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Cribs, Bibs, and Teddy Bears: Choosing the Perfect Baby Gift
You’ve drawn up plans, asked the opinion of several friends, and even searched the internet, yet you still can’t find the perfect baby gift. Well, you’re not alone in your struggle. According to the National Center for Health and Statistics, every year Americans welcome roughly 4,000,000 babies into the world. Each new bundle of joy requires not only a loving home, but some common amenities to make the caretaker’s life a bit easier. Whether you’re expecting a child, or know someone who is, buying baby gifts can be a daunting task. Thousands of child products and hundreds of companies leave many shoppers with their heads spinning; but fear not, there is an approach to make your life easier. By following four simple steps, you can narrow your selection in choosing your gift.
So, where does one begin? Ultimately, the most important factor everyone should consider is money. How much you are willing to spend on a baby gift is an obvious, and yet, often overlooked step in the selection process. Whether you have $25 or $100, setting a price range is top priority in choosing a gift. You may feel that an expensive product would offer the greatest possibility of getting a baby gift; but this is simply not the case! Some of the most thoughtful/useful presents can be found under $25. One product that every parent requires are sets of bibs and burpcloths. If you’re not satisfied by a simple bib, nursery decorations can be relatively inexpensive and unique. If however you find it necessary to purchase a product that is more expensive, your best chance of success is choosing a product that is useful. An Eddie Bauer Car Seat will not only keep a child safe while in an automobile, but also will be used by the family on every road trip. When trying to determine a price, the most useful word to remember is “practicality”. Every parent needs that one practical gift which will make their life easier.
Since we are on the subject of practicality, the people who know what is most useful for their newborns are the parents. If you have a friend or family member who are expecting, you are most likely searching for a baby shower gift. The easiest way of performing this search is through a baby registry. This leads us to the optional second step of our approach -- searching a registry. Any shopper who is familiar with registries understands that each item is selected personally by the soon to be proud parents. By searching this list of products, you are almost guaranteed a successful gift. If you’re following the steps appropriately, you have a pre-determined price range on gifts. Now, you can just simply circle or highlight every item that fits your price range!
Our next step is especially important for all you picky shoppers out there. Choosing clothing, toys, and sometimes furniture all depend on one thing – whether it’s a boy or a girl. If you are fortunate to know ahead of time the gender of the newborn, shopping will be much easier for you. With a known gender, baby gifts can now be chosen on color, design, and style. Something as simple as bedding for a baby’s crib can be selected simply by color alone. Design too is influenced by gender; a baby boy may inspire you to purchase clothing with trucks on it, while a baby gift for a girl may involve ponies. If however you don’t know of the newborn’s gender, the best bet when buying baby gifts is to go with a neutral color/design theme. Neutral color/design involves simple white, yellow, and green clothing with few patterns.
By now you prepared your budget, checked for any possible registry items, and determined (based upon the gender) what color/design baby gifts you are looking for. With the final decision within your grasp, you need to ask yourself one final question: who do I want to remember and use the gift, the baby or the parents? While clothes hampers, changing tables, and diaper bags make excellent baby gifts, these items are primarily going to be used by the caretakers because they are convenient. Teddy bears, clothing, and blankets will not only be used frequently by the child, but be seen in pictures and home movies for generations to come. Some children will even develop attachments to these objects and will cherish them for years to come. Your simple baby shower gift may become that lucky blanket which stays with the child far into their adolescent years.
Buying baby gifts can be simple if you develop the right strategy. Know and prepare for what you are looking for and you will avoid long hours of searching. Whether you follow the above plan or your own, there is one final step you must always remember – choose from the heart.
Written By: Dave Sebelin