Free baby stuff

Former_MSE_Andrea
Former_MSE_Andrea Posts: 9,614
Combo Breaker First Post I've helped Parliament Rampant Recycler
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Calling all family board members... we need your help!

We want to give a helping hand to new mums and dads to be. The bigger ticket items can cost an arm and a leg so grabbing free samples can help keep costs down, even if it's just a couple of pounds.

I don't know about you but being a MoneySaver I started hunting for baby samples the moment I found out I was expecting - both times!

Can you help us help mums and dads to be?

Please share your freebie finds for parents. What have you found, did you get it, was it worth it, how did you rate it?

Thank you!

Check out our main site guides too:

Our Baby Booty Freebies (Freebies Roulette!) and Baby Checklist should help.

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Comments

  • Fantastic!

    Thank you Fluffysavvyshopper!

    Come back and let us know when you find more :)
    Could you do with a Money Makeover?


    Follow MSE on other Social Media:
    MSE Facebook, MSE Twitter, MSE Deals Twitter, Instagram
    Join the MSE Forum
    Get the Free MoneySavingExpert Money Tips E-mail
    Report inappropriate posts: click the report button
    Point out a rate/product change
    Flag a news story: news@moneysavingexpert.com
  • barbiedoll
    barbiedoll Posts: 5,326
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    As Fluffysavvyshopper says, the "baby clubs" are a great way to get vouchers for free stuff.


    However....can I urge everyone who wants to sign up for these type of clubs, to remember that they love having your data and they will sell it on.

    So....NEVER, EVER put your phone number on any of these forms. You will receive endless calls from life assurance companies and the like, some of which will tell you that you are terrible parents for not buying their over-priced products.

    Open a new email account and use it only for these clubs. You will be inundated with junk email along with your vouchers, so it may as well be all in one place!
    "I may be many things but not being indiscreet isn't one of them"
  • VfM4meplse
    VfM4meplse Posts: 34,269
    Combo Breaker First Post I've been Money Tipped!
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    barbiedoll wrote: »
    So....NEVER, EVER put your phone number on any of these forms. You will receive endless calls from life assurance companies and the like, some of which will tell you that you are terrible parents for not buying their over-priced products.

    Open a new email account and use it only for these clubs. You will be inundated with junk email along with your vouchers, so it may as well be all in one place!
    Excellent advice.

    Just to add that it's worth posting on Freecycle if you're really hard up, or using the site to "gift" items that are no longer required. Babies grow fast and the stuff they outgrow can accumulate so much space, let someone else have the benefit of it for a while. There are some things that it's is not recommended are secured second hand, though - car seats, for example.
    Value-for-money-for-me-puhleeze!

    "No man is worth, crawling on the earth"- adapted from Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio

    Hope is not a strategy :D...A child is for life, not just 18 years....Don't get me started on the NHS, because you won't win...I love chaz-ing!
  • euronorris
    euronorris Posts: 12,247
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    Can I just add that the Boots parenting club no longer do the free changing bag. I'm pregnant at the moment, with my first child, and a friend told me about the offer so I signed up but the voucher for the bag never came through. So, I asked the Boots Parenting Club via Facebook and they advised that they have stopped doing it :(


    That's not to say that signing up isn't worth it though, as the boost to your points balance when you buy baby related items is well worth it. I bought our 'Next 2 Me' crib from there, used a 10% voucher I found online, got free delivery, a free gift (as it was on special offer at the time - about a week ago), 2.5% cashback with Topcashback AND earned £14.90 in Boots points.
    February wins: Theatre tickets
  • I've had quite a few freebies from the Boots parenting club. The changing bag was free once I bought a pack of Pampers (I'm going to use this as a back up bag for DH to use as my main one is quite girly!) I've also had coupons through the post for free MAM bottles, Nutrimum gift sets & breast pads. You can also access the Boots app (pretty sure in iPhone & Android) to get vouchers too, including money off & extra points on baby things.

    As euronorris said the extra points is great too-we bought our pram from Boots when they had their Xmas points events on & had a 10% discount code. As the pram (Silver Cross) was sold as base & colour pack separately, I bought the base, got the points (about £120 worth!) and used my points (I already had a fair amount) to pay for the colour pack-meaning a £695 silver cross only cost us £495 cash :beer:
    MFW 2016 #32 £1574.66/£1500:j:j
  • Oh also we went to a Mothercare Expectant Parent evening a couple of months ago-I think I was emailed the info as I'm in the Mothercare club. The events vary depending on the store, and usually have local companies/groups advertising their classes/products, and also have lots of staff on hand to discuss products. We were given a 10% off voucher and also a very decent goodie bag-ours had breast milk storage bags, Heinz food pouches, samples of nipple cream, a mini hair conditioner (perfect for hospital bag!), some cardboard room temperatures and more bits I can't remember!

    I've been told good things about local toy libraries; as little ones aren't the same size for too long, things like outdoor slides, ride on toys, walkers, jumperoos etc. can be hired quite cheaply rather than buying them. Of course, as someone has already mentioned, Freecycle is a good resource for these things-as are friends & family who have children who have grown out of things!
    MFW 2016 #32 £1574.66/£1500:j:j
  • would love to hear about bargains as my dd had prem triplets in August they have finally got into 0-3 month clothes - now she is bottle feeding them the milk is costing a fortune and some supermarkets will not allow her to buy three lots of formula in case she is sending it abroad???
    olympic challenge starting 7/1/07:j
  • We were told at our NCT classes that companies & shops aren't allowed to put formula etc on special offers, and companies are only allowed to advertise follow on milk. A quick search has pulled this up, and appears it's not only in the UK:

    http://www.babyfeedinglawgroup.org.uk/sites/babyfeedinglawgroup.org.uk/files/bflgflier0507.pdf

    There's also a few articles out there about people importing formula to countries such as China, where western baby milk is in demand. Looks like some shops limit it to 2 per person per day too, making it extremely difficult for parents of multiples!
    MFW 2016 #32 £1574.66/£1500:j:j
  • VfM4meplse
    VfM4meplse Posts: 34,269
    Combo Breaker First Post I've been Money Tipped!
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    would love to hear about bargains as my dd had prem triplets in August they have finally got into 0-3 month clothes - now she is bottle feeding them the milk is costing a fortune and some supermarkets will not allow her to buy three lots of formula in case she is sending it abroad???
    i have a lot of sympathy with your DD's situation. Its really difficult when a specific formula is all your baby can take before weaning, and there's none to be found in any supermarket! At 5 months a baby may easily be drinking 1L+ ready made formula but not holding its head up by itself. What are you supposed to do, let it starve?

    The supply chain for baby food is just bonkers. In fact it's a national disgrace.
    Value-for-money-for-me-puhleeze!

    "No man is worth, crawling on the earth"- adapted from Bob Crewe and Bob Gaudio

    Hope is not a strategy :D...A child is for life, not just 18 years....Don't get me started on the NHS, because you won't win...I love chaz-ing!

  • Bounty Bags - first bag received from midwife at checking in appointment.

    Emma's Diary bags - register online and print vouchers to redeem at Argos or Boots, 3 bags to collect.

    These packs contain vouchers for money off washing capsules/softener etc you can combine with supermarket reductions to maximise value. I have *several* bottles of fabric softener, laundry detergent etc stored away some of which were very cheap combining the vouchers with the supermarket reductions (£0.50p Comfort Pure fabric softener for e.g.). Definitely worth taking advantage of as they can be stored away until needed :)
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