Sitting on top of today’s pile of junk mail was a little yellow envelope, with my name and address written by hand, in blue ink. Of course, that was the first thing I opened as soon as I walked in the door. What a nice surprise to get a baby shower invitation! I haven’t been to one for a while and I miss the fun of spending an evening with other moms, drinking punch and playing silly games while we talk about kids and babies.
The mom-to-be is having her first child, so the gift selection possibilities are wide open. The invitation says that she registered at a few stores, so I will make a point to go shopping next weekend and see what she is hoping to receive from the shower guests. But when it comes to shopping for baby clothes and baby gear, I am a power shopper. I might go to the department store or the outlet mall to get ideas, but most of the time I end up making my purchases online. It is so much easier to order exactly what I want, find a coupon code to use, and have it delivered to my doorstep than to slog around the mall dragging heavy bags and bumping into hundreds of other shoppers.
The last time I was invited to a baby shower, I went online and found free online coupons that saved me so much money I was able to buy triple the number of items as gifts. I like to buy practical items for new moms, and one of my go-to gift items has always been receiving blankets and crib sheets. I remember how quickly I would use those when mine were babies and I got a lot of use out of them for the three years they slept in a crib. Receiving blankets and crib sheets are easy to wrap or ship in the mail, and are always appreciated.
Sometimes I like to buy a big gift box and add an assortment of baby gear, starting with the receiving blankets and crib sheets. I've even managed to use some online coupons for Carter's on some cute additions like sleepers, a few rattles, a pair of booties, and maybe even a diaper stacker. Other times I wrap the blankets and sheets together in a stack and embellish the ribbon with some baby toys instead of a bow.
The last time I worked with a gift registry, I was shopping with a friend and we ended up at a specialty baby store. She was in her third trimester and had not registered for a baby shower yet. The customer service desk had her fill out a few things on the store computer and then handed her a scanning wand. We carried the wand around the store with us and every time she saw something that she wanted, she scanned the bar code and the item was added to her registry list. It was fast and easy, and she ended up getting a lot of those items as gifts at her shower.
I can’t wait to see what this mom-to-be has picked out and what new patterns and designs are in the stores this year. I especially love the Carter’s bedding collections like the cute monkey fairy for girls and the monkey rock star for boys.
And, for those who are keeping the baby’s gender a surprise, Carter’s has a gender neutral pattern called, “In the Pond” with darling turtles and frogs.
Guess where I’m heading next weekend to start my shopping for the shower?
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