Wednesday, 24 March 2010
Finding The Perfect Baby Gift
Classic Gifts
Simple Presents are always the best. A memorable gift like a baby’s first china bowl and plate, there are many memorable designs such as Beatrix Potter, by Royal Dolton. This classic present never goes out of style, and is something everyone will cherish for a lifetime. In fact, many people pass these precious dishes down from family member to family member for generations to come. Engraved Gifts also make lovely Baby Keepsakes, such as Money Boxes, Personalised Albu,s and Photo Frames
A Basket Full of Practicality
A basket full of necessities for the baby will always come in handy for the new mum, from baby nappies to baby spoons and blankets. A simple basket of baby goods is a practical way to welcome a new born into this world, and will save mum a few trip’s to the supermarket.
Sleeper’s in Different Sizes
If mum needs one thing for her new baby its sleeper’s in various sizes. Baby’s grow quickly and do not remain in their infant size clothing for too long. They are always in need of new sleep suits. And if there is one thing babies like to do in their early beginnings it is to sleep. Sleepers are the perfect present for any mum who knows she will have a fast growing baby, and no time to sleep.
Gifts from the Warmth of Your Heart
A gift of homemade goodies is always a great baby gift for new mums. No mother wants to cook after they have just given birth and been released from the hospital. A homemade casserole is the perfect way to show you care, and is a fantastic present for the sleep deprived mum who no longer has time to comb her hair.
The Gift of Time
Another fantastic baby gift is the gift of time. Give the new mum a break - it is always appreciated and welcome. Mum and dad would both be elated to have a couple of hours of time to get away. Plus, you get to spend some alone time with a new bundle of joy, and bond with its delightful smile.
All that Matters is You Care
Baby gifts don’t need to be expensive or luxurious but they should show you care. And a little thought goes a long way in finding the perfect baby gift. New mums will appreciate the time you took in spending to find, or create the perfect gift for the new loved one in their life.
Finding the perfect gift is easy - all you need is little imagination, a little creativity, and a little use of your own time. To welcome the newest edition into your friends or families life, an original baby gift will show how much you truly care.
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Simply Wooden Gifts For Children
Friday, 19 March 2010
Buy Baby Gift Items That Are Personalised
A range of unique and creative baby gifts and accessories await you if you are going shopping for your baby. Personalized keepsakes can last a lifetime and one would prefer a personalised baby gift rather than a simple one which has no personal touch. Buy baby gift items and personalise them to add value and uniqueness.
All About Personalised Gifts for Your Baby
An enormous list of options available for personalisation includes silver gift sets, silver photo frames, birth candles, bone china, pewter and glass products. You could personalise china plates in 22ct gold with the child's full name, place and date of birth. They make a very special newborn baby gift. When looking to buy baby gift items for personalisation, a gift with lasting appeal certainly adds value.
Another option is personalised children's music CDs. Kids enjoy singing along to songs and will certainly love hearing their own name sung in the lyrics of the songs. Along with their great entertainment value, these personalised CDs help to build self-esteem and develop self-confidence in the baby.
Baby gift baskets are another great option. They are filled with great things for both mum and baby. They are the perfect pick as baby shower gifts, newborn baby gifts, as a first and second birthday baby gift. Browse all baby gift baskets and see that the basket is not filled with useless and cheap trinkets. See to it that the baby gift baskets have practical, useful and fun stuff within them.
Other possible choices which help the little one feel comfortable in their first bedroom include artwork, hand painted furniture, bedding and cribs designed and personalised for the baby. Comfortable baby blankets and cosies can be found in this category as well.
Another choice is personalised books for children. For sale are deluxe framed names, in which the name of the child is written alongside beautifully illustrated pictures for each initial, and the origin and meaning of the name is explained.
Soft toys, which babies love to have, can be personalised as well. Included are a number of personalised teddy bears, with embroidered details. The best part is that a personalised bear can include any name or message up to 50 characters long, from a simple birthday greeting to complete name and birth details.
A mug can also be personalised with around 50 characters and kids love to have their early morning drink in them.
Baby clothes are an item that parents cannot get enough of. Of course, many different ways of personalising clothing exist, such as embroidery, hand-painting, and iron-on artwork.
Keep in mind the following while looking to buy baby gift items:
- The age of the baby while making the selection
- See that the quality of the selected gift is good.
- If the baby loves music, give him a personalized CD
- Buy clothing items a few sizes larger so the baby can grow into them if shopping for personalised t-shirts etc.
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Baby Shower Gifts - Perfect Gift For A Mummy And Daddy
Looking for ideas on what to give will not be a problem but what you have to remember when buying baby shower gifts is, it is not about you and your likes and dislikes. The new mum-to-be may not have the same opinion on what you see as pretty or not. Stick with the essentials and you cannot go far wrong. By doing this you know that your baby shower gift will be truly appreciated especially if it helps towards reducing the new parents cost allowance in raising the baby.
If you are not sure of what the essentials are then the list below may help you decide on what to bring as your gift to the party.
1. Nappies may not be the most fanciful of gifts to bestow but certainly the most practical. We all know that you can never have too many nappies of which mummy will find out a little later when baby is here. Nappies can be very costly so I am sure that this baby shower gift will not be snubbed. You have two types of nappy - the disposable or cloth. A tip for the parent, if you receive cloth and don’t intend to use them then why not cut into neat square strips and use for baby flannels - you will need them come bath time.
2. Bottles and Pacifiers are fabulous gift items but need to be chosen with care e.g. colours, pacifiers in blue don’t suit little girls or vice or versa. This sort of gift picking can be a nightmare because baby can be picky on what they are comfortable and content with.
3. If you choose to buy baby clothes as your baby shower gift always go for a size bigger or bigger again as babies are not babies for long. Selecting what clothes to buy will be a lot simpler if the sex of the baby is known or the month baby is due. By having this information under your hat your choice regarding colours and which outfit for the season will make your task easier.
4. Toys make ideal presents but once again the sex of the baby is definitely a plus to know. You can help boost baby’s mind with self educational stuff, things like classic story baby books, video and music CDs even cuddly bears which often becomes baby’s companion at bedtime.
5. Bath time and babies, they either love or hate the water. For babies that love to splash then perfect gifts are baby shower bath toys. For infants who are dubious in taking the plunge you have to make this experience as enjoyable as you can by giving little excites like cute rubber ducks bright and colourful. Scented bath rubs like lavender cologne or even bubble bath may help baby relax more. Towels/flannels are among other gifts warmly welcomed for help to easing bath time pressure, mopping up splashed water. This is a time for wetsuits believe me.
If all fails at bath time in keeping the agitated baby content and the baby shower gifts are not helping to overcome the fear then you have no option but to play clown for a while. The more action around baby at this time e.g. a mad mummy and daddy dunking their head under water may just help baby to forget why he/she made all the fuss in the first place.
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Baby Shower Favor Ideas and Tips
Even though guests shouldn’t expect to leave any party with anything, it is always a nice gesture to give parting guests a favour. Here are some instructions for simple and easy baby shower favours that you can make at home. By making the favours yourself, not only can you save money, but the handmade favours can be personalised easily to reflect the tastes of the mum-to-be and the theme of the shower!
Baby Bottles
Even your local Poundstretcher store can be a great place to find favor ideas. Plastic baby bottles can be filled with chocolate, candies, Jordan almonds, jelly beans, bath beads or bath salts. Tie some ribbon around the neck with a tag that says “Thank You” with the mum’s and baby’s names on it.
Baby Booties
Filled with candies, wrapped chocolates, gum balls, you can tie these at the tops with ribbons and a tag, much like the baby bottles.
Organza or Net Bags
You can find these in the wedding section of most major craft retailers. Fill with candies, bath salts, chocolates, etc.
Plastic Bottles or Glass Jars
It’s not too hard to find these types of containers. If you don’t see them locally, search online and you can order them in large quantities. Fill them with bath salts, bubble bath, shower gel or even baby powder. You can tie a tag on them that has a cute verse about showering them like they showered the mum-to-be!
Tea Cups
Some baby shower hostesses have purchased tea cups and a flat of flowers and put one flower in each mug for a beautiful favour. A great place to find odds and ends tea cups is at local garage sales and thrift shops. Find some with pretty flowers painted on the sides. You can also fill the tea cups with candle gel and a wick for another fun favor idea.
Flower Pots
With a cute tag telling the recipient to nurture their plant as the new mom will nurture her new baby, you could give guests small flower pots and seed packets or bulbs for tulips or daffodils for them to plant and grow some flowers. If you want to do more, decorate the flower pot with acrylic paints or rub-on sayings or pictures found in the scrapbooking section of craft stores. You can even get a simple foam stamp to decorate them.
Candy Bar Wrappers
You’ve seen those expensive candy bar wrappers you can order, but why not make your own? These are perfect favours for baby showers that take place after the baby has arrived! Just purchase a large quantity of candy bars from your local warehouse store and take one wrapper off to measure the size of the wrapper. Now you have a template. Create a wrapper using your favourite software and add special details like the baby’s name, birthday, weight and length and don’t forget to add the parent’s names as the “manufacturer”. For ingredients, try words like “sugar and spice and all things nice,” “love,” “snips, snails and puppy dog tails.”
There are so many ways you can make inexpensive favors that your baby shower guests will really love. Even something as simple as a bar of glycerine soap tied with a pretty ribbon is a nice gift most people will enjoy. Look for sales and clearance items to really save money, but have the look of an expensive gift.
Baby shower favours that you make at home are personal gifts that add a great touch. Not only does it make your guests happy, but it shows the mom-to-be that you care for her friends, too! Have fun making your homemade baby shower favors!
Sunday, 14 March 2010
What do you buy a new born baby?
So your friends have had a baby, and you’re wondering what to get them for a gift. Well, you’ve come to the right place. Here are a few ideas to get you thinking - you might not like all of them, but hopefully there will be something here that appeals to you.
The first, and most obvious, candidate for a baby gift has to be clothes. Many people are reluctant to buy clothes in advance of the birth because they’re not sure what gender the baby is going to be, but don’t let that put you off – white clothes are nice-looking and gender-neutral. It will depend on where you live, but the best baby clothes tend to be soft, fluffy things that can keep the baby cosy and warm. Do realise, however, that clothes aren’t exactly an original gift, and the couple might already be snowed under with them.
Toys are another favourite, although it can be difficult to know what to get. Things like mobiles and other brightly coloured things that the baby can swipe at tend to be a good choice, as are rattles and soft toys that make noises. You will probably win more points with the parents by getting more educational baby toys, such as those with shapes or animal noises, instead of ones that just seem cool.
If you want to think more unconventionally, though, there are plenty of things to consider. Why not buy (or contribute towards) a cot, or a pushchair? Why not start a savings fund for the baby, with a decent chunk of money to get it started? Or you could buy nappies, or bath stuff, or whatever – take a look at the baby section in any shop to get plenty of ideas.
One last idea: with all this focus on things for the baby, maybe the parents are feeling a little left out, with no presents for them and no money or time left to treat themselves for a good long while. A nice thing to do is to get a present for the parents, as it will probably be the only thing they get for themselves, and they’ll be pleased that someone thought of them.
Tips For Planning Great Baby Showers
Baby showers can make an expectant mother feel more secure in the fact that her friends are all pulling for her and giving moral and financial support. Usually the baby shower is organized by non-relatives. But today, there is isn’t abnormal to find family members, support group members, church friends and pretty much anyone except the expecting mother.
Inviting the Guests
Who should you invite? Usually, the guest list will only include those nearest and dearest to the expectant mother. It wouldn’t hurt if she gets a first look at the guest list so that she can suggest who should be invited. If you are planning a surprise baby shower, you will have to do a little research on who should be attending instead of running the list through the expectant mother.
If the child is not a firstborn, you may opt to keep the number of guests down to the closest to the mother. Firstborn baby showers tend to have a larger guest list since it is, after all, the mother’s first time.
The thing to remember is that the nature of baby showers is intimacy. So, for any baby shower party, try making the gathering one of intimate friends.
You could use informal ways to invite these guests: email, phone and others. Invitation cards and other letters are the best way, however, as they provide a tangible, traceable evidence of invitation. Plus, it is the most sure and formal way to invite a person – and in many cultures – the only way.
What About the Guys
The nature of the party is probably going to tend towards the feminine side; if the organizers of the party have a provision for this, then inviting men would be fine. It also depends on the men, since the party may dwell on topics such as pregnancy, children, and other motherly topics, they might not be that excited to join. All in all, it depends on the preference of the organizers.
Venue
Anywhere! As long as it can keep with the placid and fun nature of the occasion, any place would be fine. The more usual places on baby shower lists are backyards, formal halls, restaurants, and basically any room that has the amenities to make a baby shower successful. Just make sure the venue is not crowded and stressful to the mother-to-be. It also pays to make sure the venue is set long before the actual baby shower happens.
When to Throw a Baby Shower
Usually this is one or two months before her due. The baby shower is the perfect time to get your friend baby needs and stuff she may not have had time to purchase yet. It has to be well-timed though – not too close to the due date, and not to far as to whittle down the excitement.
Baby showers are a pleasant surprise to expecting mothers. It takes a lot of the stress of expecting a child off of their minds and provides a means for friends to show support and concern (and of course, baby gifts) to expecting friends.
A properly coordinated baby shower will be greatly appreciated and forever remembered by mothers long after they have delivered their children.
A Guide To Baby Gift Registries
Registering online is easy. There is usually a form to fill out asking name, address, phone number, etc. When that is completed, you will be prompted to select from among hundreds of baby items. As you choose, your items will be stored in the registry. When someone logs on to the registry, they select from the items you listed. The item they choose is then listed as purchased.
A baby gift registry is truly a nice way to spread the word about the arrival of one’s bundle of joy. It offers all the items that parents need to care for their baby. Most products offered are quality baby goods and are priced reasonably.
Baby registries make shopping easy and save time and money. There is no running from store to store, hoping you select the right gift -- one that someone else hasn't already purchased. Purchases online are usually made with a credit card, but one can also usually mail a check. Once payment is processed, the gift is immediately mailed. Most websites are secure, so there is no need to worry about stolen information.
Registries are set up with the idea of knowing what expecting or new parents need and giving family and friends the opportunity to purchase baby gifts the parents would like to receive.
