What should I buy my new-mom best friend in Canada, from here in the US?
February 21, 2014 4:28 PM   Subscribe

My best friend had a baby this morning! Only she lives in British Columbia, and I'm in Missouri.

There have been several good threads on new-parent gifts, but the most tempting suggestions (home-cooked meals, Amazon Prime) don't work that well for our situation. Her family and I are already conspiring on meal delivery and cleaning services, so those are covered.

Any other suggestions on great gifts for my favorite two (now three) people in the world? I'm fine with shipping things from the U.S. I'm particularly interested in long-game suggestions --- things I can surprise them with months down the road, after all the new-baby excitement has worn off a bit.

Budget is pretty much anywhere in the three-digit range.
posted by slenderloris to Shopping (4 answers total)
 
A tablet. I'm using mine while breastfeeding my 3 week old as we speak.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 4:46 PM on February 21, 2014 [2 favorites]


I would have loved a collection of classic children's books to start Baby's Library: Dr. Seuss, Robert Munsch, Goodnight Moon, Pat the Bunny. Eventually we bought them, but they're pricey to get all at once. Apart from amazon.com, there's amazon.ca and Chapters-Indigo, a Canadian store. Chapters also has a baby gift section that could give you some ideas, and if for some reason you select a gift they already have or would like to exchange, it can be done at any Chapters-Indigo store.
posted by angiep at 9:50 PM on February 21, 2014


They will have a newish baby and hopefully some time off during the glorious summer months...would they appreciate an good outdoor 3-wheel stroller or a 'Chariot' type stroller/bike trailer? British Columbia has phenomenal outdoorsy things to do (even in/near the cities), and even if they are not particularly outdoorsy, with a new baby, they might enjoy getting new human out into the outside. Mountain Equipment Co-op are like the REI of British Columbia and they have mail delivery of most items. The advantage of 'Chariots' is they are great for a number of years. The downside is, they are large to store if your friends live in a small space.
posted by Northbysomewhatcrazy at 6:02 AM on February 22, 2014


Hanna Andersson has good delivery to Canada - get gender neutral organic cotton sleepers for baby's six month size. Moms love these. Robeez also has good Canadian delivery. Again, gender neutral colours but this time in 9 month size. These are hand me downs.

In the lower mainland - Stong's delivers groceries. Luxe beauty lounge offers mobile spa service - a manicure, pedicure and mini-facial in your home for $110. I recommend both highly.

Instead of a bike trailer, a better option might be to buy a push tricycle in a year. Mastermind toys is a well known higher end Canadian toy retailer. They have Kettler trikes, which we loved. I haven't shopped online at Mastermind but they are a good retailer.
posted by crazycanuck at 6:41 AM on February 22, 2014


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