Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Baby Gifts’

If you know a mom to be and want to purchase a lovely and useful baby gift for the new little bundle of joy, look into buying a monogrammed layette.

What is a layette, you may wonder? If you haven’t had a baby yourself, you may never even have heard the term layette until now. A layette is nothing more than a set of clothing and items that a newborn baby needs when they first come home from the hospital. It used to be that new moms had to have lots of items in the nursery bureau drawers because fabrics didn’t wash as well and couldn’t be washed as easily. Now, with the convenience of the washing machine, moms don’t need to stockpile so many things. They can just run a load of laundry.

Busy moms, even with the washing machine at their disposal, still want lovely clothing for their newborn to wear. They may not have the time to do a load of laundry, or they may want to pack for traveling. So it’s still a good idea to gift a new mother with a wonderful array of items in a baby layette.

What should you include in a layette gift? Well, first consider making it unique and personal. If you can, order items that can be monogrammed. A good specialty retailer, online or in person, can offer you personalized baby baskets. You might not be able to get the baby’s entire name, since names these days are so unique, from a stocked item. You should be able to find pretty initials, or even sayings, on store brand bibs or onesies that create a monogrammed or personalized look.

Include in your layette gift some or all of these items:

• Onesies with long and short sleeves
• Baby booties or socks
• Monogrammed baby bibs
• Diaper covers (if mom is going to use cloth diapers)
• Sleeping sacks or buntings (these are shirt dresses that have drawstring or elastic at the bottom to allow for easy midnight diaper changes)
• Baby hats

These are the basic items to start with. You can always add more or less to your gift. Some layettes also include baby bath soap and lotion, crib bedding, baby spoons, blankets, etc. These are add-on items that you can certainly go in for with a group of friends or if you want to give a larger present.  Don’t feel you have to include every single item in a layette in order for it to be a lovely gift. Do what you can.

As for monogramming or personalizing, you may not even know the baby’s name until after the shower. Mom and dad may not have picked one out or don’t know if they are having a girl or a boy. In that case, you can pick up items that have cute sayings already printed on them, or you can do the family’s last name initial to make it more unique.

An embroidery shop will do monogramming on just about anything you bring in. So bring in a baby blanket or onesies or hats if you want them monogrammed. It’s a nice little touch and doesn’t cost much in money or time. It will make your layette gift that much more special to the new mom and dad.

More Unique Baby Gift Ideas:

• Top 10 Personalized Baby Gifts
• Best Personalized Baby Gift Ideas
• Mommy and Baby Combination Gifts

There’s so much magic around Christmas. And when it’s baby’s first Christmas, it’s an even more sentimental and special time of the year. If you want to give baby a special gift to commemorate her first December 25^th, get creative and look for items that are both adorable and fun.

A Santa Suit

Nothing in the world is more adorable than a baby in a Santa suit. If it says “Baby’s First Christmas” on it, so much the better. A Santa hat, red pants, or skirt and a top trimmed in white fuzz are festive and fun on the littlest guests. Add some cute booties, and you’ve got yourself a gift.

PJ's

Christmas pajamas come in every design from reindeer suit to little elf feet pjs. Gift baby with a few sets she can wear through the winter holidays. Get a few in slightly bigger sizes so she can wear them as she grows. Try to avoid ones with bows and sequins that can fall off in the wash and opt for screen-printed or embroidered designs.

Ornaments

Step into any store that sells ornaments and you’ll be bombarded with “Baby’s First Christmas” ornaments. Make your way through the choices with an eye towards finding the cutest and best quality one they have. After all, you want it to last through the years. Most will come with a date already printed on it, but if yours doesn’t have the year, take a permanent marker and write the date on the bottom.

A Stocking

Chances are, they don’t have their own baby christmas stocking yet. Embroider one or purchase a ready-made one with her name on it. Choose a design that’s needlepointed for lasting heirloom appeal. Fill it with baby toys for a complete gift.

Lullabies of the Season

Get baby started listening to Christmas music by purchasing CDs of holiday music. There are collections made just for baby’s delicate ear. Or you can make a recording for baby of downloads of your favorite Christmas tunes from iTunes. If baby doesn’t have a CD player in her room, choose a model that’s made for babies so she can use it now in her nursery and later when she’s able to push buttons herself.

A Handprint Kit

Many keepsake kits come with plaster of Paris mix so you can make a print of baby’s tiny hand. Some use baby-safe gel. You can either give the kit as a gift or make the print for the new mom and dad to commemorate their first Christmas with their new bundle of joy. Some kits allow you to make handprints or footprints in ink or as castings. There’s even a kit with several tins that lets you take baby’s handprint several times as she grows. Check out what’s available and choose the one that looks best to you.

Personalized Toys

Any personalized baby toy will be a hit as baby learns to recognize and spell her name. Personalized kids furniture with her name on it will come in handy after she learns to walk. Wooden letters in the form of a train are fun for new walkers to pull as they toddle.  You might choose purely decorative items with baby’s name for the nursery such as plaques that detail what baby’s name means.

Attending a first birthday party is one of the greatest joys in life. As baby marvels at (and puts her fist into) the cake, swats at the balloons, and tries to bite the paper on the presents, everyone gets to experience the wonder and imagination of the first year. Babies turning one are just learning to walk and are just finding their own way around. If you’d like to give a first birthday gift, here are some ideas that are developmentally appropriate and fun.

• A ride-on toy: Any toy that is designed for little ones to ride on will be a treat. Small cars, animals, and trucks make great gifts. Choose from ones that are pull along so mom and dad can help out. Or opt for ones that include ride-on extras like bells and push buttons that will occupy baby even at a complete standstill.




• Bath toys: One-year-olds are just starting to love their bath playtime. Any toy that is designed to be played with in the bath is a sure winner. Choose from squirt toys, toy netting to corral bath toys, bath crayons, floating animals, and more. You can also include a hoodie personalized baby bath towel for snuggly after bath time.




• Weebles: Chunky toys are a good idea for this age group. Weebles are especially fun because they bounce back up when baby knocks them over. Small Weeble houses or buses or buildings will keep baby happily busy for hours. You can add on extra sets of Weeble people and animals so the fun never has to end. Don’t be surprised if the adults join in, too.




• Soft Sets: Many play sets now come in soft versions for beginners. Mom’s purse, a lunch bag, doctor bag, and more are all available in chubby fabric. These sets are not only fun to look at and play with, they also help baby develop coordination and hand-eye skills.




• Wooden Playsets: The most clever and fun wooden play sets are not on the market. You can find a birthday cake made of thick decorated wooden slices along with a safe wooden knife, a pizza kit, fruits and vegetables, and more all done in decorated wood. They look realistic and are safe and fun for baby to handle. There’s even a sushi kit made entirely of wood.




• Big Puzzles: Big, simple puzzles that baby can play with on the floor are fun. The bigger the pieces, the better. Baby will not be able to put the puzzle together herself at first, but with repetition will come to learn opposites, shapes, colors, and animals that are features of the pieces. A great way for baby to play while learning.




• Personalized Baby Items: Baby’s name is now a big part of her life. She’s going to want to know how to spell it now that she’s learning to say it. Wooden cut-outs of her name with colorful designs are fun as are blocks that spell out her name. Any number of shapes can be found in wall décor and floor play pieces that feature names. If you’ve got a friend with an unusual baby’s name, order a personalized item online rather than a store where stock is limited. Order early as often personalized products take a little longer to arrive.

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.

Looking for more ideas? Try this article on Baby Carriage Themed 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 birth dates 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.

Related Articles:

• Baptism or Christening Gift Ideas for Baby
• Baby Teething Timetable