Once upon a time three ‘wise’ men decided that the best presents for new dads and their family were gold, frankincense and myrrh. Whilst gold has obvious merits, the other gifts provide precious little to help a new family whose son has just been born in a stable. The frankincense could at least help mask the animal odours, but myrrh was used as an embalming oil!

It has been suggested that a wise woman would have brought a huge lasagne to feed everyone. 

So what are the best presents for new dads and their families? After all, there’s only so many baby grows a new baby can wear.

Lasagne

Okay, so it doesn’t have to be lasagne, but a home-cooked meal that just needs heating up can be a real blessing. You’re feeding mum, who in turn is feeding the baby, and neither dad nor mum have to worry about how to feed their guests (you). Of course, you need to know the dietary requirements of both dad and mum. A meat lasagne is a rubbish present for new dads if the parents are vegetarian or vegan! 

You get extra bonus points if you sort out the washing up, or take the dirty roasting tray home with you.

Our Breastfeeding for Dads book

Subtle eh? At least we didn’t have it as the first option! We might be biased, but our Breastfeeding for Dads book is a really useful present for new dads. Why? Because it was written specifically to help new dads at this critical time. 

Dads can often feel a bit lost when the baby arrives. They had a somewhat vigorous role to play in the conception, but after that it was all about mum. Now the baby has arrived, mum is the only one with the double-barrelled specialist feeding tools. However, dads can take on vital roles that make life much easier for mum and reduce her stress levels – all important issues in maintaining breastfeeding.

Our Breastfeeding for Dads book is not just a present for new dads, it’s for everyone in the new family unit. Well, maybe except for the dad jokes. They are definitely only truly appreciated by the dads!

Going easy on the advice

New parents receive a lot of advice after the baby is born. To be fair mum gets a lot of advice before the birth – not to mention all the horror birth stories from other mums – why do they do that? While we all appreciate some advice, persistent advice can become stressful.. Especially if we have researched the subject and decided to do the opposite. Remember how stress can inhibit the production of breastmilk? 

It should be the dad’s role to head off excess advice. So you can save him some stress as well. This is why going easy on the advice makes our presents for new dads list.

A babysitting voucher

Now this is obviously not going to be cashed in immediately, but it might give the parents something to look forward to. Whether this is for a Sunday afternoon walk or a meal out; a babysitting voucher can make ideal presents for new dads. You can also try ironing or cooking vouchers as these are a good way to be helpful in the house, while still getting some time with the new baby! 

Chocolate

Because… do we really need to explain it? Who doesn’t like to receive chocolate?

Obviously, the perfect presents for new dads is all five of the above!