Today’s post is a guest post from Nuur Hasan, the author of The Best Baby Gift Ideas website.
When it comes to baby shower gifts, many people think they will cruise through.
How hard can it be to pick up gifts for an expecting mother? There are hundreds of thousands of gift ideas you can find on the internet. Piece of cake. Right?
Wrong. Upon closer examination, it seems like many people give wrong gifts on the baby showers. Sometimes the gifts are offensive, but mostly the gifts are just inconvenient and useless.
Whatever you do, do not add the stress of an already embattled mom to be. Give her the gifts that are practical and would actually help her. Even better, if you’re throwing her baby shower, get some great tips for how to host a baby shower.
Before we begin, there are many people who give pregnant women the wrong gifts any time of year. If that’s the case, then this might help you. Whatever you do, try to find baby products that make parenting easier for the new mom and dad.
Gender-specific baby clothes
Unless you are absolutely sure what the gender of the baby is going to be, which is very unlikely in most cases, stick the neutral clothes. Many new parents also feel strongly that gender defining clothes are a thing of past. Why can’t boys look cute in pink and girls look adorable in blue? I’d just stick to neutral clothes. Isn’t that better, easier and efficient?
Here are some great ideas for the best organic baby brands, and the best organic baby products.
A gender neutral pick from Ollie Swaddle is a great choice as well.
Clothes or a dress for mom
When there is a baby shower, there is an expectation that gifts should revolve around baby gifts and something that is related to pregnancy.
There are tons of other occasions when you can give the new mom a conventional gift. Clothing is an especially shaky choice, as new moms are often extremely sensitive about their weight and clothing size.
Alcohol
Conventionally, the easiest gift to give on any celebration is the vino. Get a bottle of champagne, put a nice bow around it and you are good to go. However, when it comes to baby showers, any form of alcohol is a pretty impractical gift for a new mom who could be breastfeeding for a year or more.
Baby knee-pads
Most babies start crawling when they are seven months old. It is can be irritating for many moms to get an item that she won’t use for many months to come. Stocking it becomes a nuisance as well since the entire household is pouring with nursery items.
Shoes for the baby
If knee-pads are a no, then shoes can be are a big no-no, since most babies don’t walk until they are one year old. How is the mom supposed to keep shoes stacked for an entire year? You’d do well to simply forget about the shoes. Get her something she won’t buy herself.
Large stuffed toys
Stuffed toys are cute but they are also a bother to store. To top that off, many parents and kids have sensitivity to dust, and large stuffed toys can attract dust. Smaller ones are better, because they are easier to clean, but it may be better to steer clear of stuffed toys altogether because they can trigger allergies. If you want to get a toy, a teether or rattle would be a better and much healthier choice.
These smaller Joobles organic baby toys are a great alternative.
Nursery wall art
Unless you know the new parents extremely well, and they’ve told you exactly what they want on their nursery wall, and gone so far as pointing out the listing on Amazon, don’t buy them nursery wall art. Decorating a baby’s nursery is a private thing that most parents prefer to keep to themselves.
A gift certificate to a spa/dine out with short expiry date
Because of the sometimes diabolical things pregnancy does to a mother’s body, a spa or relaxation token might very well be the best thing you can give her.
However, make sure that it doesn’t expire soon.
Imagine how off-putting it must be for the mother that really wants to go dine out or relax at a spa, but cannot because she doesn’t feel well. It is better to co-ordinate with the mother on this. If you play your cards right, a gift token to a spa can turn out to be the ideal gift.
Merchandise with team logos
Imagine you got the baby an irresistibly adorable Yankees jersey. You love them, they are your favorite team.
Unfortunately, it turns out that the mom and dad are Mets fans. They will probably end up hating your gift. So make sure either you are covered on the team-they-support end or you steer clear of sporting merchandise.
Sexy lingerie
Sex is probably the last thing a new mom would think about. Her body is going through hell. There is an infant crying all the time, especially late into the night.
So, hold your horses, your friend won’t need lingerie for a good few months. Also the other factor is that a new mom is probably swollen and will shed a few pounds in months to come. Therefore size-wise, it is not a good idea to get her a lingerie.
Author bio: Nuur Hasan is a software developer, web developer and a technical writer with more than seven years of experience. He believes that sharing knowledge can do wonders and that is why he likes to blog. His other interests include politics and sports.