So your friend or relative is celebrating the adoption of their child and you'd like to get them an appropriate gift, but you're not sure where to start. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

-- Are they registered? Many (though not all) families decide to register for the arrival of a baby - it's okay to ask or ask around to see if they've registered. Quite often, people prefer to buy something that is really needed or wanted rather than guess.

-- Is this a first child? Or first child of that gender? If so, go with clothes. Clothes are always good. Actually, when we first met Anna (on a Friday - she came to live with us that Monday) one of the first things I did was to check the label on her shirt to see what size clothes she was wearing. Obviously it's easy with a newborn to figure out what sizes to get, but often in the case of an adoption, newborn size may not be appropriate. Either ask what size they need, guess large, or make sure that you include a gift receipt so that the family can exchange it in case it does not fit.

-- Do you want a religious gift? If you are shopping for a Jewish family, don't assume that anything 'religious' or something with the word "God" in it is appropriate. This may sound rather painfully obvious, but we actually received quite a few gifts from well-meaning friends that were just not appropriate. (Example: Baby's first year book with Easter and Christmas, or Christian themed versions of Bible stories - very nice, but just no for us) If you are looking specifically for something Jewish, check out a local (or online) Judaica store. A nice mezuzzah for the child's room, a menorah or child's tzedakah (charity) box are some good ideas.