I am a mother of two children (one girl and one boy) and as a result I have received a lot of baby gifts. Some gifts which I have loved and some that sat in the back of the closet. This article is for anybody who is wondering what to buy for a baby shower gift. What most parents need is not the cutest outfit out there; they also need it to be functional.
1) Clothing in blue and pink will be the most frequent colour in the closet – avoid buying more:
Ask a mom about their desire to get more pink or blue clothing and you will most likely get the same response…laughter. Everybody bought my daughter pink clothing. The closet was overrun with that colour, there was so much pink that I was sick of the colour. As a result the most used outfit in the closet became an adorable orange rusty colour set. It complemented our daughter’s skin tone and most importantly – it wasnt pink. When my son was born a couple years later I found that I could not even reuse the sleepers, socks and onesies because they were all pink.
A piece of clothing in either gender neutral or “different” (not pink or blue) colours, will mean your gift will get more use and stand out in the closet.
2) If there are snaps/buttons down the back – avoid it:
Two questions need to be asked when considering the practicality of a gift: 1) Could I get this easily off the baby without waking him/her; and 2) When the diaper leaks can this piece of clothing be removed easily without spreading the mess everywhere?
Just keep in mind the first time an outfit becomes a royal pain to take off or put on the baby is the day it gets filed to the back of the closet.
What moms need are cute and practical outfits!
3) Wash and wear clothing is what new parents need!
A supermom could run the household perfectly and take care of a newborn – that was not me. Once the exhaustion sets in after having a new baby, most moms consider it an accomplishment some days just to manage to have a shower and get dressed.
The laundry got done, but I never ironed one piece of clothing. The only time my daughter got to wear the adorable frilly outfits is whenever grandma visited and actually ironed them for me. Wash and wear was my motto, if it did not look good without ironing then it wasn’t used.
A new parent will use a wash and wear gift. A gift that requires ironing….who knows?
4) Baby clothes that are out of season are too much of a gamble:
Do you have a crystal ball to know how big the baby will be in 6 or 9 months time?
Do not visit the clearance racks for the out of season clothing just so you can buy a lot of quantity at a really good price.
I can guarantee you that no matter what brand name you buy, it will not be a quality gift because you are taking a huge risk that the baby will not be that size when it is finally cold/warm enough to wear it.
My son was born in the early spring and we received a beautiful winter outfit in size 6/9 months. By the time that winter came he was too big to wear it and so it moved from the closet to the storage bin without being worn even once.
Buying a gift especially for somebody you do not know can be really hard and that is what you are doing when you buy a baby gift. We have all received gifts that have sat in the back of the closet and we have wished we received something else instead; with some thought that will not happen to your gift.
You will find a great baby shower gift if you remember these 4 words: Colour, Practical, Durable and of course Adorable.
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