Gift For Li'l Landlord?

February 7, 2007 10:20 AM

What's an appropriate (but fun) baby gift to give our landlord?

Our landlord lives on the ground floor of our building, and has treated us well. His wife gave birth to their first baby last weekend (a girl one), and we'd like to drop something off to congratulate them.

I don't know much about them. He's a successful musician, she's... I don't know, a new mother for now. They seem young and fun as far as landlords go. I don't want to give them anything too personal or obnoxious, as we're not trying to become their buddies, but I'd also like to avoid something too stiff and formal. And cheap is probably best, I don't want them to think we have tons of extra income lying around just begging for our rent to be increased... say $20-$30? What etiquette should I follow in giving them a gift?

Also since they are landlords in NYC, chances are they have tons of money (and friends or family with tons of money) compared to us, and can buy baby anything they think she needs. So I'm looking for ideas that are primarily thoughtful over practical (unless someone's got the scoop on some neat thingamajig that it's unlikely they'll have heard of).

I prefer things I can go get somewhere in the next 24 hours, rather than stuff we'd have to order, but I'll consider anything.

Thank you!

posted by hermitosis to Shopping (30 answers total)

Can you cook? A big batch of something (mac and cheese, lasagne, pot roast) that they can heat up and eat whenever they have a moment was the best thing we got in the first few weeks of new parenthood.
posted by Wolfie at 10:28 AM on February 7, 2007

Making a mixed CD of lullabys or other soothing music for late night feedings might be nice, cheap, but still thoughtful.
posted by garbo at 10:28 AM on February 7, 2007

My favorite baby gift is some of my favorite picture books from my own childhood/ babysitting days. It's personal, in that it reflects my taste, but not personal in an inappropriate way. And there are bookstores all over the place.
posted by craichead at 10:29 AM on February 7, 2007

Since you don't really know what they want or need, and since you're not wanting to become buddies, why not just give them a nice card congratulating them and wishing them well.
posted by amyms at 10:29 AM on February 7, 2007

ikkyu2 once advised me that everyone loves baby hats.

It's true. I had no interest in shopping for anything baby-related until I started looking at baby hats. They're hats! For babies! So tiny! So cute! You can turn the baby into a frog! Or a pumpkin! Or a teeny tiny elf!

They're functional, I would assume, though I really do think of them as purely decorative. Nordstrom used to have a huge collection online, though I'm having trouble finding it, but I'd imagine any big department store should have (cute! teeny! tiny!) hats.
posted by occhiblu at 10:31 AM on February 7, 2007

All wee little babies need clothes ($10 at Babies R Us) and diapers (although they could be doing cloth...). Oh, and blankets, since it's freakin COLD!
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:33 AM on February 7, 2007 [1 favorite]

As a new parent, I say burp cloths. LOTS of them. The damn things always seem to go missing, and you cannot possibly have too many of them.

Books and food are also great suggestions.
posted by crazycanuck at 10:44 AM on February 7, 2007

Are they baseball fans? How about a Yankees baby bib? If not into sports, a funky bib will be well appreciated by the parents.
posted by jaimev at 10:47 AM on February 7, 2007

Oh, and from what I can tell, pretty much all new parents register at Babies R Us. You'd have to know their names to look them up (don't laugh; at my last apartment, I didn't know my landlord's name), but this could provide a guide on what they still need/want.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:48 AM on February 7, 2007 [1 favorite]

Well, for what it's worth, our landlord in Austin with a brand new baby asked to borrow my copy of The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year when he saw that I owned a copy. That might be right up your landlord's alley.
posted by zek at 10:57 AM on February 7, 2007

Yes, favorite board books (or favorite picture books in board book form). Babies can start looking at black and white board books at just a few months. And board books of all colors are always good for chewing and drooling on!

Also, for something that's technically functional, but mostly fun, take a look at uncommongoods.com. I love this snappy suit that says "I can't read." Hilariously obvious! And they have lots of other stuff, too.
posted by lampoil at 11:01 AM on February 7, 2007

Everything's fraught with peril here, I think. One couple told me absolutely no hats with ears, crowns, etc.

I'm pregnant, and frightened by:

-- artificial-fibre baby clothes
-- baby items with advertising printed right on (even diapers, now)
-- people making food for me; I'm fussy

Nthing books, then. You can't have too many, but throw in a gift receipt in an envelope in case it's a duplicate -- or a gift certificate with no expiry date to a good children's bookstore would be nice.

But I liked a reversible hat that had a dog's ears and face on one side, and an embroidered cat with 'go cat go' on the other...
posted by kmennie at 11:01 AM on February 7, 2007

Another New Dad here--
How about a digital indoor room thermometer for their nursery?
It's frosty in Manhattan these days, and speaking from experience, you don't want the room too cold OR too hot.
About $25 USD at most upscale hardware stores...
posted by Dizzy at 11:08 AM on February 7, 2007

I suggest you get them something they can return if they don't like it, rather than something 'unique'. Maybe you can see if they are registered at any of the big names like Babies R Us, Target, or Amazon, and get them something off their registry. You can do that all online.
If you can't find a registry, get them a Halo Sleepsack and a handwrittten card. It'll be sure to fit, and they'll appreciate the gesture.
posted by Sprout the Vulgarian at 11:17 AM on February 7, 2007

I think fortune tees make a fantastic and fun baby gift, but you'll probably have to order it instead of finding it locally.
posted by necessitas at 11:20 AM on February 7, 2007

I'll second occhiblu's advice about baby hats. When I was pregnant, I never thought to buy baby hats, so all we had hatwise when we brought him home from the hospital was the one they gave him there (a hand-knit one which wouldn't stay on his head) and a couple that we had received with blanket sets as gifts. They weren't really fancy animal heads or anything, just little cotton ones. I never felt like I had enough of them; we kept his head covered constantly to ward off the chill, so not only were they functional, but they had the wonderful side effect of increasing his already massive cuteness quotient by tenfold.
posted by Dr. Zira at 11:28 AM on February 7, 2007

Glarkware also has baby things, if you're looking for funky edgy-ish stuff. (Online rather than in-person buying, though.)
posted by occhiblu at 11:36 AM on February 7, 2007

Best answer: My favorite gift for each of my three children was a handmade hooded towel. They are super simple and inexpensive to make. Most of all, they are so useful. (You can find other instructions and patterns online)
posted by Sassyfras at 11:52 AM on February 7, 2007

I got this book for a friend who recently had a baby, and she thought it was hilarious and useful. I haven't seen it myself yet, but it seems like a fun, cheap and impersonal (in a good way) gift.
posted by sa3z at 11:57 AM on February 7, 2007

Pacifier/stuffed animal combo. Solves problem of dropped, lost pacifiers. These 2 cute frogs cost $25.

Good luck!
posted by onlyconnect at 12:05 PM on February 7, 2007

I usually go the big ol' pack of diapers route when it's only an acquaintance. Lord knows they'll use them. Also, clothes that are a size too big. Everyone gives newborn sizes at showers, etc. Which is nice and all, but babies grow, and some of them grow fast.
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 12:05 PM on February 7, 2007

Maybe you can just give them your rent? Maybe you can draw a picture of a baby in the Memo section. I've been on friendly terms with all my landlords, but I will never understand why anyone would want to give them a gift.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 12:34 PM on February 7, 2007

Start the kid early on building maintenance projects. Get her a soft tool set.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 12:38 PM on February 7, 2007

Toys R Us gift certificate. They sell diapers.
posted by ilsa at 1:33 PM on February 7, 2007

Baby gifts are easy, and good on you for getting them a little something. You can't go wrong with a nice simple onesie, a pack of burp cloths, a cute hat, a little rattley toy that she'll grow into, squirty bath toys, etc etc. None of these is too personal. Just go to a neighborhood baby store and you will have more appropriate, cute options than you can shake a stick at.
posted by LobsterMitten at 2:43 PM on February 7, 2007

Nikki McClure's first 1000 days baby journal is lovely and inexpensive. You could also get them a $20 Baby Gap gift card, which would buy a few pairs of socks and such.
posted by judith at 7:54 PM on February 7, 2007

You're in NYC? Screw Toys R Us - get them an FAO gift certificate. Geez.

My son is 7 months old and here's my advice: don't get clothes. We got tons of clothes, and most of them went unused (or were worn only once or twice).

I do recommend:
+ Books. Specifically a really nice, hardcover edition of a "classic" book - for a girl baby something like Alice or The Wizard of Oz or Little House or Pooh or some such thing. Not a softcover, and not a board book, but big sturdy hardcover book. Inscribe it inside the front cover with something like "For Baby Name. Welcome to the world!" and your name and the baby's birth date.

+ The hooded towel thing is a good idea. We were given some very, very simple handmade quilts (basically cotton fabric on one side, stitched to Terrycloth on the other), and we use them every. single. day.

+ Its true that everyone loves baby hats. Socks, too. And socks are really necessary when its cold out. Not many people think of socks, and there are cute ones out there. Oh! and for cold weather we love baby legs.
posted by anastasiav at 8:02 PM on February 7, 2007

Since they can afford anything essential, get them something fun. Everyone raves about these socks that we were given for our daughter. We would never have spent $25 on a box of 6 pairs of socks for ourselves, but I love that someone else did. The fake mary janes are freaking adorable.
posted by purenitrous at 9:35 PM on February 7, 2007

My standered baby gift is 2 large bags of diapers and baby coat hangers.

All the cute little clothes don't fit on big peoples hangers.
posted by JujuB at 10:14 PM on February 7, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks everyone, more good ideas here than I could ever afford (or would ever waste on a landlord!). This thread will come in handy for a long time, I think.

I decided to make the hooded bath towel-- I'm a crafty person, it's cheap, looks cute, and I actually finished it last night-- though I'm going to find some cute patches to put on it before I give it to them. It's a little big for a newborn but I can imagine it coming in handy for years if they like it.

On preview, purenitrous, those Tippytoes socks are the most adorable ever. I wish they made them in mens sizes, I would totally creep out my roommates by wearing no-skid faux maryjanes around the house.
posted by hermitosis at 7:29 AM on February 8, 2007