New Arrivals

My sister has just given birth to twins - a boy and a girl! I have yet to determine which one is ginger.

The problem is: what to get as a present? I think the real answer is a big house and a people carrier but that's somewhat out of my price range at the moment. The standard things seem to be: baby clothes - they have been given a pile anyway; soft cuddly toys - they will shortly receive a house full of them; or Mothercare vouchers. It's all a bit predictable.

Anyway, I've checked out a few websites and I'm surprised just how popular religious gifts seem to be: personalised bibles, bibs with your favourite psalms, "pray with me" teddy bears, cuddly crosses!, a Noah's Ark (which is actually quite a nice toy for older kids), and a baby Jesus doll. They all seem to be rather Christian orientated - are there Muslim or Hindu baby gifts or do other cultures have a tad more taste? Given that my brother-in-law is a confirmed atheist (he even worked in the same university department as Richard Dawkins) I think I'll pass on those.

Of course, it's better than the original Christian baby gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. I mean what were they dreaming of? It's just about one up from things that you would buy from a motorway service station. At least they could have bought a pack of disposable nappies or something.

I think I'll stick to the Mothercare vouchers.