We celebrate a lot of things in life. More than just the usual festivities like Christmas, Halloween or Valentine’s Day, there are other events that require the grandest of feasts and merry making. One of these events is the baby shower. Mothers-to-be gather friends and family to celebrate the newest member of the family.

As the invited, we bring gifts to the mothers as a show of support and to share with their happiness. However, thinking about what gift to give is always such a challenge, some of us cannot even think of proper gifts to give during the holidays, what more a baby that has not been born yet. You can choose to buy flowers for the new born baby and have it arranged in a unique way using different sizes and shades of colour.

But what else can you bring to the table? Remember that the mom already has some of the basics covered like shoes and clothes. Here we will list down a few suggestions, something you can consider while you are shopping for baby shower gifts.

Pacifier that closes when dropped

As babies grow older, they become really talkative. They might not be saying anything intelligible, but they are always telling you something. Not only that, they always pick up random objects they want to put in their mouths. For this reason, their pacifiers always drop to the floor, and mom have to wash them in warm water all the time. To save them from this problem, why not give them a pacifier that closes when it is dropped to the floor?

RaZbaby’s Keep-it-Kleen Pacifiers does just that. It closes on the nipple like a shell when babies drop it, effectively protecting from germs and bacteria. More than that, you are helping your friend with one less trouble to think about.

Baby leash to keep them from getting lost

Pretty sure it is almost virtually impossible for your friend’s kid to get lost, she will be watching them like a hawk. But just in case they need the extra help, especially when going grocery shopping, a baby leash helps keep the kids in tow. You do not need to buy the ordinary baby leash, you can get the ones with a bag at the end so they can wear as normal. It comes in different patterns or animal designs, so your kids will not feel like they are being tethered.

Colourful onesies

We did say clothes are already covered by the mom, but colourful onesies are too cute to pass up. You can get them in different patterns and designs so that the baby can look hip and cool in the stroller. The best part about onesies is you can always order them from artists and not get the generic onesies being sold in stores. For instance, you can go to online stores like Etsy, a website that offers handmade and unique crafts. Order as much as you can for a price that worth seeing the baby in adorable, one-of-a-kind apparel.

Portable fabric high chair

One of the things your friends is going to have trouble with is finding a restaurant she likes to go to that has high chairs. Because let’s face it, not all restaurants offer high chairs. Make it easy for the mom to bring her baby with her with a portable fabric high chair.

The Portable Easy Seat by Cozy Cover is a fabric you can fasten around your baby and on normal chairs. They can easily bring this seat cover and not worry about where she can go to for a bite to eat.

No picture can compare to a mother happily awaiting the birth of their baby. Make it extra special with unique gift finds, ones that will make her life convenient and will keep the baby safe and healthy.

There are many new experiences that your child might either really enjoy or they could struggle to cope with something quite challenging to a young brain like flying, unless you prepare them for the journey beforehand.

According to a survey by bottonline.co.uk, many airlines are failing to provide an acceptable level of customer service when handling issues like delayed flights, but at least you can do your bit as a parent, and give them a positive first-flight experience.

Improve your odds of a good reaction

You will know how the natural pattern of your child’s day evolves, with some kids more receptive and alert in the morning, while others might be better after being allowed to wake up slowly and improve throughout the day.

A good idea to improve the odds of your child’s first flight going well, would be to try and find a flight schedule that fits in well with their natural routine, so if they are not a morning sort of person, it might not be a great idea to book a flight first thing in the day.

You could try booking a flight that is in line with their usual nap time if they are younger and still sleep in the day at some point, or at least work out when would be a good time so that they are most receptive to their first flight experience.

Talk about what lies ahead

It is always a good strategy to prepare your child for their first flight by arranging to talk about what to expect and what they might feel like at various stages of the journey.

There are some good books available that are aimed at educating and entertaining children at the same time, which talk about going on an aeroplane and what to expect from a child’s perspective.

Sit down and go through your chosen book with them or find some other way to educate them, so that they can see what the aeroplane will look like and ask any questions that they might have.

Providing comfort

Many children have a favourite toy or comforter that they like to take with them, so first on your list when packing for the intended flight would be to make sure they have something very familiar with them to help if they feel anxious or even scared at the prospect of flying.

As you will probably already know as a parent, losing their favourite item will normally involve a combination of tears and maybe even tantrums, which is not something you want when trying to ensure that their first flying experience goes well.

Pain management

Some kids don’t cope very well with flight conditions, no matter how excited they are about the prospect of flying through the air amongst the clouds, they might need a bit of medical help to keep them calm and feeling well.

Kids ears can be particularly sensitive to changes in air-pressure, which is what they may well feel when the plane is taking off or landing. Giving them a suitable sweet to suck can often do the trick, but you might want to check whether you can take some liquid paracetamol or something suitable to alleviate any pain or discomfort they might be feeling.

The main thing to concentrate on is to talk about flying in an aeroplane in a positive way and to prepare them in the right way, so that they can cope and go on to become seasoned flyers.

Carl Simmons world recently turned upside down with the arrival of his first child. Suddenly he is the parent with the crying baby on the busy flight, and the one with the toddler having a meltdown at the store! He writes about parenting from a Dad’s perspective.

Summer vacation is finally here, and this can leave you in despair with a house full of bored kids. It’s indeed true that the school break can strike fear in the hearts of many parents. Two months without any routine or any organised and structured activities can leave you feeling lost. But it doesn’t have to be this way. If you want to survive for the school break, you will have to keep your head on your shoulders. So you better go with the flow and enjoy the day without any strict routines with your children.

During the school break, not everything has to be organised or scheduled according to a plan. The school holidays have been created to give the kids some down time and a well-deserved break from their school routine. So it’s better to take each day as it comes while the kids are at home and be creative to keep them busy.

Why not take the kids out to the zoo? They will most certainly enjoy watching all these animals in real instead of watching them as cartoons on T.V. Visiting a zoo can take a whole day and needs a lot of walking. And by the time you get back home, the kids would just be asking for a nap. Well, this can be your holiday when all the kids are napping. That’s the perfect time for you to take a break and play your favourite game of bingo at Lucky Pants Bingo with your bingo mates. Perhaps, they might give you some advices too on how to manage the kids during the long summer break.

If it’s raining outside and the kids are getting bored at home, then it’s time to bring out all the board games such as Monopoly, Ludo, along with the jigsaw puzzles, Lego, and DVDs. These gaming activities will certainly be fun for them and keep their mind busy for a while. You can even plan an impromptu camping in the lounge for the kids where they can build their own tent with cardboard boxes and play inside.

And if it’s a sunny day, a change of scene is what can work wonders for your kids and yourself. You can walk or ride to your local park, where you can have a nice family picnic. And why not let the children prepare the sandwiches before you leave. They will certainly love being in control of the kitchen, while you will have to keep an eye on them. Some fresh air and some exercise at the park will really make the day fulfilling.

You can also enjoy the school break with your kids by opting to go and watch a great musical show. These normally captivate both parents and kids with the spectacular décor and performance of the artists. You too will feel like a kid after watching musical shows like ‘Charlie and the Chocolate’ or ‘The Lion King’.

There so many other inexpensive activities that you can plan for your kids such as baking, backyard sports, hiking, camping, holiday activities at the library, etc.