The first birthday is in a lot of ways the most difficult milestone birthday to shop for in regards to a gift. The recipient can't tell us what they want. The parents shrug and if they say anything at all it will be "oh, just clothes will be fine". True, clothes would be appropriate and acceptable, but if that would be the gift you wanted to give you would have no need to read this article.

However, if you like going for something with a little style; if you like the look everyone gives when you hit a homerun in gift giving. This may be may be one that gets some oohs and aahs for you.

If you have ever been involved in making a time capsule, the concept of this gift will not be new to you. First thing you will need is a gift basket of sorts. This can be a plastic or rubber storage tub with a cover or a real gift basket. You will need some type of clear sealable bags. You can also just use a gift bag if you want and the parents can figure out how to best store the items but if you want it to last till the child is an adult you may want to figure out some type of storage system in advance.

The first item you will probably want to put in there is a newspaper from the day they were born. This should not be too difficult if you go to your local newspaper office. If you have thought far enough ahead and you want to you can start a year ahead of time, on the day of birth.

You could record the local news, weather and sports on the day of birth and burn it to a DVD or just a VHS tape. Of course the problem here is longevity, because you want the media to last the child into adulthood.

A magazine or two along the lines of Time or Newsweek is a great addition. You may like to throw in some of the pop culture magazines as well. TV Guide, Rolling Stone, People and US are great choices. Sports Illustrated and Women