The Verge’s 2024 holiday gift guide for new parents

It’s nerve-racking to drive a rear-facing baby around on your own when every bump in the road can make you anxious. That’s why a baby mirror is a must-own if you’re primarily transporting the little one by car. The mirror’s adjustability and convex design ensures you can get a view of your baby, and its arm grips should fasten nicely to the back of most seats.

Your baby’s stroller can double as your pack mule, helping store and transport everything you may need for a day’s adventure. But it’s much easier to keep all your essentials organized with a storage solution that hangs from the handlebar, providing easy and convenient access. The Momcozy organizer can store your phone, drinks, and a bunch of extras like emergency wipes (for you or baby).

Smart displays from the likes of Google and Amazon can work as digital photo frames, but the Nixplay looks a whole lot better. It has a classic frame design and it’s platform agnostic, making it a better gift than a smart display with ecosystem lock-in. Nixplay has its own app with both Android and iOS support, and it also allows you to loop in guest contributors to remotely add photos to your album.

You can’t go wrong with fancy headphones like the Sony WH-1000XM5 or Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2e, but the Soundcore Space One Pro offer great sound quality, noise cancellation, and comfort in their own right at a much lower price. And I’m here to tell you there’s no shame in softening the auditory blow and psychic damage of a baby incessantly crying in your arms with some noise-canceling cans.

It never fails — your little one does something adorable and your hands are too full to grab your phone for a video. The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses can help with that, allowing you to take hands-free photos and videos from a first-person perspective. Meta may not be everyone’s favorite company, but its smart glasses can capture some truly unique perspectives and treasurable moments between baby and parent.

The Doona is one of the most convenient convertible car seats / strollers you can find. It takes seconds to unfold and start strolling around or to collapse it, hop in the car, and drive off. It’s for babies weighing four to 35 pounds or as tall as 32 inches, so with most kiddos, it should last the full first year before it’s time to upgrade to something bigger.

Keeping a journal for 18 years is a big commitment, but so is having a child. You’d be amazed at how many fun little memories you can forget during the day-to-day grind of raising a baby, so journaling their progress and milestones goes a long way. And this journal makes it much easier than using a normal notebook, with pages and prompts that require minimal work to keep up with.

Maintaining a house plant may not be as involved as taking care of a human, but it’s still a labor of love that takes dedication and attention to detail. If you’ve killed your fair share of plant friends in the past, this book by Darryl Cheng may be what you need for some sensible advice and coaching.

If your home goes through tubs of ice cream year-round, then an at-home ice cream maker could theoretically pay for itself in a short time. Plus, making your own ice cream is a fun activity for the whole family — let the kiddo choose some funky flavors and just go wild with whatever ingredients and mix-ins you feel like adding. Just keep in mind you may be the one left cleaning up.

Babies love soft books they can touch and even gnaw on when teething, and they usually love looking at people. This adorable book blends these concepts together as a soft photo album you can insert your own pictures into, so babies can familiarize themselves with friends and family members, even when loved ones live far away.

Everyone needs a little emotional support once in a while, and there’s nobody more deserving of it than a new mom. Motherhood is tough, complex, and can often be a little messy (and that’s okay). This collection of 50 cards offers helpful reminders to take care of yourself as well as taking care of the little one.

Cozy vibes can be a great stress reliever for a new parent. And one of the best delivery methods that doesn’t involve a screen in your face is an adorable coloring book — one that’s not overly simplified for little kids. Little Corner offers adults 40 illustrations of different decors to color in, and each is an adorable space worth admiring... or maybe even taking bits of design inspiration from.

Accidents are bound to happen, and yes, they will happen when you’re on the go, least expect it, and just after you dress your baby in their cutest new outfit. This little wet bag will keep the mess contained and make you feel like you’ve got a touch of the Mushroom Kingdom helping you out.

Lots of parents want their kids to get into STEM fields when they’re older, but you don’t have to wait to start acclimating them to the bare-bones basics of computing. The beauty of this book is in its simplicity: it’s just a board book with two buttons, an LED, and some light sensors, but thanks to its clever design, it can lay some essential groundwork for learning.

It’s easy to let house cleaning duties fall by the wayside once you’re preoccupied with a baby. A robot vacuum is a great way to help parents keep things tidy. The Roborock Q Revo is one of the most all-encompassing bots you can get for under $1,000. It vacuums, mops, and can even empty its dust bin and fill its water tank on its own.

You’ll likely do some redecorating before and / or after the baby arrives, so do yourself a favor and get a cross-line laser level to help you with hanging picture frames, painting stencils, or whatever else you dream up. Just keep in mind that while the laser will show you what’s straight and squared off, it may also highlight just how crooked or off-kilter your walls and floors are.

White noise machines are great for the baby’s room, but one that goes from the crib to a stroller or car seat can help make the difference between a fussy baby and peaceful, quality naps on the go. The Hatch Rest Go offers 10 sounds to cycle through and easily lasts overnight on a single charge, with the ability to recharge via USB-C.

Wonderbly’s collection of customizable books are a treat for parents as much as they are for the kiddo. The book maker offers a variety of themed titles that are a great fit for various holidays, many of them allowing personalization with baby’s name and special messages. They’re great for reading to your little one at bedtime and can last until they’re an early reader themselves.

Having a smart home is great, but when it comes to keeping tabs on your little one in the crib, less is more. Infant Optics’ video monitor doesn’t rely on an internet connection or the cloud. It’s just a quality 720p camera with a five-inch monitor that works reliably across a sizable house with hardly any initial setup time. No fuss, no apps, no muss.

A fancy Ember smart mug is great, but you may want something a little more durable with a baby around. Joeveo mugs are not only fairly rugged but also designed to quickly bring hot drinks down from scalding levels and hold a good drinking temperature for hours. It’s ideal for a busy parent who needs a caffeine fix but will get distracted before they get a chance to have a sip.

It’s 2024, and there’s no reason you need to be sucking your baby’s snot out of a glorified straw. The Grownsy nasal aspirator sucks up that snot into a washable chamber you can easily disassemble, and it even has colorful lights and plays a tune to try and keep your little one calm. It has three suction settings and charges via USB-C.

Lovevery’s Play Gym is a tummy time / activity mat that can grow with your baby through their first year. It’s got different play zones to help with development, such as high-contrast black-and-white images to capture their attention before they can see color and different textured objects that your baby can get a kick out of feeling and touching.

Be prepared for the warmer months with this portable fan that easily clips onto your baby’s car seat or stroller. This four-speed fan can move a good amount of air to help keep your baby cool, and since it recharges via USB-C, you can easily extend its battery life by plugging it into a power bank.

The Wildbird Linen Sling may seem like a trendy choice of baby carriers among metropolitan parents, but there are good reasons to consider it. It’s a functional and lightweight way to carry your little one around, and the linen fabric offers a touch of luxuriousness. And frankly, you’ll look marvelous in it.

Dear new parents, I regret to inform you that eventually you’re going back to work. And if you’re the work-from-home type, you’re not always going to be at your fancy desk setup if you’re also chasing the little one around. The Huanuo Portable Laptop Desk lets you work from anywhere in the house with a touch of added comfort (even if you’re on the floor for some reason).

When it comes to children’s books, Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a timeless classic, but with this soft teether version, you can get the baby started early. I can speak from personal experience — if the colorful artwork doesn’t capture baby’s attention, then the crinkly pages definitely will. Plus, as the little one grows, you can start using their same favorite book to teach them to count to five.

Govee’s Star Light Projector can paint your nursery walls with stars and aurora effects of any color composition. When paired with a sleep machine, it can also create a soothing atmosphere to help your child rest more easily — a proposition both of you will appreciate. You can even repurpose it to perform cool party tricks and set the mood should your child ever grow out of it.

Babies are notorious for fidgeting, so you’d better have something handy to keep them from playing with your hair. These bell-equipped, white-label spinners take after cute bugs with wings that seem as though they’re fluttering while in motion. The strong suction cups allow you to adhere them to a variety of surfaces as well, including bathtubs and stroller trays.

A bottle warmer to quickly prep milk for nap time or lunch will surely come in handy at some point. The Philips Avent Premium, a favorite of new parents at The Verge, can get bottles ready within three minutes. A sensor helps the warmer maintain your preferred temperature until you’re ready to feed, while an embedded light will signal when it’s ready. Philips supplies a bottle, but it’s compatible with many others.