Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Archive for the ‘Baby Gifts’ Category

When you are chosen to be a Godparent in a new baby’s life, you are being honored in a very special way. You are being asked to help guide a baby’s religious upbringing and to promise to help raise the child should anything happen to the parents. It’s a true blessing to be a Godparent. You will have a special bond with your Godson or Goddaughter as they grow into adulthood and beyond.

The Baptism gift should be extra special since you are being honored with the spiritual care of the child. So, what can you give that will appropriately convey your love?

• Think about writing a special letter to your Godchild. Write about the day she was born and any special thoughts you have about her and sentiments for her future. Write it on special parchment or stationery and seal it in a decorative envelope. Write on it, “For Libby, To Be Opened on your 18th Birthday,” or some variation of it. Have her parents save it for her in her baby book or in another special place. You will both be so surprised to read it when all the years have passed.

• Give a photo album that’s engraved with your Godchild’s name and Baptism date. Then, as the years go by, offer to come over and fill it with special photos and mementos for the child. As the years pass, you will be creating a memory book that will be treasured.

• Traditional gifts, of course, include cash and savings bonds. You can even set up a special savings account for your Godchild now and tell her parents that you intend to add to it as the child grows up. Give the parents the passbook and account number. Then, as you make deposits, they can hold onto it for their child. You can include a letter wishing your Godchild happiness and hoping she will use the money for college.

• The day is all about bringing a new child into the Christian faith, so celebrate the big event with crosses. You can start a cross charm bracelet that you will add to over the years. Or, if you have a little Godson, you can start a collection of wall crosses or cross statues that you’ll keep adding to. If you travel, plan to purchase a cross everywhere you go and continually add to the growing collection. It will be a special reminder of a very special Godparent.

• Engraved pendants, lockets and other fine jewelry is also a nice idea. For a little Goddaughter, you might start her out with a real pearl necklace and add to it every holiday. By the time she’s 18, she’ll have a gorgeous strand of real pearls to wear to her prom. Or, start her out with a real silver or gold baby bracelet monogrammed with her initials. You can also purchase gem jewelry in her birthstone. You’ll probably be the first one to ever gift her with her birthday stone. A special pendant with a cross on it or a religious medal in silver or gold is also a fine choice.

The idea is to give a memorable gift that you can also keep adding to over the years. You will want to keep up your special relationship with your Godchild and having a special collection that’s started at birth will be a lovely way to do it.

What exactly is this thing called a diaper cake that everyone’s been talking about? It’s actually a very cute idea for a baby shower centerpiece or gift for the expectant mom at her baby shower. It’s a tiered “cake” made entirely out of rolled diapers. You can add as many tiers as you like to make it the center of attention or as few as you like to make it a simple gift. It’s great to bring to the hospital when you first meet the new baby or to give whenever a new baby is born. Here’s how to do it.

To start off you’ll need one large bottle of baby shampoo or lotion. This will be the base for your cake. You’ll need another small one, about 4oz. for the top tier. Then, you’ll need about sixty diapers for a standard three-tiered cake. You can choose to use either cloth diapers or disposables. Check with the new mom to see what she’s planning on using if you can. Select ribbon for the outsides of the cake that matches the shower décor. Gather up enough rubber bands to tie each diaper. Then, you’ll need some small baby supplies like travel sized powder, lotion, tiny thermometer, etc. These are for the outside to decorate the cake.

First, plan to arrange the cake on some sort of platter or disposable cake plate. Clear your area and start rolling up diapers. It’s easiest to do with disposable diapers because they’re already half folded. But if you are using cloth, just fold the diaper in half and then in half again and start to roll. Secure with a rubber band. Continue on for all sixty diapers.

To assemble, place the large bottle of shampoo or lotion in the center of the cake plate. Start adding the rolled diapers until you have on circle of diapers around the bottle. Secure the tier with wide ribbon tightly. Now, add the next tier. Do the same thing around the top of the bottle. Encircle it with the rolled diapers and secure with wide ribbon. For the third tier, place the small bottle of shampoo on top of the second tier. Use the rest of the diapers to create a small tip tier. Tie tightly with ribbon.

Use the extra supplies you have purchased to make a cute topper. A rubber ducky works well. Add the rest of the supplies by tying with ribbon onto the cake all around it. You can omit this last step if you like your cake the way it is. You can also sprinkle on baby-themed confetti that comes in the shape of ducks and baby bottles. You can find it at a craft store.

That’s it! Your cake is set to go. Present it to the hostess  and she may want to use it as a baby shower centerpiece. Or, just put it alongside the other gifts on the gift table. New moms love the gift of a diaper cake because as they disassemble it, they can use the diapers every day. It’s a gift that keeps on giving. Vary the sizes of the diapers if you like as moms tend to get more newborn diapers at their baby showers and then have to run out to the store as baby grows for the larger sizes.

Baby Time Capsule Gift

When there’s a new baby in the family, you wish you could capture every moment and freeze it in time. While no one can stop time, one way you can preserve this special time in your lives is by creating a baby time capsule.

The Idea

The concept behind the time capsule is not new. People have been preserving things for future generations to unearth since time began. The baby time capsule is an idea that’s recently become popular. It involves filling a tube or other non-degradable, air-tight container with mementos of baby’s first year. Then, you bury it for baby to dig up later when she’s all grown up.

Kits

There are some fantastic kits on the market that include everything you need to personalize a time capsule of baby’s first year. They include things like stickers to create photo album pages, certificates to note the baby’s birth date, stationery to write a “Letter to the Future” on and, of course, an airtight capsule to store it all in. Kits can range from the very inexpensive to very pricey, so choose one that best fits your budget. These make great baby shower gifts for expectant parents.

Do it Yourself

With a little ingenuity, you can make a time capsule yourself. Find yourself an air-tight container that won’t corrode or rust. A steel tube with secure lid works well. Don’t use anything cardboard or wooden that might get wet underground and damage the contents inside. If you have a unique metal chest, that would be perfect. Just make sure it has a tight seal. Store items inside the container that pertain to baby’s firsts—first time walking, first words, first outfit, picture of first pet, etc. You might want to include things from the whole first year of baby’s life, or just the first day they were born. It’s up to you. Then, store each item inside a sealed plastic bag. Some things to include are: a newspaper from the day baby was born, a picture of baby’s first day, a picture of the parents holding baby, an item of fashion of the day like shoes or an outfit of baby’s, pictures of the town on the day baby came home from the hospital, an unused cell phone (to show what cell phones looked like when baby was born), a record of baby’s first visitors (have visitors sign and write a note), printouts from the Internet of news stories the day baby was born, baby’s footprint keepsake frame, and a lock of baby’s first haircut. You can personalize this as much as you like. Try to include items that will have changed by the time baby opens the capsule in the future.

Leave Instructions

The fun of a time capsule is of course in finding it and digging it up. Be sure you leave a detailed letter of where you buried the capsule. You might want to place the letter inside a baby book you’re keeping for your child or another important place in the house. Include any landmarks that might be near where you buried it so baby can find it when she’s all grown up. Include a date when your child can go and dig for it. Make your letter as creative as possible. After all, you’re writing a letter to the future!

If you know someone who lives too far away to visit, and she is expecting a baby in the near future, you are probably facing the fact that it is time to start considering the purchase and shipment of a gift.  Picking out a baby gift can be fun and exciting as your peruse the aisles of adorable clothing, bouncers, high chairs, car seats, toys, and more, but, what about the shipping?  This can present a myriad of problems, but with a little bit of research you can tackle this problem.  Depending on the time of year, the shipment method, and the gift you are sending, you will have to ship at different intervals in order to assure the gift arrives within a week or so after the arrival of the bouncing baby boy or girl, and that it arrives in one piece.

Shipping UPS or FEDEX ground   If the recipient is within your state, UPS or FedEx ground will get there the following business day. That means that the gift shouldn’t be sent more than a day or two before the day of the shower or the expected arrival date of baby.  If the recipient is out of that zone (zones are different areas of the country that delivery services have divided up to provide lead times for customers), then you can usually assume two to three days.  UPS or FedEx also charge by the weight and the size of the package, so you will want to be careful if your package is too big either dimensionally or from a weight standpoint.  UPS and FedEx have maximum weights and dimensions, weight is usually up to seventy-five pounds, and the maximum dimension varies, so be sure to check out their website for that information if you are shipping on your own, as opposed to straight from the manufacturer.  

Oops, I have waited too long  If you wait till the last minute, and you have to get that package out UPS and FedEx provide next day air red (NDA) or blue, which is two day air anywhere in the continental US.  This form of shipping can be very costly and depending on the final destination, the two day guideline may not apply. This is especially true of areas not within the continental U.S.; Alaska and Hawaii.  You can get freight quotes from these providers by visiting their websites and following the prompts on how you want to ship something.  

Making sure it arrives in one piece   The next step you want to think about when sending a package is packaging.   How many times have you received something flattened or damaged in the mail?  Oftentimes when you ship something, whether it is with an independent agency like UPS or FedEx or with the US postal service they will offer you the option to put insurance on the package.  The fee is usually pretty small and is worth the money when you if you have an incident often times will not be covered by the agency because you declined insurance options.  Claims with these companies are arduous and almost impossible when you think that these people are dealing with hundreds of claims a day and often with huge companies that have the clout to push them around.  So your measly claim gets pushed to the bottom of the pile.   Nevertheless, get the insurance because you will eventually be reimbursed if there is an incident.

Another option  The US postal service is a tried and true agency with a long standing track record of SLOW delivery speeds.  This agency is really for small mail and parcels.  If you have a large package, go with the two giants UPS and FedEx.  Depending on your location, one will be better than the other.  So go to their websites and price up your delivery. Often, you can even use one quote from one agency to pit against the other agency.  They usually will try to match one another and beat it by a percentage.  The upside of postal delivery is that it is affordable, but of course, the downside is that they don’t really have up to the minute package tracking and delivery can often be slow.

The easiest method  Of course, the easiest way to ship a package is to let someone like Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets do it for you!  We ship hundreds of gifts a day so all you have to do is order up your favorite baby gift and we’ll take care of the rest!

Photo Credit:  Baby Rocking Horse Gift courtesy of Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets

Baby carriages make a great shower theme because of their versatility and popularity.  Take your shower theme a step further and give the guest of honor a carriage-themed gift!  Baby carriages or strollers tend to be very expensive, but you may be able to get a group of people to purchase this item and have it assembled before the shower.  If your group is big enough, you can add blankets, toys and clothes to use inside the carriage.  You will also find some less expensive carriage-themed gifts like the ones shown here.

My sons have a personalized room sign on the wall of their bedroom.  They love to see their names on the wall and I love that the theme matches their bedding.  The room sign shown here features a cute carriage theme along with the new baby’s name and date of birth.

Our website offers baby carriage-themed cookie bouquets, gift baskets and even diaper cakes!  You can even create your own baby-carriage themed gift by purchasing smaller items (body wash, lotion, manicure set, carriage-shaped photo frame, diaper cream, brush and comb set, hooded towels, booties) and assembling them into a basket as seen here.  It may be fun to assemble your own gift, but more convenient and less time-consuming to purchase it ready-made.  The basket is sure to find a home in baby’s nursery as a unique storage space.

Delight guests at your Under the Sea baby shower with games that celebrate your theme!  Guessing games are always a hit, so fill a jar with fish-shaped crackers and have guests try to figure out how many are inside.  The person closest to the correct number wins a prize – like an ocean scented candle.  Another fun game is one that tests your guests’ artistic abilities.  Have each person place a piece of paper on top of their head and then draw the best fish they can without looking.  The mother-to-be can judge each drawing and award a fitting prize (like a stationery set) to the winner.  If you have time to do a little research, look up the names of ocean babies (a baby whale is a calf, a baby shark is a pup, baby frogs are tadpoles, etc) then create a quiz based on these answers.  The person who gets the most questions right wins!  If you don’t have the time or creativity to come up with your own shower game, you can find a number of baby shower game ideas online.

Some of the prettiest and most colorful baby gifts available are those that celebrate an ocean theme!  The gift basket pictured above contains a hodgepodge of items including a musical CD, fun bath toys, some ocean-themed books and an adorable plush octopus!  You can purchase this gift as seen, or create one of your own by putting together “Under the Sea” items into a galvanized tub or wicker basket.  The gift container can also be used to store toys, diapers or blankets once baby arrives!  With a gift this beautiful, you may choose not to wrap it and instead display it as a fun centerpiece at your shower.

Over the course of our lifetime, we accumulate “stuff” that represents our history, experiences and the good and the bad events that have occurred during our journey through life.

I suppose I am overly sentimental and obsessed with ensuring my own children have keepsakes from their babyhood and beyond. Perhaps it is because I do not have mementos from my babyhood and toddler years that I place a huge importance on ensuring that my children do have treasures that they can appreciate as the years pass by. Call me a pack rat for my kids!

Photographs

Photos are a fabulous means of recording the life of a child.

For each photograph I take of my children, a copy is put into a special box for each of my child. The date and place is recorded on the back of the photograph in addition to additional names of others that may be in the photo. When my children turn 18, I will pass these photographs to my children for their own keeping.

Videos

A wonderful, realistic means of recording actions, words and developments of babies, toddlers and up.

The camcorder is an absolutely fantastic electronic device that I have become close friends with since my first baby. Not only do I take videos, but I also utilize video editing software to record music and sounds to the video clips to make it all the more personalized and interesting to others and my children. A copy of all videos is also put into safe keeping for each of my children.

Clothing and Toys

One cannot keep every single piece of clothing or toy, however, I have kept a piece of clothing and a toy from their newborn stage that has been given by a special person in their life such as grandma, grandpa, aunts and uncles, mommy and daddy and other special family members or friends. As the years go on, I am sure the collection will grow with favorite toys that they have cherished through their childhood or other “stuff” that will bring back fond memories.

Baby / Toddler Record Keeping Books

Recording the particulars of baby’s birth, date of their first steps, the first word spoken, a clipping of hair from their first haircut or all the “firsts” will be a wonderful keepsake for children when they are older. Every person is curious to know what they were like as a baby, what their favorite color or song was, etc. Remember, even parents forget such things and record keeping books are a great method of looking back and remembering your children.

Yes, I am probably Clean Sweep’s biggest nightmare but it is so important to me that I give my children a part of their history and I believe that they will be grateful when they are older and obtain these special treasures.

Personalized baby gifts and gift baskets are among our most popular gift items for newborn babies. Security blankets, baby blankets, plush toys and more embroidered with baby’s first name and birthdates are an excellent baby gift idea. Not only are they enchanting but are a fabulous keepsake gift that will last a lifetime.

Start your little blessing with a gift that will represent their babyhood and start in the journey of life. 

Give your child a blast from the past when they open the carefully constructed time capsule that you put together for them when they are born. They (and you) will have a scream looking through all the fun and practical items in the capsule. First, you need to find a container to hold all the goodies that you plan to include.  Some companies online sell a Time Capsule Kit that includes a container as well as some of the memorabilia suggestions. If you want to use your own container, use something that is airtight such as a coffee can with a lid or a brand new gallon-size paint can with the lid. Next include some or all of the items listed below. Be sure not to include things that are perishable or could smell (like food or drink) or things that have liquids that could burst or break such as batteries. You also should think twice before throwing in things that require technology to play them such as VCR tapes because who is going to have a VCR in 18 to 20 years?  Once, you’ve got the capsule filled to the brim with mementos, photos and letters, be sure to seal it up tight and put a ‘Do Not Open Until’ date on it. Many people choose the child’s 18^th or 21^st birthday as the open date. Store the capsule in a cool, dry place until the opening date. Do not bury it! Many a time capsule has been lost or forgotten during a move when they are buried.

1)   Photographs

a.       Pregnant Mom & her growing tummy

b.      Ultrasound picture

c.       Newborn baby photo

d.      Family photo with baby

e.       Photo of the house where you lived when baby was born

f.        Photo of the baby nursery

2)      Current Events

a.       Newspaper From The Day Baby Was Born

b.      Newspaper clippings and headlines

c.       Current Event information

d.      Fashion Trends

e.       Parents favorite movie, favorite TV show, favorite band and song

f.        Political leaders and how parents felt about them

3)      Letters

a.       From Mom & Dad talking about their dreams for the new baby

b.      From Friends & Family discussing current events, giving advice, etc.

c.       From Mom & Dad talking about the pregnancy announcement like how they felt, who they told first and how they reacted. Also include all the names you were considering for boys and girls.

4)      Factoids & Items from the birth year

a.       Include a stamp (that shows price)

b.      Include a coin from that year

5)      Cards & Notes

a.       Include a copy of the birth announcement

b.      Cards that people sent congratulating you on the birth

c.       Have each sibling make a birthday card and note for the new baby

6)      Baby Footprint or Handprint from a kit

This time when your sister, girlfriend or co-worker has a baby, give them something different and fun. After all, they probably will receive more clothes and toys than they’ll know what to do with. These ingenious and memorable gifts will be appreciated by the new parents.

 2 Week Dinner Circle – We all know that the first few weeks are so overwhelming that they just go by in one big blur so during this period of adjustment for Mom & Dad, put together a plan for your group of friends to cook dinner and dessert to bring to the family each day. This gift does double duty by relieving Mom of the daily grind of cooking and by giving her a chance to have some adult interaction with her friends. It is a great excuse for you to stop in a make sure that she is doing OK. Depending on how close the friends are, they could stay for dinner and then clean up to do the dishes or a little housework for an extra special treat.

Diaper Service Gift Certificate – When it comes to giving gifts to welcome the new baby to the world, giving the gift of time can be the greatest gift of all. Having a baby can be very stressful and takes a great deal of time. Diaper services can help relieve some of this stress so give the new parents a gift certificate for a week or two of services to help get them over the adjustment period hump. They have the option of extending the services as long as they’d like. They might love this gift so much that they’ll extend it until baby is potty-trained!

Disposable Diapers – Diapers might not seem like a great gift, but with the astronomical cost of diapers these days, this is a practical gift that will surely get rave reviews. If you’d like to dress the diapers up a bit and really turn them into a unique gift, you can make a diaper cake using instructions from someone like WikiHow or buy one online from Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets. Diaper cakes are beautiful, yet practical, gifts that are constructed from usable items so that nothing is wasted.

Photography Gift Certificate – Grandparents and family members love getting pictures of the little one so why not give a gift that’ll help offset the cost of professional photography? Places like Sears, Wal-mart and JCPenney have great package deals for baby photographs so buy a gift certificate to one of these photo studios and wrap it up with a beautiful 8″ x 10″ photo frame for a beautiful and unique gift that will certainly be used and enjoyed by all.