Gift Ideas

MrsFL2015 · September 2015

I'm invited to a shower this weekend and I just looked at the registry today. The mom-to-be didn't have too many items on the registry to start and almost all the more moderately priced items are gone. I was going to try to pick a few smaller items and put together a little gift basket, but she doesn't really have any smaller items either. All that's left are the big ticket items. I'm stuck on what to get her. I would prefer not to give a gift card unless it's a last resort.

Does anyone have any ideas of a cute and inexpensive gift basket I could put together? I'm hoping to spend no more than $25. Thanks

dragonfly321 · September 2015

Extra pacifiers, socks, 6-12 month onesies, burp cloths, an extra set of crib sheets- stuff you can't ever have enough of.

wassuphoes · September 2015

A Sophie Giraffe might be nice.

I always give a book and crocheted stuffed toy.

Designermomma · September 2015

Diapers, wipes, soap, 1st aid kit, safety outlet covers etc, does the nursery have a theme? Maybe find something that goes with it, Taggies, toddler spoons, mesh feeders

SouthernCharmedLife · September 2015

wassuphoes said:
A Sophie Giraffe might be nice.

I always give a book and crocheted stuffed toy.

This! I usually do a basket with Sophie, A+A blankets, a book, and other little things. Maybe an outfit?

MyCousinVinny · September 2015

I know you want to stay away from gift cards in general but what about purchasing a gift card for a newborn photographer? It's not a conventional gift idea but it's for a specific gift.

I also like diapers, wipes, bath toys, washcloths, rattles, etc. in a little basket.

fwtx5815 · September 2015

You could do a little laundry gift basket with some free and clear detergent, a few of those lingerie laundry bags that could be used for the baby's small items that get all mixed up in the wash (keeps all the mittens, bibs, socks, etc together) and some organic wool dryer balls.

I actually just ordered the the little laundry bags and wool balls this morning from Amazon for myself. I saw them in a post on Pregnant Chicken and it made me think this would make a good gift for an expectant mother.

https://www.pregnantchicken.com/pregnant-chicken-blog/best-baby-laundry-tricks-tips

Just saw that you want to keep it under $25 - I would think you could find these items in stores like Bed Bath and Beyond or The Container Store at a fair price. (I didn't bother to shop around, just saw them and bought right away)

Gingermom15 · September 2015

Does she have any items she could use multiples of? For example, I only registered for one pack of wash clothes, one shampoo and one lotion and some others small things just to get us started. However, if someone purchase more than one of those thing it would be very appreciated.

inomniaparatus · September 2015

$25 for a whole basket seems unrealistic. That's how much a basket itself costs. I like the idea of a Sophie but that's more of a wishing well gift - seems kind of small. I'm assuming this isn't someone you're close with? Is just go with some books or something. This way it won't look so small.

Dannylion24 · September 2015

You could easily youtube how to make a simple 2 or 3 tiered diaper cake - a box of size 1 or 2 diapers, ribbon or receiving blankets, a couple of car seat toys, a baby wash bottle for the center, and a large boardbook to mount it on will go far for less $$.

MrsFL2015 · September 2015

inomniaparatus said:

$25 for a whole basket seems unrealistic. That's how much a basket itself costs. I like the idea of a Sophie but that's more of a wishing well gift - seems kind of small. I'm assuming this isn't someone you're close with? Is just go with some books or something. This way it won't look so small.

Gift basket was probably the wrong choice of words, but more like a theme (in a gift bag). The mom-to-be and I use to be very close friends and we hung out all the time. But, we slowly started drifting apart.

I was actually shocked that I was invited to the shower at all and I literally waited to the last possible day to RSVP. I was going to decline altogether, but figured I would go (and hopefully it will spark our friendship again). I honestly feel a little awkward going and I don't really want to spend a ton of money on a gift. I just don't know what's the status of our friendship right now.

Plus, the host of the shower is asking us to bring a package of diapers. So, I need buy that on top of the gift. I factored that into the cost of the overall present.

SouthernCharmedLife · September 2015

MrsFL2015 said:

inomniaparatus said:

$25 for a whole basket seems unrealistic. That's how much a basket itself costs. I like the idea of a Sophie but that's more of a wishing well gift - seems kind of small. I'm assuming this isn't someone you're close with? Is just go with some books or something. This way it won't look so small.

Gift basket was probably the wrong choice of words, but more like a theme (in a gift bag). The mom-to-be and I use to be very close friends and we hung out all the time. But, we slowly started drifting apart.

I was actually shocked that I was invited to the shower at all and I literally waited to the last possible day to RSVP. I was going to decline altogether, but figured I would go (and hopefully it will spark our friendship again). I honestly feel a little awkward going and I don't really want to spend a ton of money on a gift. I just don't know what's the status of our friendship right now.

Plus, the host of the shower is asking us to bring a package of diapers. So, I need buy that on top of the gift. I factored that into the cost of the overall present.

Oh, so it's a gift grab.

inomniaparatus · September 2015

Gift basket was probably the wrong choice of words, but more like a theme (in a gift bag). The mom-to-be and I use to be very close friends and we hung out all the time. But, we slowly started drifting apart.

I was actually shocked that I was invited to the shower at all and I literally waited to the last possible day to RSVP. I was going to decline altogether, but figured I would go (and hopefully it will spark our friendship again). I honestly feel a little awkward going and I don't really want to spend a ton of money on a gift. I just don't know what's the status of our friendship right now.

Plus, the host of the shower is asking us to bring a package of diapers. So, I need buy that on top of the gift. I factored that into the cost of the overall present.

That makes sense. I think a gift bag of books can be cute and books can be cheap so you can get a few. Or a bath time gift bag is a great idea too.

yodiggity · September 2015

That stupid sophie giraffe is $25 in itself! lol Good luck. I think it's ok to go off the registry personally. If she didn't put much on there in the first place, she probably is expecting to get "off registry" items.

DrillSergeantCat · September 2015

MrsFL2015 said:

Plus, the host of the shower is asking us to bring a package of diapers. So, I need buy that on top of the gift. I factored that into the cost of the overall present.

You do not have to purchase the diapers if you don't want to. If you'd rather spend your budget on the gift do that.

fwtx5815 · September 2015

DrillSergeantCat said:

MrsFL2015 said:

Plus, the host of the shower is asking us to bring a package of diapers. So, I need buy that on top of the gift. I factored that into the cost of the overall present.

You do not have to purchase the diapers if you don't want to. If you'd rather spend your budget on the gift do that.
----------qbf
This.
It's impolite to dictate what people should bring to a shower, including registry info in the shower invite is as strong a suggestion as etiquette allows. Don't feel obligated to do the diaper thing,too.

Sassenach1743 · September 2015

Just buy a little outfit for $10 or $12 and call it a day. Baby clothes are cute and inexpensive. If you want to participate in the diaper grab fine, but that is not required and is actually rude to request.

kimey1 · September 2015

How many swaddle blankets is a good number? I thought my friend would nwwd multiple and got her a set of 3- 2small ones and 1 large one, all from SwaddleMe.

MrsFL2015 · September 2015

brita722 said:

Just buy a little outfit for $10 or $12 and call it a day. Baby clothes are cute and inexpensive. If you want to participate in the diaper grab fine, but that is not required and is actually rude to request.

I was going to do this because I saw a lot of cute little outfits on sale at Target, but I wasn't sure what sizes to buy. My knowledge about babies is limited, but I know that most are already too big for newborn sizes at birth. Does anyone know what sizes to get? I was going to get a few different outfits in 3 month, 6 month and 12 month; however, I ended up putting them back on the rack because I wasn't sure about the sizes.

dramaphile · September 2015

I try to get sizes over 6m, and make sure they are seasonally appropriate. So, I won't buy long sleeves if baby will be 6m in the summer, etc. and always better to buy bigger than smaller, some babies grow really fast! She'll probably receive a ton of newborn and 0-3m sized clothes.

Designermomma · September 2015

Most babies wear newborn sizes for only a few weeks, then move on to 3-6 month size. These should last a while but if you aren't sure, just include a gift receipt so they can exchange it for another size.
(My first child grew like crazy and skipped several sizes of clothes and went straight to 2T when he was 6 mo. You just never know. I got a lot of long sleeve pjs sized 6 mo. and by the time he was 6 mo., it was summer time. I re-gifted them to my nephew. It's also inconvenient to hang onto clothes that long hoping they'll wear them eventually.)

haylierm · September 2015

Do you know anyone else that's going that maybe you could go in on a big ticket item with them? I read that its someone you used to be close with so it sounds like maybe not. But just an idea. I know you wanted to steer clear of gift cards but I feel like baby showers are one time where those really come in handy. Especially if it sounds like a lot of the more expensive items are still left. A gift card to wherever they are registered would help them pay for something expensive. Maybe a gift card inside of a cute book or in addition to something small. Like others have suggested pacifiers, socks, bottle cleaners, lotion, shampoo, etc.

Elsa1984 · September 2015

I was going to mention what the previous poster asked....is there anyone you could go in on a gift with? I find it a little odd that all of the big ticket items are left and hardly any middle priced items were listed in the first place. Seems like something someone would do, to try and sway people into buying the more expensive items. I honestly loved getting gift cards (we were Team Green), because we were able to put some of them towards one of our last big ticket items, and the rest we saved until after baby was born to buy gender specific outfits. I would go the gift card route, and even though people wont gush about how amazingly cute the gift card is, it is still a wonderful gift! I would also skip the diaper raffle....as I never participate in those.

MrsFL2015 · September 2015

Thanks for all the suggestions. I ended up getting her a gift card ($25) and a small pack of diapers for $7. I didn't know anyone else going to the shower, because it was being given by some ladies from her church. She got a lot of clothes, blankets, and other essentials. I felt pretty good about the gift card because a few days later she posted on FB about going out and buying the crib. I knew that was on her registry, so I figured the gift card helped contribute to that.

deenamathew · September 2015

Babies are always something to celebrate. The basic gifts, if there’s one thing new parents really need and want, it’s diapers and other relatively inexpensive newborn necessities like wipes, baby shampoo and baby clothes. These are few ideas which you can give on baby shower. I had come across this few list of gifts hope this can give who are looking for the best baby shower gifts.

https://www.momjunction.com/articles/unique-gift-ideas-baby-shower_0074261/

https://www.moneycrashers.com/unique-creative-baby-shower-gift-ideas/

baby112615 · September 2015

I was invited to a coworkers shower a year ago and I made little "onsie cupcakes" I saw it on pinterest. They are made with onsies and socks! Then I got a small dollars tore gift box and put them in their with a gift card at the bottom. I know we have a store called carter's and you can get a set of 5 onsies for like $10 if you look at sale stuff. Then just put the $25 gift card at the bottom. It's cute and inexpensive.

Knottie1442268460 · September 2015

kimey1 said:
How many swaddle blankets is a good number? I thought my friend would nwwd multiple and got her a set of 3- 2small ones and 1 large one, all from SwaddleMe.

Buy the # you're comfortable with. I had 5 or 6 and it wasn't enough. But one person isn't responsible for giving all of them.

I think clothes are the worst gift. What if it's not their style? Plus people usually get hand me downs. It's nice to pick some clothes out yourself.

inomniaparatus · September 2015

I love clothes and if it's not my style, I'd exchange for something else. I don't think most people get hand me downs - plus, not everyone likes hand me downs

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