Whether you're a busy working parent or a non-parent, it's not easy to choose a gift for babies. If it's for a co-worker's, casual acquaintance or neighbor's baby, you'd like to keep within a budget, perhaps something useful and practical. On the other hand, if the gift is for the baby of a family member or a very close friend, then you really want to give something valuable, expensive, memorable, unique and beautifully packaged, as an indication of how much you value the relationship.

Choosing presents for babies needs some planning and you must also give a thought to how old the child is, what kind of life-style the parents have, whether there are any special health issues that you need to look out for, like allergies etc and also keep in mind that children grow really fast and before you know it, the baby could simply outgrow your expensive gift!

Before you set out on your shopping expedition, it's a good idea to check whether the baby's parents have registered for gifts at one of the big baby-products shops in town. If they have then you can go through the registry list of things that the parents have indicated they would like and purchase one of the gifts listed there based on your budget.

Another thing to keep in mind is the age of the baby. If it's a newborn you're buying for, then remember that within a matter of months, the baby will be turning over, rolling, crawling, sitting up etc. so you can get something that is a little ahead in age. For older children educational toys, gift-vouchers, registering the baby and mother/father in a parent-baby dance, cooking, art or music class is a gift that will be welcomed by stressed-out new parents.   

Other gifting ideas include a combination of items put together to make an attractive gift-hamper – this would include toys, apparel, bibs and blankets, towels, caps, mittens and socks, mobiles to hang over the crib, rattles, soft toys and cloth books and comforters. Depending on how much you want to spend, these items can range from inexpensive to luxury, locally made to branded, one-of-a-kind bespoke silver gifts like rattles and spoons and drinking cups or with special emphasis on organic, non-allergenic, child-safe materials.

Buying knowledge or early learning products like baby books, colorful stacking or pulling toys, musical toys and mobiles, teething rings and pretty accessories for baby's room and crib, strollers and prams for the new mother's convenience, music DVDs to stimulate baby's growing brain or even baby-food recipe books and child-development books and informative DVDs for the parents are good gifts to give and receive.

You can choose on-line gifts which can be delivered on special occasions or you can purchase them from your local baby-products stores, depending on age, budget and your own unique gifting style.