As a mother of two energetic kids I have received a lot of baby gifts; some which I have loved and some that I put to the back of the closet. If you are wondering what to buy for a baby gift, this article is for you. Just remember most parents need an outfit to be both practical and cute.
1) Clothing in blue and pink will be the most frequent colour in the closet - avoid buying more:
This is a personal preference but I have talked to other mothers who feel the same way. When my daughter was born everybody bought pink outfits. The closet was a sea of pink, there was so much pink that I was sick of the colour. My husband's and my favourite outfit soon became a rusty orange colour set. It complemented her skin tone and - it was not pink. That colour came back to haunt me for a second time when I had my son; I found that I could not reuse the generic clothing like sleepers, socks and onesies because they were all pink.
Your gift will be used more if it is a gender neutral or a "different" colour from the standard baby girl pink or baby boy blue.
2) Avoid sleepers/clothing with snaps/buttons down the back:
In order to get a practical gift ask yourself two questions: 1) It is in the middle of the night, it is dark, can I change this outfit without waking the baby? and 2) When the diaper leaks (and trust me it is going to eventually) can this outfit come off easily without spreading the mess everywhere?
Your gift will be sent to the back of the closet for the remainder of its useful life the first time it becomes a royal pain to take off or put on the baby.
What moms need are outfits that are cute and practical!
3) No ironing required!
Some moms are supermoms and are able to run the household and look after a newborn. I am not one of them. Once the exhaustion of night feedings take over some days it is an accomplishment just to have a shower and get dressed.
The only time my daughter got to wear the adorable frilly dresses is whenever my mom visited and actually ironed them for me. As a new mom I could handle the laundry, but I never took the iron off the shelf. I was strictly a wash and wear mom.
Remember wash and wear clothing will be appreciated by the new parents.
4) Baby clothes that are out of season are too much of a gamble:
It is impossible to predict how big the baby will be in 6 or 9 months.
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.
A quality gift is something the baby can use. No matter which brand name you buy out of season, if it is not used then it is not a quality gift.
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.
The hard part about buying a baby gift is you are really buying a gift for somebody you do not know. We have all received gifts that we have never used because they were not "right" - with some thought that wont happen to your baby gift.
You will find a great baby shower gift if you remember these 4 words: Colour, Practical, Durable and of course Adorable.
1) Clothing in blue and pink will be the most frequent colour in the closet - avoid buying more:
This is a personal preference but I have talked to other mothers who feel the same way. When my daughter was born everybody bought pink outfits. The closet was a sea of pink, there was so much pink that I was sick of the colour. My husband's and my favourite outfit soon became a rusty orange colour set. It complemented her skin tone and - it was not pink. That colour came back to haunt me for a second time when I had my son; I found that I could not reuse the generic clothing like sleepers, socks and onesies because they were all pink.
Your gift will be used more if it is a gender neutral or a "different" colour from the standard baby girl pink or baby boy blue.
2) Avoid sleepers/clothing with snaps/buttons down the back:
In order to get a practical gift ask yourself two questions: 1) It is in the middle of the night, it is dark, can I change this outfit without waking the baby? and 2) When the diaper leaks (and trust me it is going to eventually) can this outfit come off easily without spreading the mess everywhere?
Your gift will be sent to the back of the closet for the remainder of its useful life the first time it becomes a royal pain to take off or put on the baby.
What moms need are outfits that are cute and practical!
3) No ironing required!
Some moms are supermoms and are able to run the household and look after a newborn. I am not one of them. Once the exhaustion of night feedings take over some days it is an accomplishment just to have a shower and get dressed.
The only time my daughter got to wear the adorable frilly dresses is whenever my mom visited and actually ironed them for me. As a new mom I could handle the laundry, but I never took the iron off the shelf. I was strictly a wash and wear mom.
Remember wash and wear clothing will be appreciated by the new parents.
4) Baby clothes that are out of season are too much of a gamble:
It is impossible to predict how big the baby will be in 6 or 9 months.
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.
A quality gift is something the baby can use. No matter which brand name you buy out of season, if it is not used then it is not a quality gift.
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.
The hard part about buying a baby gift is you are really buying a gift for somebody you do not know. We have all received gifts that we have never used because they were not "right" - with some thought that wont happen to your baby gift.
You will find a great baby shower gift if you remember these 4 words: Colour, Practical, Durable and of course Adorable.
About the Author:
As a mom of 2 adorable kids Jennifer Hess can identify with new moms on what they really want. She is also the owner of Growing Growing Gone a kids clothing store, that provides brand name clothing for the baby, kid or teen on your shopping list. Click here to get your own unique version of this article with free reprint rights.
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