This post was suggested by a good friend who received some odd gifts… I thought it was a very good idea!! For H my wonderful sister-in-law threw a co-ed shower. Based on the invitations (bellow) you can see it was a bit of a diaper party, but people brought us some wonderful gifts as well! We have awesome friends and I must admit I didn’t get anything unwanted but I have heard enough stories… so here are some tips of what NOT to gift new parents or parents to be!
- Newborn clothing… or 3 month clothing for that matter! H was in newborn clothing for about a day… chances are everyone else will be bringing these outfits anyway and if not… it is actually nice to be able to pick out cute outfits for your own kiddo!
- Toddler clothing… I know I just said don’t get tiny clothing, but super large clothing can be just as inconvenient… lovely thought… but with the amount of stuff the new parents will already have to store, a cute shirt (that, to be honest, might be out of style by the time the kiddo can wear it) might not be the greatest gift.
- Blankets … yes the little one will need blankets, but unless you have some sentimental purpose (I received some beautiful handmade ones… I love) I would think twice about this gift… there are only so many blankets a person can actually use!
- Diaper bag… unless you actually know the person really well. A Diaper Bag depends so greatly on this persons style and needs. I actual received this as a gift, BUT I picked it out with this friend!
- Nursery décor… similar to a diaper bag it really depends on the families style and need… confession… again I actually received this as a gift BUT again I was consulted first, so it was awesome!
- Gifts after they are actually useful… many people have showers after the baby is born, if this is the case it is important to consider what the new family already has and still needs!
- Gifts without a gift receipt… now obviously there are exceptions to this, handmade gifts being the most obvious. You never know if the new parents are going to receive a couple of the same thing or maybe they already have purchased that item themselves (it’s kinda like wedding gifts)!
Did you receive something odd as a baby gift? I did get a knitted German lederhosen from my mother-in-law… but it turned out to be my husbands originally and it is hilarious (bring on Octoberfest!)!!
babyagogoblog 
How cute! This is good to know – so many people I know are having babies!
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Thanks! Hope this helps 🙂
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These are helpful tips! I normally just select things off of the registry and save personalized gifts for later on.
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
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I do the same thing! I think that is the best way to go!
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Never thought about what not to buy, always seen post about what to buy for the baby. Eye opening. Now I know.
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Thanks so much for reading! And commenting!
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I have definitely preferred to pick out my own diaper bag! This is an awesome post and I agree with it 100%.
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Thanks! I basically live out of my diaper bag these days!
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Hmm, this helps for baby showers (Which I don’t have much to go to…yet xD), but what about for a babies first birthday? My boyfriend’s niece is turning one and we are going to get her a few things. What are usually the best options here? I feel like she already has everything!~
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My favorite thing to give is diapers and wipes because they never seem to get enough of those!
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Great gift idea… Can never have to many!
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I tend to get gift cards so that they can pick out what they want or i get items off of a registry. sure you always end up with odd gifts anyways but its just part of life
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Some of the odd gifts can even end up being the best or just make you laugh because maybe they are totally reflective of that person!
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Love the Huggies + Chuggies theme!
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It was a huge hit!
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A friend of my mother’s got me a diaper bag…a Tweety Bird diaper bag. I smiled and was gracious about it…but, umm…NO. A diaper bag is personal and I picked a special one out for all 3 of my children
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Haha that would be for a very specific person I imagine!
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On my to do list tonight is to order a welcome baby gift for my friend’s newborn. Perfect timing! I made a melon baby for a shower once and I was so proud…but it was kind of creepy looking haha.
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I find the melon baby totally creepy… But so funny!! This means you are clearly an awesome friend!
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I don’t think I got anything for my showers that weren’t useful. We did get lots and lots of blankets, but we went through them like crazy. We kept a big stack of them on the changing table. Of course, they were obsolete within a few months, so there’s that…
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I received a lot of what I call burp rags (I think some people refer to them as receiving blankets)… Those I used… I mean more the frilly bed blankets 🙂
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It’s so funny what you get given isn’t it! We don’t really do registries over in the UK so I ended up with a lot of blankets! Luckily noone knew the sex of either baby so I could go out and buy clothing once they were here (and ours were both in newborn for weeks, they got well used!) so a lot of people gave baby toiletries – we’re still working our way through our baby shampoo stash and my youngest is 16 months!
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I guess that is a plus of the registry!
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Great tips that many people don’t talk about it! I so appreciate this! Thank you for sharing 🙂
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Thank you so much for your kind comment!
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