christening gift..

want2bmortgage3

i am a god parent to a friends child and the christening is sunday, and i'm stuck for a gift. the child is a boy and is about a year old.

the family are not religious and neither am i, and also i would rather buy something that may come in useful rather than just sit in a cupboard gathering dust! eg the silver stuff that never gets used.

so any ideas? i can go in the town centre tomorrow but unsure what sort of shops to try... any advice much appreciated!

Apricot

How about a nice photo album? I bought one for my goddaughter last year from The Disney Shop - can't remember how much it was but it was white and came in a white cloth bag tied with a ribbon so I didn't even have to wrap it. My friend used that one to put all the christening photos in.

BitterAndTwisted

If the family are not religious why are they messing about with a christening and godparents? I don't get it.

Actually, the "silver stuff that never gets used" was valuable once upon a time, so was seen as an investment for the child's future. We're just a lot richer now, apparently

want2bmortgage3

I dont get it either but it is hard to refuse when someone asks if you will be god parent... photo album sounds like a good idea. what sort of money is it ok to spend i dont want to look really tight. I had a quick look on argos and saw some bangle things and cuddly bears just under a tenner.

want2bmortgage3

i am thinking a money box would be useful as he will hopefully enjoy filling it up with coins?!

BitterAndTwisted

Twenty quid in a Post Office savings account in the child's name. Think how much interest that will have earned by the time kidlet is ready to go to Uni

want2bmortgage3

thats a good idea but how would i go about opening an account for somebody else?

i was having a quick look for piggy banks and saw this one do you think 10 is enough for a gift?
http://www.johnlewis.com/Baby+and+Child/Gifts/Gifts/Money+Banks/1535/ProductCategory.aspx#&&/wEXAQUHYWpheFVybAVIU1JUL0JhYnkrXzI2K0NoaWxkL0dpZnRzL0dpZnRzL01vbmV5K0JhbmtzLzE1MzUvMS8xL1Byb2R1Y3RDYXRlZ29yeS5hc3B4I7sa+Q+MZVmZZGt0INWhJ8HLJts=

fernliebee

It is entirely down to what you can afford (I don't think you should skint yourself to buy a present for someone as it is only a token) but personally as a godparent I would prob spend nearer £20-£30 rather than £10. But like you say it should be a useful gift IMO. I would buy a nice treasury book of stories, these will last him until he is much older, and I still have all my books from when I was little to now read to my DD.

Also other ideas would be: Name a star, a photo album or lovely frame, a money box with some money in it, premium bonds or other savings, just off the top of my head.

HTH.

ginvzt

We got a music box for our godson, as we didn't want to get him a bible, cross or rosary or any other religious gifts, as we knew family would give plenty. Ok, we got a nice winnie the pooh music box for about £50, but it was the one we liked, you can get them for much less. Also, the money box was an idea, but then our godson was not even 6 months old yet, so we wanted something he could enjoy sooner rather than later...

rev229

We bought our nephew an olive tree for the garden so he could watch it grow. They can be kept in pots not that they will ever move house! But we considered other fruits.

Looby_Lou

I bought recently a wooden train set (I bought BRIO from TKMaxx). My sons have one of these and still play with it every day and the oldest is nearly 7. I just thought that the little boy would get much more enjoyment out of it than a traditional christening gift. Tesco also do a set which is compatible with BRIO but a lot less money!