Baby Products Advisor

When you get the news that a friend or relative is having a baby, there is the rush of excitement, congratulatory messages, hugs, and belly rubs, finally the baby shower. Preparing for a baby shower can be a little daunting especially when you have to get the best items for the baby gift basket. You might be thinking “I really need to get thoughtful, unique and useful gifts for both the baby and mother†or “How can my baby gift basket stand out?†Not to worry, to help you spice up your gift basket, we have some lovely ideas to make that basket stand out!

To start, you could go ready-made or make one yourself. If you decide to buy already packaged and prepared baby gift baskets, you would have different hamper sizes to choose from, with different colors and content and different price ranges. If you are pressed for time, go for the already made gift basket, but if you are not, get practical.

Getting Practical

To get your DIY basket, the first item to pick would obviously be the basket. The popular type, as you already know, is made of cane, bamboo, or straw. They are usually circle or oval in shape. However, you could try the square or triangular basket. Get it colored to match the gender of the baby (blue for boys and pink for girls) or leave it gender neutral.

You could also go for a baby-friendly theme for the basket, such as animals, polka dots, flowers or butterflies. You could also personalize the gift basket, by cutting out the name of the baby and gluing it to the basket. To make the themes and letters, you could buy a roll of wool felt material, draw the theme items and cut them out. With paint brushes, paint the cut-out theme items and leave them to dry. When it gets dry, attach to parts of the DIY gift basket using hot glue or your preferred type of glue and leave to dry completely.

The inside of the basket could also be cloth lined and be used later on as storage for small toys or storing baby utensils or fresh unused diapers.

Now the baby gift basket has been selected and designed, the next step is to get it filled up

This stage could get a little tricky, but not to worry, the best way to select the contents of the baby gift basket is to make a list and grade them into items for both the mother and baby. Also to be extra helpful, you could ask for the baby registry to know the items needed for the arrival of the baby.

For The New Mom

Postpartum items such as Breast pads, cocoa butter, Lanolin, and cloth pads can be added to the baby gift basket. These items would be greatly needed to give comfort to the mother after delivery. You could also include less traditional items such as Chocolate bars, M&Ms, coffee beans, gift cards, fictional novels from favorite authors, or music tracks. Basically, these less traditional items are small gifts to soothe a mother’s nightly cravings or give her entertainment while taking care of her new baby.

For The New Baby

There are so many items for the baby to include in the basket, ranging from clothing to toys, to utensils, and first aid kits.

For baby clothing

You could pick a baby sock set (they are becoming popular now), baby booties, baby bonnets, baby bibs, baby sun hat, and baby rompers. You could also pick out customized baby shirts, and shorts.

For baby cosmetics

Baby care items such as baby lotion, baby oil, baby shampoo, baby wipes, baby bath, and diaper rash ointment are essential. You could buy the full set from particular brands or you could pick from different brands. To be on the safe side, do ask the mom in question the particular brand of her choice.

Baby Grooming

Items such as baby hair brush (they usually come in a set), small nail clippers for the baby and cotton wool and swabs.

Go practical

For practical items, you can choose pacifiers, baby thermometers, feed bottles, diapers, stain remover, and detergent packs.

Baby bath items

Small bath items such as sponge, wash towels, baby towels (these come in a set too), soap dish and plastic soap bag.

Baby toys

Include small stuffed animals, teething toys, rubber ducks, pacifier clips, baby rattles, and storybooks. Some rattles are designed such that they come both as stuffed animals and as rattles. With different colors and variety, these cute stuffed animals are made from organic cotton yarn and are eco-friendly, which makes it safe for the baby.

Baby utensils

To mix the baby formula or food, utensils would be needed. They don’t need to be overly big, just small cups with sippers, spoon set, feeding bottles, flask, feeding nipples, and a suitable cereal bowl. Also, you could include the wash materials needed to clean these utensils.

I remember a wash set my mother used to have when I was a kid. It had different brushes for washing the bottles, flasks, and nipples. The unique feature of those brushes were the long extensions that help you wash inside the bottles since your fingers can get there. There were also soft short types for washing the rims of the feeding bottles.

Baby food

It is not all that conventional, but you could include branded baby food to your baby gift basket. Baby food such as baby formula. Most times, some mothers do combine breastfeeding with baby formula as a form of supplement. Go for the best too! Also, there are formulas available for the mother to take in order to increase breast milk production. This can be included.

Mini first aid kit for babies

Although they are not prone to accidents, a mother could use some first aid items to soothe the baby when he or she is in discomfort. So, investing in a baby first aid kit is not just practical but thoughtful. They could contain stuff like swabs, toothing medicine, scissors, methylated powder, balm etc.

For warmth

There are baby blankets of pretty small sizes that come in sets of different colors. These blankets are usually rolled up into short cylinders and stuffed in a pack. You could go for such.

For Keepsakes

Every mom would love to have a collection of her baby’s first year and moments. A classic photo journal and picture frame case is a cute idea. Some of the photo journals and frames also come in adorable sets and different colors.

Other items could include a swim diaper or a lullaby CD.

Go Personalized

Some of the items listed above, such as bonnets, blankets, towels, shoes, socks etc., could be bought and personalized. The little boy or girl will feel elated seeing their name or initials on these items as they grow older.

Now that you have most of these items ready, the next step is to fill and decorate the baby gift basket…

First, create the base

If the basket is not the cloth-lined type, you can line the bottom of the basket with a thin tissue paper. A soft white cloth or blanket or white felt material can also do the job. Cover the base, and let the corners come just above the edge of the basket.

Put the cloth items next

Depending on the size of your basket and if you chose some baby clothing items. Leave them in their packs; fold them neatly to sit at the bottom.

Baby cosmetics, and all other bigger gift items

Baby cosmetics and gifts for mom that would require being kept straight, should be arranged in such a way that the form a sort of wall at the back. Try placing them in descending order of size; these will make it look attractive at first glance.

Practical items, grooming items and utensils

These items would sit next due to their smaller sizes, and the more room they would take in the baskets. The diapers can go in at this stage.

Toys, books, CDs

These ones would not take much space, so you could use them to line the front of the basket.

Other things to note

The gifts cards, and smaller gift items, and chocolate bars should stay where they can be seen and not mashed.

Get Flattering

You could flatter the gift basket by adding the color theme characters as suggested before. Or you could fix in ribbons to fall out beautifully all around it. You could wear the baby sock on the rolled up blanket as a hat. And tie the ribbons around the neck of the blankets or maybe towels, as the case may be.

To make the towels and blankets look a little more like babies, pin cut out eyes to the top of the rolled up blanket, tie the ribbons a few meters away from the eyes to form a neck, wear the socks at the top of the rolled up blanket and tie the area close to the tip to make it look like a winter hat.

Putting the finishing touches

Take a ribbon, the color of the theme, wrap it around the handle and apply bows to the handle and front of the baby gift basket. Add a tag to the ribbon, if you plan on using one. Finally, wrap the entire basket in clear or colored plastic.

They could be decorated or plain wrapping cellophane sheets. Place the wrapping sheet on a flat surface, then put the basket on the wrapping sheet, right in the middle. Grab all four corners and pull them up over the handle of the basket, keep it secure with tape and ribbon. If there is leftover ribbon, tie it into a bow to make it more beautiful.

Your baby gift basket is ready!

Safety Tips To Consider When Picking Gift Items

For baby clothing materials, go for those that are made of pure cotton, eco-friendly and soft on baby’s skin. That an outfit is beautiful does not mean it is safe.

Always check to see that these clothing are safe and comfortable.

For baby cosmetics, as earlier mentioned, ask the baby’s mother her preferred baby cosmetic choice. If she has no preference, go for baby cosmetics with a mild fragrance and pediatric-certified for babies.

For baby toys, they should be made of non-toxic materials, such as wool. They should not have sharp edges or have paint that peels off easily. Consider the fact that babies put a lot of things in their mouth.

Do not buy heavy toys or toys with magnets and pellets stuffed inside. The baby could put accidentally swallow these pellets or magnets. And a heavy toy is not convenient for a baby to use.

If you purchase the already made hamper baskets, go through the items one after the other to make sure that they are safe for baby use.

And…

Do not put in used or second-hand items, no matter how vintage quality they are. Unless they were used by your kids and they outgrew them, especially blankets and baby bibs, and baby bonnets.

For gift items that are metallic or made of steel, ensure that they do not flake or rust easily.

If you choose to get the baby feeding bottles, go for bottles from certified brand names. This is to ensure that the feeding nipples are not made with toxic materials that can be harmful to the baby’s health.

If you choose to knit the baby blanket you wish to add as a gift item, ensure that the wool is fit for the baby’s skin.

DIY gift items or toys should be really safe for the baby, especially toys made with wood.

If you choose to buy the already made baby gift basket from stores or baby registry sites, ensure that the consumable items and cosmetics are not expired.

Also, check to see if the seals have been tampered with. If they are not fit, return or replace with better items.

There you have it, all gift item ideas that can fit into your baby gift basket. With stuff like this, you are sure to make that new mother get emotional or smile broadly. We would love to get your baby gift basket ideas, and as they say, sharing is caring.