1. Educational

If the father-to-be is a first time father then he may feel that he could do with all the help he can get an so educational gifts of bringing up baby will go down well.

One idea is to buy a gift that will teach him how to bond with his new baby. Look for gifts that will start the father-to-be seeing their as yet unborn baby as a loving adult that their child will grow to become someday. In addition ensure that the choice of gift includes exercises that allow the father to be fully involved in the child's development in teaching the child , to developing basic motor and co-ordination skills. These skills enable the baby to sit up, crawl and eventually walk.

One other skill that most fathers find that they need to develop is putting a restless baby to sleep and so a book of lullabies may be a bit unusual in this day and age but you can be sure that it will become much used and treasured resource.

Murphy's law dictates that you will always have an emergency when you least expect and so resources that teach dad how to cope with baby emergencies will always be well received. Typical emergencies range from changing a baby at packed sports stadium to making an emergency.

2. Fun and Humorous

The point here is to chose a gift that is light hearted and is a source of amusement. Gifts range from clothing to every day tools and utensils.

Tee shirts with suitable humorous test or combination of text and graphics go down well. The more original the better as on wearing the tee shirt, allows the recipient to announce to all and sundry that he is a father-to-be.

One useful gift, of which there are various themes, is a cry baby bottle opener. This gift makes for a great conversational starter when opening bottles for total strangers.

One could also consider giving the father to be a book full of humorous anecdotes concerning fatherhood or a book containing mindless expressions and advice, concerning fatherhood, that fathers have offered without really thinking about what they are saying. Another idea along similar lines is to look for a book full of witty fatherhood sayings.

3. Personalized

Personalized gifts make the father-to-be feel special and as such are treasured and so go down very well.

If the father to be loves beverages then a personalized mug or set of mugs will go down well. If possible try to get a personalized thermal mug, this has the added bonus that not only does it look good but it is incredibly practical especially for those long nights when getting a restless baby to sleep.

For the golfing aficionados, personalized golf balls will always be well received and they will also form a good talking point in the club house.

4. Practical

An incredibly useful gift is the humble keychain. One can either opt for a keychain with a personalized plaque or a photo key chain or indeed a combination of the two. Keys are a part and parcel of modern life so you can be sure that this gift will always be well received.

One often overlooked item is safety in the home, so what better gift than the security of knowing what to do in case of a medical emergency concerning the baby. One could therefore offer a gift voucher for a CPR ( cardiopulmonary resuscitation gift ) course. voucher.

With fathers taking an increasing role in looking after baby, there are an increasing number of baby diaper changing tool belt products available. These include everything that a father needs to change the baby and such gifts are always gratefully received.

5. Sentimental

The aim of sentimental gifts is to act as historical reminders for the father-to-be of the birth of the baby.

Practical sentimental gifts that are used on a daily basis include watches or clocks. Other gifts along similar lines include photo frames suitable inscribed. I f possible avoid digital watches and clocks as they tend to have a finite lifetime. The aim is to provide a long life gift that will provide endless memories.

For home memorabilia one could consider samplers and plaques that are specifically geared towards the father. These should be carefully chosen with their possible location in mind. For example samplers and plaques for a study would reflect the then interests of the father to be as compared to those intended for a family room which tend to be of a more general nature.