The Absolute Best Baby Gift Isn’t on Your Registry

By Ariel Voorhees

Gather Round Family Chef Service

When you’re preparing your home for your baby’s arrival, most of the questions revolve around the baby. Where will the baby sleep? What will the baby wear? How can this space be as welcoming as possible for the baby? 

If you’re a 21st-century consumer like I am, the answers are usually found in an online gift registry. And it’s wonderful to feel the love and generosity of a community as your friends and family give your baby all of those things.

When I was preparing for my second baby, though, I looked around my crammed house and realized that the baby was all set for things. Now it was time to prepare my home for the needs of the family. 

What I needed was real-life support to keep my household happy and healthy, even with a newborn baby around. It was time to look beyond the registry.

So I started cooking. I packed my freezer full of heat-and-serve meals that could feed all of us at a moment's notice. Those curries, stir-fries, and stews kept us nourished and sane during a really crazy time. And -- don’t judge me -- the breakfast burritos were definitely eaten all day long. 

Years later, now that I've launched a business as a family chef, I do the same for busy families. I'll pack your freezer full of customized meals that will comfort and sustain your family. 

When your friends and family contribute to a Pack the Freezer meal stash, it’ll be the best gift for the baby as well as for the family. You’ll feel the love and generosity of a community. You’ll also feel nourished and strong, able to handle the intensity of this postpartum moment.

And you’ll feel pleasantly full, which, aside from the love of your baby, is the best feeling of all.