Bridal Shower History Article
Shopping for Baby Shower Gifts
When you are invited to a baby shower, the shopping for the gifts can be the best part. You get to look at all those adorable little bitty baby things, and all the new things that have been put on the market since you had your own kids. While you probably want to buy all of those little cute items, odds are, the mother to be may not need them. In fact, most mothers-to-be get so many of those teeny baby clothes that they end up still having some of them hanging in the closet with tags on them when the next baby comes along. So, rather than go with your gut and buy up all of those little cute sleepers and dresses, try to put some thought into finding a gift that the expectant mother will really be able to use for her new baby.
Odds are, the expectant mother has already created a list of the items that she needs and would really like to have for her new baby, and if the shower isn’t to be a surprise, then it would be perfectly okay to ask her up-front what she would like to have. If the shower is meant to be a surprise, you could ask the host, or the maternal grandmother, as these two people are likely to already have the list on hand. This way, the mother to be will have no idea what your gift may be, which can make for a more exciting shower.
Nowadays, many moms will take a day and go to a store that offers a baby registry, and scan in the items that they would like to have. The shower host then lets guests know what store the mom has registered at, and they can then go to that store to get a listing of the items that have yet to be purchased. You can then carry that list around the store with you, looking for the items that the mom to be really wants and needs, rather than spending money on items that she already has, or won’t likely use. The nice thing is that if you are shopping on a budget, the price is also printed on the list. This can save you a lot of time, so you don’t have to go through every item on the list to find something that you can afford to purchase.
There will be some guests who don’t want to use the shopping list, preferring to pick out their own baby gifts, and if you are one of them, that is okay too!
If you would like to give a more personalized baby shower gift, you can always have some engraving done, or if you purchase a blanket, you could have the baby’s name embroidered on it, if it has already been picked out. This works really well after the baby is born, as you can have the baby’s name, birthday, weight, height, etc., embroidered on.
The usual custom is that the shower host doesn’t purchase an additional gift, allowing the shower to be their gift to the expectant mom, but if you are a host and want to purchase a gift, feel free to do so!
