Useful Gifts for a Baby Shower

Not a lot of money to spend?
Well, as I mentioned above, coupons are a great gift, but there are other things you can do that are still good gifts and don't cost a cent.

Make a list of websites that offer discounts on baby needs, or parenting advice. Print out the links. Helpful!
Offer to:

1. Cook Dinner
2. Clean a room in the house, or the whole house
3. Walk or care for a pet
4. Clean and wash the car
5. Launder the baby things for a week
6. Watch the child/ren so that the parents can have a night out
7. Bring over movies
8. Baby proof a cabinet or under a sink
9. Make casseroles to put in the freezer
10. Run to the store to get something at any time of day or night one time

Don't give in to the temptation to buy size "newborn" baby diapers. For a healthy newborn, these will be useful for less than a month.I know of several babies that never were able to use the newborn diapers. The new parents will have to either return the small diapers to a store, or they will have to set them aside for any future babies. If you are going to buy diapers, learn if the parents are using cloth or disposable. Ask if they have a brand preference.

When I learn that I am invited to a baby shower, I go through coupons, and I make an envelope filled with baby items. Lotions, diapers, baby wipes, bottles, medicines and more, if it is related to a baby, I make sure to put it in the envelope.

Check and see if there are any online registries for mother or child. This can save a lot of heartache and hassle.

Sometimes, if you get baby shower invitations, you will see that most of the gifts are already purchased, but you want to bring something as a gift. Here are some really wonderful ideas that I have seen at showers that were extremely well received and useful:

Smaller size laundry basket, filled with a small bottle of baby laundry detergent and fabric stain treatment.

Baby bag filled with diapers, lotion, wipes, diaper rash cream and empty zip top bags to dispose of used diapers on the go.

Gift cards from local restaurants

Burp cloths and accessories in NON PASTEL girlie colors so that the father can take the baby out as well. Men really like not having to use pastel colors in some cases.

A darling gift idea I saw once was a large cleaning bucket filled with cleaning supplies for babies, such as a bottle brush cleaner, cleaning items for baby stains in clothing, sanitizing wipes for cleaning surfaces, and a bottle of bubble bath for mom and dad.

Small containers designed to store pumped breast milk can be expensive for a new family, if a mother is breastfeeding, these small plastic freezer containers are very convenient.

Ice packs designed for use by children are excellent to take with you to appointments for shots at the pediatricians office. They are also helpful in keeping a prepared bottle chilled if you will be away from home for a bit.

Newborn socks and shoes are really useless for a baby, they outgrow them so very fast. A better gift is socks and shoes for an older baby so that they will have a longer use time.

If the family is using a certain bottle design, find out if there are special accessories for that product and get that. I was the hit of a party once for buying replacement nipples and caps for a bottle line that my sister chose. Turns out, they sold out a lot at stores.

When wrapping a baby gift, tuck the receipt into the card. Exchanges are much less of a hassle if you include the receipt.

A gift bag is better than paper because the shower recipient can use the bag to store multiple gifts.

Tie a ribbon tag to the gift saying who it is from in case your card and the gift are separated.

Note if the item is or isn't on the registry. That can save trouble if the parent is trying to complete a set.

Include a set of "Thank You" cards as a gift so that new parent/s don't have to scramble for cards.