Godparent Gift Ideas For Their Godchildren
Here are some gift ideas for godparents who have no idea what to buy for their godchildren.
While being a godparent doesn’t mean we have to give a gift, it’s part of the Philippine love language to do so! Gift-giving has always been the usual way Filipinos express love. And if you’re a godparent who’s new to the business or a godparent who somehow ended up with too many godchildren because we’re scared to say no, here are some gift ideas for the Christmas season.
1. Books
Especially if our godchildren are babies, toddlers, and teens, they may appreciate a good book or two as a gift for Christmas. Also, we’re not talking about the usual self-help books. We’re talking age-appropriate ones. For babies and toddlers, you can get books with Cocomelon or Sesame Street on them. The teens, on the other hand, have a genre dedicated to them in the bookstore known as the Young Adult section.
2. Limited Edition Items (e.g. Tumblers, Planners, etc.)
While some of us may not be the collecting type, our teen godchildren may be! Shops like Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Serenitea, and others have various limited edition items for the holidays and give out a card to keep track of the points before exchanging them for the item. But if we’re not the collecting type, there are some people who rush to collect these stickers to avail of the items before selling them on social media. It may be a little more expensive but if we’re not coffee drinkers, it might be more practical to just wait for someone to do all the coffee drinking for us.
3. Powerbanks and Chargers
Powerbanks and chargers are the new socks since the kids of today certainly use them as fast as they do! With some of our godchildren being highly reliant on their phones, a power bank is a practical gift idea for any godparent especially when most of their homework and social life is on their phone.
4. Money
Money is the universal go-to for a gift. But, it doesn’t always have to be money directly to our godchild. Sometimes, we can give it to the parent who’s planning to buy multiple gifts for our godchildren. Because there’s no such thing as a godchild registry (it’s called a wishlist though) in the department stores and malls, it’s better for godparents to just ask the parents if they can contribute to one of the gifts they’re buying for their godchild.
5. Clothes
Onesies for babies and shirts for toddlers and teens — clothes are some of the preferred gift ideas godparents want to give their godchildren. Assuming they know their godchild’s size, that is. There are just some godparents who are pretty good at eyeballing it but in case we don’t know, just ask their parents where they normally buy their kid’s clothes so it doesn’t sound so obvious.
6. Cross-body Bags
While tote bags are in with moms, cross-body bags are in for the younger generation. Since everything is on their phone now because of the pandemic, our godchildren probably don’t bring wallets. Instead, they bring cardholders for their Starbucks cards or driver’s license if they have any. Plus, some love using cross-body bags like a belt to create a slimming look for baggy clothes.
7. Puzzles
Especially for toddlers and babies, puzzles are a smart idea for a gift from a godparent to encourage analytical thinking. Some parents even joke that if we want an engineer, best to start them early with puzzle toys or little things that allow them to tinker around! Some puzzles like the traditional jigsaw puzzle or the molding puzzle help develop different types of intelligence like spatial, kinetic, and most of all: the ability to deconstruct problems which reduces their anxiety and also the secret skill of most math whizzes!
8. Earphones with microphones
Earphones are always useful especially when our godchildren are in the middle of an online class and trying not to disturb the rest of the house. But there’s a bit of a debate between Bluetooth earphones and traditional corded ones on their audio quality and reliability. Sure, Bluetooth earphones allow more mobility and compatibility but their output can either sound like a Transformer robot or make them sound like one.
On the other hand, traditional corded earphones offer clear and crispy audio — input and output-wise — but, are notorious for getting snagged in all sorts of places or coming out in a scout-worthy knot when placed in a bag. In the end, it will boil down to audio quality and how much they’re going to use it.
9. Jackets and Sweaters
Although the Philippines is a tropical country with a disturbingly bipolar climate, families love taking a trip to cooler provinces like Tagaytay and Baguio which do merit a jacket or sweater. Or, if they’re planning a trip to the colder parts of Japan like Hokkaido, they will need a jacket. Some brands like North Face and Uniqlo sell stylish and waterproof parkas for the older kids while Uniqlo, H&M Kids, and Zara Kids have coats and sweaters for the little ones.
10. Speakers
Speakers are a practical godparent gift idea to their godkids especially when they’re going around. Sometimes, when the older godkids are throwing parties, they need a speaker in which Bluetooth speakers play a big role in becoming the life of the party. These speakers come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and colors for our godchildren to personalize.
Being a godparent doesn’t mean you have to spoil them!
Some of us grew up with an average of three pairs of godparents. But not all godparents come bearing material gifts. Some come with experiential ones; they bring us out on vacation or expose us to other places that our parents can’t bring us to. With some of us becoming godparents, it’s now our job to do the same. For this holiday, sometimes, material gifts aren’t always the best gift ideas from a godparent. But when we’re scratching our heads on what gifts to give, these are the surefire ideas that our godchildren (and maybe their parents) will appreciate!
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