Before You Shop for a Baby Shower Gift…Remember these 4 Kids Clothing Items to Avoid While Shopping.
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:
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) If there are snaps/buttons down the back – avoid it:
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?
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) If it needs ironing – forget it!
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 laundry got done, but the iron never came down off the shelf for months at a time. The only time my daughter got to wear the frilly to cute for words outfits is whenever my mom visited and actually ironed them for me.
Remember wash and wear clothing will be appreciated by the new parents.
4) Out of season baby clothes:
Do you have a crystal ball to know how big the baby will be in 6 or 9 months time?
Out of season clothing at clearance prices may be tempting – you can get the baby so much more. Resist the temptation and stay away.
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.
From personal experience, I have stored beautiful out of season gifts in the hope to eventually get to use them. In the end when my kids needed the clothing they did not fit so the gifts went from the closet to the storage bin without even being worn 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.
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