Attending baby showers and buying baby gifts can be a lot of fun. Its fun to shop and it’s also a joy to give; the look of delight on the face of the new mother is hard to beat. Although the whole process of buying baby gifts is enjoyable, make the purchase practical. Undoubtedly the new parents will appreciate your kindness, but buying a gift that will never be used defeats the purpose. There are a few tips that may make your gift shopping a little easier.
* Avoid buying newborn sizes: Clothes for the newborn are often given as gifts at the baby shower, and if there are a large number of attendees, you can expect that the new parents will have far more newborn size clothes than they need. Some babies never use the newborn size, if they are born at nine pounds plus, they will start with six-month size clothes. This rule applies for nappies as well, never buy newborn sizes.
* Avoid the traditional colours: Pink for girls and blue for boys, cute but boring. There are so many wonderful baby outfits in lavender, yellow, green, etc. Buy colours that will give the baby a varied wardrobe, even though it doesn’t care.
* Don’t buy blankets: Once again, baby blankets are favourite baby gifts for showers, and the mother will end up with far too many. It is not recommended that babies sleep with a traditional blanket at any rate, due to the risk of sudden infant death syndrome.
* Only buy disposal nappies if you know they will be used: Many new moms are going green and using cloth nappies. There may be a use for them while travelling or going on a visit, but if you are not sure, buy something else.
* Buy batteries: If you buy a gift that requires batteries, then by all means, include the batteries as well.
* Don’t buy anything you would not want to get: If you did not appreciate getting a shirt that says, “Here comes trouble” or “Spoiled brat,” then don’t buy one for your friend. You cannot go wrong with a nice sensible gift. There is nothing wrong with recycling a gift, but if you received something that you would never use, don’t re-gift it.
* Buy baby gifts that are in season: Babies grow very quickly and if you buy a cute sweater for a baby born in May, there is a good chance the baby will have grown out of before he or she gets a chance to wear it in the winter.
If worst comes to worst and you simply cannot make up your mind, then let the new parents make up your mind for you. Gift certificates are always a good bet.