Gifts for Parents: Christmas Ideas and Presents for New Parents

"We don't need anything." You probably hear that from your parents every year, and it doesn't help one bit. Anyone looking for a gift for parents is usually in one of two situations: your own parents already have everything, or friends have just become parents and are short of one thing above all, which is time. Here are ideas that genuinely go down well in both cases.

Christmas gifts for parents who say they want nothing

"Nothing" usually means: no more things that just sit around. What almost all parents appreciate is time with their children and the feeling that someone has thought about them.

Time and shared experiences

• A day out to a place from your childhood, with lunch at the same spot as back then.
• A cooking evening where you cook for them, ideally using recipes they taught you.
• Tickets for the theatre, a concert or the football, with you as their companion.

Help they'll actually use

• Digitising photos: scan the boxes of slides and prints and give them back as a photo book or digital photo frame.
• A tech voucher: an afternoon of setting up the phone, printer and Wi-Fi, without sighing.

Small things for everyday life

If it does have to be something to unwrap, make it something that gets used daily rather than the tenth ornament. Two ideas from us:

A key holder for the hallway. Know the hunt for the car keys just before you're finally ready to leave? The magnetic key holder for €11.95 is the tidy alternative to a key rack: a small holder with a strong magnet that grips the steel key ring, even heavy bunches with a car key. It sticks without drilling to a smooth surface next to the door, such as tiles, glass, metal, painted wood or a smooth door. There's more in our guide to a key holder without drilling.

A Soapi for the guest loo. Solid soap is back in many bathrooms, and sadly so is the soap dish with its puddle. With the Soapi, a bottle cap goes halfway into the soap and the soap hangs from a magnet on the wall. It dries all the way round, and the sink stays clean. The Starter Kit for €14.95 has everything: a Soapi in the colour of your choice, a lavender soap from Marseille (100 g, handmade in Marseille) and a cleaned bottle cap. Since 2023 the Soapi has been sold in more than 250 shops, with 4.88 out of 5 stars from over 1,600 reviews. For ideas just for your mum, see Christmas gifts for Mum, and for your dad, gifts for men who have everything.

Gifts for new parents

The baby usually already has babygrows in five sizes. If you want to give new parents a real treat, give them a break:

• Home-cooked meals: three or four portions of soup, chilli or lasagne for the freezer.
• A voucher for a takeaway or a cleaner for the first few weeks.
• Time: a walk round the block with the pram so the parents get two hours to themselves, to shower, have a lie-in or do nothing at all.
• A visit with a plan: stay briefly, empty the dishwasher, leave again.

Bath time with a baby or toddler

When you're bathing a baby, you don't have a hand free. We don't recommend soap for babies and toddlers under 3. For the parents themselves, though, there's a small help: a Soapi in the shower or on the tiles above the bath keeps their own soap within reach on the wall, instead of sliding around the edge of the tub or ending up in the bath water. Important: the bottle cap is a small part and doesn't belong in the hands of children under 3. So mount the Soapi high enough that little hands can't reach it.

For the big brother or sister aged 3 and up

When a baby arrives, the older sibling can feel a little left out. A small gift of their own helps. Our children's soaps My Happy Cow, My Happy Pig and My Happy Tiger are handmade animal-shaped soaps, 100 g, for normal skin from age 3. With a Soapi stuck to the tiles at child height, hand-washing becomes their own little ritual: the cow hangs on the wall, and the big kid can reach it all by themselves.

Several gifts with Mix & Match

Gifts for parents rarely stop at one: mum, dad, the in-laws, plus friends with a new baby. With Mix & Match you choose 5 products, pay €50 and delivery in Germany is free. That's €10 per item. For example, a key holder for your parents' hallway and a Soapi with a soap from Marseille for their guest loo, plus a Soapi for the shower and a My Happy Tiger children's soap for the big sibling at your friends' house. If you're also buying for your siblings, there are ideas in gifts for your sister.

FAQ

What do you give parents who have everything?

Time, help and memories: a day out together, digitised family photos or an afternoon of tech support. If it has to be something to unwrap, choose something they'll use every day, such as a key holder for the hallway.

What can you give new parents instead of baby clothes?

A break: home-cooked meals, a takeaway voucher or a few hours of babysitting. Things for the parents themselves often go down better than the fifth cuddly toy.

The bottom line: fewer things, more time

A good gift for parents is rarely another object for the shelf. They're almost always happier with time, help and small everyday helpers they genuinely use. Whether it's a key holder for the hallway or a little set for friends with a baby, Mix & Match lets you put together 5 items for €50.