Why? For a couple of reasons. For the next few months, it's going to be all about the new baby, and you'd be contributing to the older sibling's sense of secondary status if you only bring a gift for the latest addition to the family.

And you can bet your gift to a sibling will get a more rewarding reaction than your gift to the newborn. I'm sure Mom and Dad will coo over your present for baby, but the baby probably won't say much about how you've made him or her feel. When you give the older kids a gift, too, they'll give you back a smile, a thank-you and their unspoken appreciation for making them feel important, special and part of the celebration.

Decades of research by psychologists, anthropologists and marketers show that it's often the giver, rather than the recipient, who reaps the biggest psychological benefits from a gift. Giving to others reinforces our relationships and makes us feel effective and caring.

Just think about your effect on a newborn's young brothers and sisters when you pay a visit and have playfully wrapped sibling gifts for them. They know they haven't been forgotten in the midst of all the excitement, that their place in the family is recognized and they deserve an award for taking on the enormous task of being a big brother or big sister. Effective and caring doesn't begin to describe how this simple act of acknowledgement will make you feel.

Of course, you need to make sure you have a gift for every sibling, and it helps to know their genders and ages, but there are a number of non-gender-specific children's gifts to make your search a snap. DVDs of movies, like Ice Age, Shrek, Finding Nemo and Disney classics, are always a big hit. Funny books, pop-up books, and plush animals are also popular.

Though kids usually don't like to get gifts of clothes, you might consider a T-shirt with something meaningful or funny on the front. Most kids will proudly wear shirts that announce "I'm the Big Brother" or "I'm the Big Sister."

If you go online to buy your baby gift, be sure to find a site that offers sibling gifts, too. There's nothing like one-stop shopping! Typical sibling gifts for boys include stamp sets, fire truck playsets, a child-size, wooden tool kit, a construction site plush playset and, of course, a big brother photo album, so he can show off his new baby brother or sister to all the kids at pre-school!

Little big sisters like their own photo albums, too! And you can't go wrong with a Big Sister doll or a plush, purse playset with a compact and cell phone. There are fantastic stamp sets for girls, too, and they also might like a child-sized duffle bag or backpack. The backpack is also a great idea for little boys.

Don't get gift-choosing anxiety over sibling gifts. The important thing is that you care enough to let baby's big brother or big sister know they're an essential part of a growing family. You'll leave their home feeling like a million bucks!