Now that we have been proud parents for five weeks, we have gotten quite a good idea which gifts some (future) parents could find handy.
Of course, we are extremely happy and grateful for all the congratulations, cards and gifts, but I'm just going to give a little choice of presents that maybe not everyone has thought of. As a little side note: it's very understandable that every visitor would like to give something permanent and memorable but sometimes an 'one-time', disposable gift that was very necessary will be remembered well despite it!
big and expensive items, in which case you could gift a part of it, such as a stroller, items for the baby room, baby monitor, high chair with good quality etc. Definitely, ask which items (future) parents would like. We are very grateful that our parents have helped us in purchasing these items.
muslin cloths - we use these every day and it never seems to be enough of them. Good to chose ones with good quality, because they will be washed very frequently.
pharmacy-items, such as K- and D-vitamin, disposable pads for the changing table. This is something you might not think of but comes in very handy.
photoshoot, membership for printing out photos, a gift card for a photo book or a pretty photo album: most parents take many photos of their children but might not always have time or money to organize printing them out.
literature about parenting - again, it is good to ask, which topics are of interest of the people receiving the gift.
children books - if you're not a parent yourself, it could be an idea to look at the lists of the best children books of the year.
personalized gifts, such as a towel, hat, books with a child's name on it.
a warm meal, groceries, flowers etc - one of the nicest gifts was a fruit basket sent by our parents. We could enjoy the fruits for over a week!
gifts for the parents, such as a bathing bomb (after the weeks when Mom can't have a bath have passed), a gift card for a meal at a restaurant, coffee beans, anything to pamper them!
diapers, when the parents use disposable ones. Again, good to ask which brand they use.
bottles, formula, bottles/bags for storing breast milk - in case formula or expressed breast milk is given or the mother would like to store the milk.
baby clothes - worthwhile to ask, which items parents are lacking. We had chosen quite uncomfortable items (this baby does NOT like anything going over her head), therefore anything with snaps or buttons, especially rompers, was welcome. Often, bigger sizes wearable from 6 months onwards can be a good idea as well, as not everyone has stored these yet.
a favour - maybe the parents need to go to a store, drive somewhere (but don't own a car/licence etc) or would they be grateful if someone would vacuum their house.
Dare to ask what the people in question need!