You’ve been invited to the baby shower for a friend of a friend, and when you go to choose a baby gift, you essentially have two options – pink or blue. No matter if the toy or item is a set of blocks, onesies, a blanket, or stuffed animal, these two colors practically predominate. Unisex or gender-neutral items are only a small percentage of the baby products on the shelf. So, what do you choose?

If the shower is for a girl, you’re in luck and have a plethora of options. For a boy, however, you’re stuck. Although blue, to a certain extent, is appropriate for girls (assuming you don’t give her an action figure), pink appears to exclusively be a girls’ color. When there are no blue baby gifts, should you settle on pink – it is only a toy, after all – or look for another option?

Writer Rachel Kramer Bussel seems trapped in the same type of dilemma, which she details in a piece for the Huffington Post. She decided to give a baby gift, a similar and favorite item she had for her child, but could only find it in pink. Rather than looking for another gift in blue, she sent the pink baby toy instead.

Bussel, although still waiting for a response about the toy, still questions her decision. While the child likely will not remember the toy, the parents, however, may be put off or taken aback. Pink, socially, is not considered an appropriate color for boys, and a pink baby toy, as a result, appears like a feminist agenda in a box. Will the parents use it, put it in a closet, or think that Bussel is making a political statement out of a baby toy?

There is no concrete answer to Bussel’s dilemma. Ideally, the use of the toy would trump its color. Blue, as a masculine shade, is considered empowering for girls, but pink does the reverse for boys – debasing or feminizing. In such an instance, going with the unisex option appears to cause the least commotion and confusion.

What’s the hottest baby toy of the moment? Some items are classic and never disappear, such as mobiles, mirrors, and rattles, while others come and go. The use of baby educational software, such as Baby Einstein and Your Baby Can Read, is on the way out, especially as multiple studies indicate that such products aren’t effective in building a child’s vocabulary. Rather, the most requested toy of the moment is an activity mat, also known as a baby gym. According to a press release by shopping search engine Twenga, online searches for baby gyms and mats have increased from 116 to 300 percent.

The trend, according to the press release, is a shift from brain power-boosting toys to those that stimulate the child’s senses (a prerequisite for nearly all baby toys) and assist with coordination. On a smaller level, an activity seat, such as this one by online retailer Baby and Me Boutique, keeps the child in one place and has several smaller toys in various bright colors and textures and with sound capabilities for the baby to touch.

Larger activity mats give the baby more space to move and experience colors, sounds, and textures. In many cases, activity mats allow the child to be placed on his or her back – or on the stomach, if he or she is already rolling – and touch the several toys in the gym. The mat on which the child is placed often makes sounds when the baby moves and also has varied textures and colors. The detachable toys, additionally, make several sounds and have textures for the child to feel.

Educational or stimulation toys for babies develop the senses of sight, hearing, and touch. Such toys are designed in black, white, and red combinations or primary colors and make different sounds when the child touches the toy. Additionally, the child touches the surface of the toy and experiences several textures. The sound feature, in particular, starts teaching the child the relationship of cause and effect.