done — perfectly clean bottles every time. It even DRIES them for you. Minimal work = perfect gift for a new parent.
Baby Brezza Baby Bottle Sterilizer and Dryer, $99.99, amazon.com
10) Lamb Baby Towel
Image by potterybarnkids.com
Nothing melts away the exhaustion from near-constant sleepless nights as seeing a freshly bathed baby swaddled in a plush terrycloth towel. For approximately 2 minutes, that crying and screaming baby becomes snuggly and perfect, reminding new parents why they had the child in the first place. This lamb hooded “wrap” from Monique Lhuillier by way of Pottery Barn (that can also be personalized) is beyond precious, and, warning: may cause new parent to emit weird coos and high-pitched “awws”.
Pottery Barn Kids x Monique Lhuillier Lamb Nursery Wrap, $39.50 (personalization available for additional charge), potterybarnkids.com
Michelle Honig is the style writer at the Forward. Contact her at honig@forward.com and Twitter.
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