Gift to the parents for a newborn

Hello !
I like to ask for an advise.
My japanese friends will have a ''babybirth''.What is customary to give as a present (gift)?
Is it necessary to give it on a special date? I want to know if it is maybe bad to give it (short time) before the birth? Where I ''grown''up, it is not common to give money as a present (it shows that you forgot the ''event'' and it is more an ''embarrassment'').It seems that in Japan it is in an other way! ???
Is it better to give money or something else ?
Thanks beforehand for any answers !
Tom

It is common to give baby gifts, and you don't have to wait for a certain special day, but if you would like to present the gift and see the baby at home, you might want to wait a month or two, when the mother is all better and the baby's ammune system isn't as fragile. Otherwise, anytime, even before the birth, is of course okay.

Thank you for the answer!It helps me allready.
Do you have any idea about the "kind" of gift ?

Anybody here who can tell me
if it would be better to give money or something else?
Maybe both would be good ?
Please have a look at the top
for the "original" question!
Thanks !

Traditionally people in Japan seem to give cash gifts for newborn babies (definitely after the birth, but no fixed date as far as I know), usually wrapped up in one of the special fancy gift envelopes you can get at stationery stores here. Recently, more people seem to be giving actual gifts of baby clothes, toys and so on, instead of or even as well as cash. Since you are not Japanese, people will probably expect you to follow the customs of your own country, so if that means a gift rather than cash, that should be fine. If you can find a small baby item from your home country (eg you can find lots of imported European toys in department stores here) that would probably be particularly appreciated.

With cash gifts, there is the custom (like with the cash you give at weddings) for the new parents to send out "return gifts", worth half or less than half of the cash they received. Some people do this with actual gifts as well.

Hi, Tom,
Am I the right person to make suggestions for the kinds of gifts? I'm expecting a baby in August myself...
How about a photo frame or album for all the baby pictures? Small toys like rattles or wooden toys? Baby 's first shoes?
Or as you say if it's for the parents, then maybe some basket of bath products could be nice.
Just ideas!

Thank you !
All answers combinated are very helpfull for me !
Just a last question,please.
If it would be "cash",which sum could be appropriate ?

Well, we gave money to my brother in law when they had their baby, and he also gave us money when our baby was born, but although some family members may do it, my husband's best friend, who is Japanese as well, we live in Japan, gave us a stroller, another friend got us one of those convenient daiper trash bins, that really seals in the smell, my mother in law got me a baby sling, which was really convenient, my relatives in the U.S. sent a huge box of clothes, ranging from three month to two years for the baby. I got some baby clothes and some toys from some friends here and the U.S.. Really just think about getting your friends something practical that they can use for a while. Seriously, even getting a pack of small, medium and large daipers, is helpful. Any baby gift you decide to give will be great for them. Another pointer, baby innertubes, they fit comfortably in a Japanese style bath, mommy can comfortably take a shower at her leisure, while the baby floats and plays in the bath tub. You could give a money gift, but any baby gift that you could give, that would save the new mom from going to the store with an infant would be really great for them. Good luck.

Ichiman, or 10,000 yen and over is the norm for cash gifts in Japan.

Thank you very much !
To all other who helped with
this matter,as well thank you !!!
I think now I can do it right !

I work at a event planning company in New York. My head sushi chef's wife is from Japan and about to have a baby and I would like to throw her a baby shower.

Are there any traditions that I should no about concerning baby showers in Japan....such as, it is acceptable to do so, is there a traditional food that we should include, decoration, or traditional "game" or favor? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, she doesn't have any friends in the states since she is still new and I think would enjoy a nice afternoon with some of the girls in our company.

In Japan the normal custom is to wait till the baby is actually born, and for friends, family members and colleagues to give gifts later - the consideration is that (sorry to put it blunt) until the last minute you never know what happens.

With my friends, when I receive the news that a baby has been born, I might send a card or call when the mom and the baby are back home - then a month or so later, when gifts from relatives have somewhat subsided, might ask if there are other things that they would like to have (in terms of baby clothing, etc.) and buy those requested.

If it's a colleague, then when the mom returns to office after the childbirth, colleagues in the office pitch in together to buy a bunch of flowers or some other gift together.

So... baby shower in advance of childbirth is not traditionally done in Japan. If you are going to give that, make sure that the hubby AND the lady are truly comfortable with having some such "event" prior to the childbirth, and that having to get accustomed to yet another unfamiliar custom (I don't know how outgoing that lady is) is not going to be any stressful for the mom-to-be :)

thank you so much for the information. I will speak with her husband tomorrow and make sure that this is something that won't cause any stress. I will follow his lead on it.

When I was expecting, my friends threw me a baby shower American way (I live in U.S.) and I was more than thrilled. It is not a traditional Japanesen way, but their concideration really touched me.

I think it's always nice to be congratulated local's style.

That said, I think that the advantage of waiting until birth is that you know who you're givng the gift for. You know if it's a boy or girl, and what suits the baby best.

But in reality, baby showers are probably more practical. Once a baby is born, you get so busy taking care of it, that it's often stressful answering the door for the delivery man or a friend bringing the gift, and the bulk gift wrapping is another pain in the neck when you're a new mom busy at home.

Plus most gifts in Japan usually arrive a few month after the birth, the giver being informed of the news and going shopping and all, so you tend to end up with a dozen nice clothes for a 3 months old, and you don't need so many nice clothes at that age. Btw in Japan, the least necessities like diapers and underwear are usually prepared by the mother-to-be herself when she is about 8 months pregnant.

Buy pregnant women have more time and flexibility when they are about 6 to 8 months pregnant, rather than after the baby is born. I think it's great to have a shower around that time to get yourself prepared and have something to look forward to.

Actually, I don't think the couple would be aware of these things if this happens to be their first baby. Maybe you can simply offer to give them a shower, NY style, and if both husband and wife doesn't say no, then there's no problem.

I liked AK's idea of waiting a little while and then asking what they need. However, it might be nice if you sent some kind of aknowledgment at the birth.

I was also under the impression from friends that it was kind of tempting bad luck if you gave any gifts before the child was born.

Uco's also right, you get a lot good clothing for up to 3-month olds, and they don't have as much opportunity to go out or wear them. I got these really really cute fuzzy bear snowsuits that they never got to wear...

So, if you do get them something right away such as clothing, I suggest getting them 6-9 month-old clothing or older. Toys might be good, too. Otherwise, calling and asking might be good, too, but don't expect to be able to have an uninterrupted conversation;)

As mentioned, the major reason that people wait in Japan is because pregnancy is unpredictable. But with modern medical technology, we are now able to know the gender and health conditions in advance, so that's why I think that showers can be more accepted nowadays. Just a thought.

Also, let me add that I think that one of the advantages of giving a shower is that you can arrange many gifts at a time.

In Japan where showers aren't common at all, you get gifts indivisually from random friends. This results to, for example, getting more 3 months clothes than you can wear and no 6 months clothes.

On the other hand, in a shower, perhaps you can arrange to have one 3 months clothes from someone, one 6 months from another and so on.

Btw Kyarinchan, when did you become mother of twins?! Congratulations!

I googled on internet, and found this company offering baby hampers delivered to Japan, don't know if fits in your need, just post it here for your refernce: Yongs Gift

I am not a Japanese.
But I think that presents are better than money.
The presents you send represents your best wishes while money is just money.
a teddy bear plush animals?
http://www.toyswill.com/cute-college-style-teddy-bear-plush-toy-brown-...

As a once parent of newborn, would prefer monetary gift, either in cash or gift voucher where I can use it to buy something that really need for the newborn baby.
What use for clothing or toys that the baby will outgrow in no time, not to mention not to the taste/preference to the parent or baby.
Loathe flower or gift which got no use, would prefer monetary gift which can be used for better purpose.