Older Brother Gift

When I was in the hospital having my second son, a friend of mine kept my older son who was 6.5 at the time. She took him shopping, and instead of buying something for himself, he chose to buy a blanket for his brother. It's still his brother's favorite blanket, and they are 8 and 15 now. They both love that blanket, and I can see the pride in my oldest son's eyes when he sees his brother still holding the blanket when they watch movies together or when he's going to bed.

That being said, maybe you could take him shopping and offer to buy him something and something for him to give his brother (as someone else also mentioned).

Buy or make him a "I'm the Big Brother" tee shirt. Or matching tee shirt and onesie that say "Big Brother" and "Little Brother".

Another idea is to take him shopping so he can pick out his own gift for the baby and surprise his mom.

I think this is a great idea. We did the same thing in a similar sitution a few years ago... friends had a 10 y.o. girl and boom, here was a new baby! We brought her a gift and made a point of sitting and talking with her before giving it to her. She was reduced to tears that someone had stopped to think of her during this time. We bought her a nice purse & matching wallet and some things to go in the purse. She felt so grown up receiving it that I have to think it helpe alleviate some of the baby jealousy.

For a boy, something grown up like a cool watch (waterproof of course!) would be appropriate. Or an inexpensive camera or one of those light duty video cams that save right to a flash drive? Does he have any hobbies? My 10 y.o. is really into fishing and actually shed tears of gratitude last week when I brought home a bag full of tackle I had found on clearance. Another idea is an electronics kit, like the little robots or circuits. Something that just a big kid could use.

I like LuckyMom's suggestions. Get him something focused on becoming a big brother, not just a toy since other's will be getting gifts.

whatever he is in to! There are probably action figures he likes. Ask his Mom. When I have done this I just get the same type of thing I would get for a birthday gift. A celebratory gift.

There are several books on the market regarding the role of the big brother

He's 9 and a boy so I am sure he has opinions and won't want something too young. Typically the gift for the older sibling is so they don't feel left out and so they have something to do while hanging out at the hospital. Maybe a game or a book if he likes reading? Does he have an Ipod that you could get him an Itunes gift card to buy a new game? Or if you want it more geared being an older brother, books that he could read to the younger sibling on things that he is interested in. My son loves hockey and has a collection of books that our younger son has started to like as well. You could also get a baby gift of something that the older brother likes, if that makes sense. Like a plush fishing set or tool box.

Maybe you having difficulty coming up with "big brother" gift ideas because this is something that his mom and dad should take care of.

It's nice of you to be a thoughtful friend, but it would probably be better if you just fix a meal for when the family comes home with the new baby and then give them some privacy.

Lego sets are always great.

We bought a book for my son that was a "baby book" told from the perspective of the older sibling. It's called something like "Your life according to me".