There’s nothing that quite measures up to the excitement that you’ll feel for a friend when they first announce that they’re having a baby. I mean, you get to shop for all these extremely cute & tiny things, minus the stress of having to prepare everything for the arrival of the baby. However, having said that, it’s likely that you’d want to get something that’s helpful to the parents!
When it comes to gift buying for a baby shower, one critical aspect to consider is what the parents are like, and what they would appreciate the most. For example, are they good-humoured and would appreciate a light hearted, funnier present? Are they more practical and would prefer something useful? Or are they more sentimental in the way that they would want a gift that would preserve memories of the baby and their various milestones?
By understanding these little things about your friends and what they are like as people, it will help you to find the perfect present for them and their little bundle of joy.
One important thing you should check before you start buying is whether the parents already have a gift registry, which they may have provided information to on the invitation. While it’s not a requirement for you to shop off the registry, it will give you an idea of what types of gifts the parents have a preference for. Below we’ve broken down items into various groups.
Practical Necessities
These items include things that will be essential to the parents in the everyday life of caring for their baby. This would include items such as diapers, nappy rash cream, bibs, baby bottles, pumps, baby clothes, sleep sacks, cloths & baby wipes, baby soap & shampoo, swaddles, sippy cups, onesies, socks or beanies.
Craftier & Sentimental
Craftier gifts are for those parents who would appreciate the personal touch and effort that has gone into making the gift. It can also be for those parents who would enjoy putting something together that has a higher sentimental value. For example, casting moulds for their baby so they can have a little structure of how big their baby’s feet were at a certain stage.
These craftier items include hand or foot moulds, hand or foot print sets, scrapbooks or items that memorialise the baby’s milestones in their early life.
Helpful & Thoughtful
These gifts are things that aren’t necessarily ‘essentials’ for when the baby arrives - but things that will come to be quite useful in time. These items include: Baby white noise sound machines, play mats, reusable changing mats, rock n plays, booster seat, boba wrap, baby bag, night lights, baby monitor & teething toys.
Some of our favourites would include:
Cloud B Bubbly Bunny - a baby sound machine that also works as a baby toy.
Oi oi Change Mat Kit which is reusable and wipes clean, perfect for outings and quick changes in the car:
Expensive Essentials
These are items that your soon-to-be parent friends may need that are a little harder to afford, such as baby car seats, prams or baby cots. Whether these are close friends of yours that you’re willing to splash out a little more for, or you have people who want to chip in, these are gifts that will surely be appreciated.
Soon Maternity proudly supply the Danish By Design Bed Nest. A fancy, functional design that allows you to connect the crib to your bed to let you ‘sleep’ with the baby, without any risk to injuring them.
One thing we’d recommend is having a gift receipt for any of the gifts that you purchase. With baby showers, much like any other gifting occasion, there may be double-ups on presents that you want to make it easy for them to return if they choose to.
Whatever present you choose to gift at the baby shower is likely to be accepted very gratefully by your friends - so finding the right present is not something that any person should have to worry about too much. We’d always just suggest making an educated guess at what you think would be useful to them, and you can’t go wrong!
