Baby shower gift ideas

good_vibes

Maybe Special Occasions & Other Celebrations part of the forum would be a better place to look and post.

Person_one

Claree__x wrote: »

Or maybe an excuse for a night in with your friends before your baby arrives and you have less time to do so?

On the same note, is a birthday party a step away from a begging letter too? You're expected (more so) to bring a present to those too.

The 'shower' part of the name means shower with gifts.

If you just want your friends round, you just have your friends round.

Claree__x

Person_one wrote: »

The 'shower' part of the name means shower with gifts.

If you just want your friends round, you just have your friends round.

It's just a name. Would it be okay if I called it a "pre-baby-party-but-please-don't-bring-gifts"? 'Cause if I wanted to invite a large number of friends and family over it'd be a party and people would be curious as to why.

As it is, I'm 16 weeks pregnant with no intention to have any sort of gathering but I wouldn't ridicule those who do.

lika_86

Too much chicken counting for most Brits, think of the spate of nearly to term miscarriages in celebrities not too long ago. Decline and buy something afterwards if they really are a friend. Also, for your work colleague, can someone not organise a collection? Then you're just chucking a few quid but which amounts to much more when everyone has put in?

lika_86

Claree__x wrote: »

It's just a name. Would it be okay if I called it a "pre-baby-party-but-please-don't-bring-gifts"? 'Cause if I wanted to invite a large number of friends and family over it'd be a party and people would be curious as to why.

As it is, I'm 16 weeks pregnant with no intention to have any sort of gathering but I wouldn't ridicule those who do.

People I know have had a last hurrah type party where they've all gone out for a meal to celebrate the last chance to all get together before the mum to be gets too tired or has to bring along the baby. But that's very much positioned as a chance to get together, not a request for gifts.

Fuzzy_Duck

notanewuser wrote: »

It may not be the best idea to buy mainstream toiletries and nappies for unborn babies. You have no idea what will suit baby. Had I received this, pretty as it is, very little of that would have been used. It would be donated to a women's refuge. I would rather you not spent the money on things that may not get used.

But how do you know what toiletries suit the baby until you've tried them?

Make-it-3

As pretty and creative as your ideas are, to be honest I wouldn't give toiletry/medical products.

Babies skins are so sensitive and a lot of the products while appearing all natural/baby friendly are just too harsh. My DD came out looking like a prune (overdue) and we were told extra virgin olive oil was the best thing - worked a treat despite her smelling like a pasta salad!

Nappy creams you need to use so sparingly that I haven't yet got thru my Bounty pack sample let alone the big tub. Wipes again can be very harsh (in hospital they will tell you only use cotton wool/water). Shampoo, baby bath you only need a tiny drop so one bottle will probably last a year.

Medicinal products are very subjective - I've never been one for giving Calpol and my daughter hates it. Ditto teething powders/gels etc all sit in my bathroom cabinet barely used.

One thing I heartedly recommend tho is some really nice quality handcream for mum - the amount of hand washing you have to do really plays havoc with the skin.

Others recommend a thermal cup to keep tea/coffee warm. Even books, DVD box set or something similar as there's a lot of sitting around feeding a newborn. Mum to no.2 will definately appreciate where you are coming from with these gifts. She will also probably have set ideas already on toiletry/medical products she likes and may (like me) have stacks left over from baby no.1.

sulkisu

I had an invitation to one of these a few weeks ago....complete with baby present list inside. Top of the list (they thoughtfully suggested that people might want to club together to buy these) was a washing machine and tumble dryer. Cheeky cow!

notanewuser

Fuzzy_Duck wrote: »

But how do you know what toiletries suit the baby until you've tried them?

I knew I'd never use Johnson's on my daughter months before she was born.

I didn't use anything but water for the first 6 months, and after that only products with no nasties - used sparingly they're unlikely to be irritants. She's now 29 months old and she's never had anything else.

Never used baby oil (used organic sunflower oil) or talc.

Claree__x

sulkisu wrote: »

I had an invitation to one of these a few weeks ago....complete with baby present list inside. Top of the list (they thoughtfully suggested that people might want to club together to buy these) was a washing machine and tumble dryer. Cheeky cow!

Okay so that's rude :eek: :rotfl: