It’s time for one more little gift round up, and today it is the parent edition… Some of these are gifts on my wishlist, some are gifts we received that we either desperately wanted or didn’t even realize we would love and have become family favorites, but if you have a parent of young kids in your life, here are some suggestions for holiday gifts they’d probably appreciate…

*A coffee thermos that keeps drinks hot… for a LONG time… (and also a water bottle that stays cold for a while if you want to think ahead to summer months!) add in a card that even if this is a to-go mug they should use it at home because every parent I know ends up with hot beverages that have gone cold or cold beverages that have gone sadly room temperature as they chase after their kids…

*Anything that encourages sleep for them or their children or both. When we were putting together our registry, I felt guilty for wanting a baby swing that seemed like way too much money… but when it was the only place 2 of my kids would reliably sleep (I know, sleep crutch… judge away! I sleep so little that I am pro-ANYTHING that gets me an extra hour of quiet)… it was worth its weight in gold. You kind of have to know the parents well to pull this one off but here are a few suggestions that would help both parents and babies/young kids: A white noise machine, black out curtains (SERIOUSLY a game changer!), twilight turtle (ok, this is not technically something that helps anyone sleep, but it is one of our favorite things and makes bedtime a lot easier!) and for the anxious adult in your life, I have heard amazing things about weighted blankets (do NOT use this one for babies…. safe sleep please!).

*Sponsor a date night. My husband and I love love LOVE getting gift cards to our favorite restaurants so we don’t have to stress about budgeting for date night. For us, that includes our local favorites Pizzeria Bianco (seriously the BEST pizza and we are proud to have them as a Phoenix specialty!),and  Scramble are two that are still open for business despite the blows from the pandemic, and for smaller chains that are still a bit more unique we love Flower Child, Postinos, and Snooze! (Bonus points if you are in their pandemic bubble, or if you are in the future and reading this when we are out of COVID times, and you add in babysitting…)

*Everyday essentials- You can truly never go wrong helping out with diapers, groceries/grocery store gift certificate, instacart membership, a stockpile of magic erasers (maybe not for parents of babies but as soon as kids get mobile its like you always need more of them…) anything that takes an errand off their plate.

*As always, I am obsessed with Cultivate What Matters products, and aside from the awesomeness of powersheets, I think any parent could use the daily planner notepad (to focus their days, especially while still navigating distance learning or working from home) and joyful greeting cards (again, to cut out another errand- beautiful cards for everything from thank you cards to birthday cards to sympathy cards!)

*Upgrade their recreation time: Some of my favorite gifts as a parent are ones that require no clean up. So digital gifts like Disney+, Spotify premium, Marco Polo plus, other any other app upgrade are instant wins. 

*Picture prints/photo shoot: Shortly after our newest addition was born, I was gifted her professional in the hospital pictures by a dear friend. I wanted to cry it meant so much to me. Pictures are truly some of the best gifts you can give a young family. Especially if they have more than one little they are trying to wrangle- it is like a MIRACLE to somehow get pictures with everyone. And even if you get them, taking the time to print them can seem crazy overwhelming.

Anything that tells them they are doing a good job. seriously. personalized wine  glasses or coffee mugs (I happen to make those if any local friends want to chat about that!), handwritten notes, t-shirts, daily text messages… I may be biased because words of affirmation = totally my love language, but I don’t know a single parent that doesn’t need some encouragement, which is really what all these gifts are doing in one way or another!

That wraps up my gift suggestions for this year! It’s almost time to start wrapping up 2020 and thinking about themes for next year 🙂 

WE ARE A PARTICIPANT IN THE AMAZON SERVICES LLC ASSOCIATES PROGRAM, AN AFFILIATE ADVERTISING PROGRAM DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A MEANS FOR US TO EARN FEES BY LINKING TO AMAZON.COM AND AFFILIATED SITES.

THIS POST CONTAINS AFFILIATE LINKS, SO IF YOU BUY A PRODUCT THROUGH THAT LINK, I GET A SMALL PERCENTAGE. HOWEVER, THIS DOES NOT CHANGE THE PRICE FOR YOU, SO WINS ALL THE WAY AROUND! I HAVE NOT BEEN PAID OR RECEIVED ANY COMPENSATION TO WRITE THIS POST AND THE VIEWS IN IT ARE 100% MINE. TO PUT IT SIMPLY: I JUST LOVE THIS COMPANY AND WANT TO SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD.