(WYTV) — The first baby born in a new year can sometimes be a pretty big deal.
That birth can come with prizes, scholarships and free meals for their parents and it can be a marketing tool for businesses.
Bonnie Lee Little from Cambridge, Massachusetts, won a bunch of gifts for being born right after midnight on Jan. 1, 1960.
Along with gift certificates to local stores, a crib mattress, a comb and brush set, Bonnie’s mom and dad also received two deluxe dinners at an Italian restaurant, 14 dozen doughnuts and $10.
In 2007, Toys “R” Us held a “First Baby of the Year Sweepstakes” in the U.S. with a $25,000 savings bond.
Diapers.com gave away a year’s worth of free diapers to the first baby of 2015 born in New York City, along with a free cab ride home.
Car seats, strollers and gift cards are also common gifts.
In some regions, hospitals will release New Year babies with gift baskets or certificates for things they’ll need during their 12 month reign as New Year’s royalty.
How about a global contest?
In 1999, a British TV show featured families looking to bring home the first baby of the new century.
Some baby stores even sold $50 “Millennium Conception Kits” to help couples aim for the perfect date, the perfect window for conception was considered March 25 through April 1, 1999.
Larger cities with several hospitals often have several New Year’s babies with no clear winner and it’s nearly impossible to determine a national first baby.
The odds of having a baby within the first minute of the ball drop is close to that of being struck by lightning.
