Most everyone knows that one of the best gifts you can bring a new parent is a meal–something that’s yummy, nutritious, and ready-to-eat on arrival. Bonus points if it’s in throwaway or reusable containers. Even more bonus points if it can be eaten one-handed!
But wanna know a new parent gift that’s even better than a meal? A whole lot of meals. After all, make a family dinner and you feed them for a night; organize a meal schedule for a family and you can feed them for weeks! Nowadays you can do this easily by using one of several free online meal calendars, which are great because they allow friends and family to sign up by the day and specify what they plan to make (preventing the new parents from receiving four lasagnas in one week). Plus, special instructions can be added in, such as the parents’ food preferences, preferred drop-off time, directions to their home and contact info.
After my son was born, some friends from church used MealTrain to organize a schedule of meals for us, and it was beyond amazing (unexpected bonus: I scored some fabulous new recipes!). Here are a few others:
Of course, a meal delivery schedule is also a great thing to do for anyone who is ill or recovering from surgery, has recently lost a loved one, or is just new to the neighborhood…really any reason at all is a good one!
