The birth of a baby is just about the most wondrous thing that occurs in anyone's life. It doesn't matter whether the baby is your son or daughter, your niece or nephew, your cousin, or your granddaughter or grandson. A new baby in the family is truly a gift, a gift of love and affection that will endure for the rest of your life.

Babies also having a charming effect on the lives of neighbors, family friends and others. Watching a baby grow, and learn to walk and talk, is one of the most magical things that anyone, related or not, can experience.

Why baby gifts are important:

1. Of course you want to shower the baby in your life with affection.

There are all sorts of occasions for giving a baby gift. From new arrivals to baby baptisms and christenings, from baby birthdays to celebrating a baby's first steps. Baby gifts can be given at a baby shower before the baby even arrives.

And baby gifts are particularly special when they are given for no occasion at all.

Whether you're a new parent, a favorite aunt or grandmother, a doting uncle. a next door neighbor or "just a friend," baby gifts are a great way to tangibly demonstrate your love and affection for the baby.

2. Baby Gifts can be educational.

Baby gifts can help a baby learn about the world, but unlike some lessons, baby gifts educate in an entertaining way. Certain types of toys, like foam spelling blocks, baby books, and puzzles with large, soft pieces can all teach babies how to relate to their surroundings. Mobiles hung above a baby's crib help the baby learn how to visually

focus and build attention span. Baby spoons assist a baby in learning how to eat with utensils like a "grown-up." And soft, cuddly plush toys and dolls help a baby learn how to show affection and attachment to others.

3. Baby gifts can assist the baby's parents.

A baby shower is a traditional event that is held some period of time before the baby's arrival. Typical baby gifts that are given at baby showers include baby blankets, diaper bags, lotions and powders, carryalls and totes, sweaters, hats, onesies, layette sets, socks, and baby booties and shoes. All of these types of baby gifts help the prospective parents get ready for their baby's arrival and to be prepared for bringing their baby home from the hospital after its birth.

4. can commemorate a special day in a baby's life and can become cherished family heirlooms.

A keepsake baby birthday gift such as a bangle or bracelet set with the baby's birthstone, a beautiful music box that will delight the baby for years to come, or a photo album filled with pictures of the baby, can all become treasured possessions. The same is true for baby christening or baptismal gifts such as a child's first Bible, a christening gown or a baby's first tiny cross or rosary. These types of baby gifts are cherished family mementos, often kept for dozens of years, and sometimes passed down from mother to daughter or from father to son.

There are baby gifts that would be perfect for any occasion. Baby gifts can be educational or they can be soft and snuggly toys. Baby gifts can be purely practical - such as baby clothing - or they can be beautiful and decorative, such as an embroidered baby blanket. They can be heirlooms that are passed down from generation to generation, or they can become "hand-me-downs" that are lovingly passed from an

older child to a younger child. But whatever baby gifts you give, you can be sure that they'll be loved by all they touch.