Gifts.. I dont know what to say..

[CLH_X3]

Alot of my friends that know im pregnant now (with my first) have asked me what I want as a Gift!!? I mean like every friend

and I just dont know.. ..One friend the other day said just let me know what you want and il pick it up..

I dont want to be rude and say something thats £15 when they may only want to spend a £5..

The only thing I have said I DONT want is clothes, as by the looks of it my mums kitting the baby out for the first 9 months..

A friend of mine wants to throw a baby shower as well...

What do eveyone else do in this situation? do you actual tell them what you want or let them pick something they want to... ?

 

[Szaffi]

Maybe do a gift list with cheaper and pricier items as well and let them know where they can find it.

I got lots of clothes (lots second hand too) and I was grateful for everything. My collegues all grouped up and gave me 1 expensive present.

I didn't have a proper baby shower, but some of my friends got together and threw me a small party. They asked OH what we still need and I got little things like bath thermometer, night light, clothes, little toys, bath float, baby shampoo. It was a lovely surprise. Also stuff you tend to lose all the time - hats, socks, dummies (if you plan to use them). Usable things: changing cream, diapers, wipes.

THere is plenty of fairly cheap items that you'll need (or don't need but nice to have) - muslin clothes, dummy clip, toys that attach to car seat / buggy / cot to dangle, rattles (it's good to have a variety of these little toys and be able to change it), baby nail clippers, brush, night light, etc.

Tell them though not to buy soft toys that don't do anything in pastel colours - newborns like bright colours, red is the first one they see and those toys are not very stimulating and can pose a suffocation risk.

 

[ess]

Wow- you're so lucky - we don't baby showers over here (presuming you are in the states)and people usually just bring a gift if they visit the baby after it's born.

Can you set up a gift list maybe online? send it out to everyone that's asked- they do make life easier for everyone.

 

[MrsPtobe]

Sorry - meant to post a new topic, came out as a reply!

I'm in the same boat, everybody wants to buy things for bubba but I don't know what's acceptable to ask for!!

xxx

 

[Emmy1987]

I set up two gift lists on two websites, and put things that were luxuries on them. Like a nice dress, toys etc. It's stuff we don't need but would like to have.

 

[DragoPanda]

my mom said that her friend wants to throw a baby shower for me... I don't want people buying clothes because I want to pick my child's clothing lol. I happen to dislike many Disney characters and they are so popular in infants clothing which is the main reason I am against that notion. If I drew a list saying only the following characters allowed people would think I am looney!
Come to think of it, I kind of feel that way about everything! So I don't know what they would buy me. I could say diapers but even with that, I would want a specific brand lol. I am just anal that way I guess. I would draw up a list like some suggested like when people get married and they can choose from there what to buy...

 

[CLH_X3]

Wow- you're so lucky - we don't baby showers over here (presuming you are in the states)and people usually just bring a gift if they visit the baby after it's born.

Can you set up a gift list maybe online? send it out to everyone that's asked- they do make life easier for everyone.

Thats the funny thing, im in the UK! ...
One of my friends though LOVES babys and wants to arrange one..

I think il just make a list of cheaper gifts and then they can pick what they want

 

[miss cakes]

oh god i get embarrassed about all this aswell when my sister was pregnant she asked for mothercare vouchers as she didnt know what she wanted at the time lol whenever anyone asks me i always say some booties you can never have enough of them they are so adorable you might end up with a pair for every outfit lmao x

 

[Hoppersgirl]

We have a couple of catalogues that we've marked all our essentials and a few 'would love to have items'. If people ask what they can get us, we ask them if they would like to look at the catalogue. It means they can choose something in the price bracket they wantto spend, it will be something you need and for me it feels like I'm not expecting any gifts even though I know people will want to get us something.

 

[CLH_X3]

Yeah i want to pick stuff im actually going to need rather then just want

 

[DragonMummy]

i always ask for vouchers, generally for big name pharmacies so you can get nappies or bottles or whatever as and when you need them. That leaves more money free for you to buy stuff you really like!

Drago I know what you mean - I loathe all the endless cynical disney merchandising and won't have winnie the pooh in the house which is what people seem to think you want when you have a baby! Am concerned as we've nicknamed this baby Tiger so am likely to get an influx of tigger themed crap.....

 

[DragoPanda]

i always ask for vouchers, generally for big name pharmacies so you can get nappies or bottles or whatever as and when you need them. That leaves more money free for you to buy stuff you really like!

Drago I know what you mean - I loathe all the endless cynical disney merchandising and won't have winnie the pooh in the house which is what people seem to think you want when you have a baby! Am concerned as we've nicknamed this baby Tiger so am likely to get an influx of tigger themed crap.....

lol, I happen to passionately despise that Pooh bear (although I love Eyore lol). I find Winnie the Pooh on everything, even on strollers. He definitely won't be making an appearance in my house either. The vouchers are an excellent idea!

 

[TTCNumbertwo]

You can make registries at Babies R Us and Amazon. Here in the US almost everyone has baby showers, and they just buy stuff off your registry. I put stuff on there from 2 dollars all the way up to my furniture that was hundreds. People like to go together to get the big items.

 

[jobee2222]

if i were you i'd just say surprise me

 

[DragonMummy]

you WILL get about 3000 outfits and EVERYONE will buy you age 3-6 months as they will assume everyone else will buy you newborn. I ended up having a super well-dressed baby for those 3 months!

 

[Palestrina]

Lucky me I live in the US and we don't have that problem. Everyone wants to throw me a baby shower so I will have to be going soon to make my registry. It sounds like people are itching to know the sex (we find out next week!!) so they can start shopping for us. It's overwhelming how generous it is.

My advice is that if baby showers are a new trend where you live, follow the trend. Once more and more people start doing it in your circle of people then it will become more acceptable. The great thing about registries is that you can have a range of items at every price point so people can choose to buy whatever fits in their budget.

If you're still uncomfortable with a shower then just ask your friends what you should do. If everyone is offering gifts then maybe they could offer advice on what to ask for.

 

[Ashley2189]

I agree with what others are saying about making a registry. Here, you're kind of expected to have a registry and people just pick off of that. That way, they know they are buying you items that you actually want, but they can stick to their price range without anyone feeling weird about it. I'm 18 weeks, I've had people asking for my registry for weeks already and I won't even find out the sex until the end of February!

 

[strawberry19]

my mum has offered to buy us a pram and my MIL is buying our cotbed mattress and car seat, ive had people ask and ive just said suprise me! people know i dont like the whole pink and blue thing and they know my nursery theme so im letting them decide.. most of my friends have good taste!!