question for stockpile shower gift *recipients*

[JOURDYSMOM]

basket, basket basket LOL This is all I give nowadays at baby showers...all the "forgotten" things...

nail clippers, tylenol, pedialyte, hair comb, dipers, wipes, washes/lotions, booties, mittens
and a few ditties for mom..including a bit of chocolate :)

[austingirl]

I know I'm late to the discussion, but just wanted to add...

... I got a diaper cake at my shower, and it was cute but I HATED unrolling each of the diapers and then they wouldn't stay flat in my diaper stacker. They turned out to be a brand that DD couldn't wear, but I couldn't give them away because they were all crinkled up from being rolled and looked like they had been in the bottom of my diaper bag for a year! I ended up rolling them back up and making a mini-diaper cake to regift them.

I preferred when I got a pretty basket filled with stuff. I got a wicker laundry basket (I have since seen them at Michael's for a few bucks) that we still use and a pretty white basket that we use to store DD's stuffed animals. One of them did actually have loose diapers in it (I have a feeling they were leftovers from that mom's child, who would have been outgrowing size 1 diapers right about that time), but they weren't rolled and so I was able to keep them neat and organized better.

[misspooh8]

Originally Posted by austingirl I know I'm late to the discussion, but just wanted to add... ... I got a diaper cake at my shower, and it was cute but I HATED unrolling each of the diapers and then they wouldn't stay flat in my diaper stacker. They turned out to be a brand that DD couldn't wear, but I couldn't give them away because they were all crinkled up from being rolled and looked like they had been in the bottom of my diaper bag for a year! I ended up rolling them back up and making a mini-diaper cake to regift them. I preferred when I got a pretty basket filled with stuff. I got a wicker laundry basket (I have since seen them at Michael's for a few bucks) that we still use and a pretty white basket that we use to store DD's stuffed animals. One of them did actually have loose diapers in it (I have a feeling they were leftovers from that mom's child, who would have been outgrowing size 1 diapers right about that time), but they weren't rolled and so I was able to keep them neat and organized better.

I have to agree with the above post, I love diaper cakes, I have given them and few times but once I received my own my feelings changed. The one I received was so tightly rolled that the diapers could never be straight again. They also were held together with straight pins so I had to get something to be able to pull out all of the pins and hope that I didn't drop any. I had no idea what size or type the diapers were. It was just kinda a pain. Now I think if you were hosting the shower and used a diaper cake as the centerpiece and gave it to the mom to be that would be great but otherwise I think just the items in a box, basket or whatever would be better.

[CoveredinGrace]

I make diaper cakes as a side business occasionally, but 90% of the time if I'm close to the recipient, I give a basket, for the same reasons mentioned above. A laundry basket is just nice to have when you have a new member of the family to do laundry for.

I'm particularly partial to the $3.00 wooden laundry basket things in the craft dept. They are just the right size and sort-of elongated so you can show more product off, and you can line it with baby blankets or sew a lining for it to make it more practical for everyday use. If I KNOW for sure the color of the wood/metal they are using in the nursery's theme, I'll paint it white or red or blue or pink or stain it a darker color of wood if need be so that it makes a nice pretty addition to the nursery as well, but if I don't know, I leave it that light wood that it comes in b/c it's still pretty that way!

[shellgra]

This topic caught my eye. I used to work in a childrens boutique and we "packaged" eveything fancy so now all my gifts are basket type things. That being said, I think people get somewhat stuck in the thought of using just a wicker basket. While some are nice to have a round there are loads of other useful things you can "stuff". Some i have done are toy wagons or tonka trucks, rocking chairs, doll high chairs, doll umbrella strollers, walkers, exersaucers, bouncy seats, diaper bags, bathtubs, doll cradles, basically anything. Same goes for any gift you give. I personally like the thing I am stuffing to be part of the gift. like a beach bag for a family filled with towels and sunscreen, or a cooler filled with drinks and snacks, a bowl with popcorn and dvds, flowerpot with seeds and gardening gloves. I am going to stop now or I will go on and on. I usually start off with an idea and wander around Target and come up with some pretty great things. Hope this helps someone!

[augustgirl01]

I love this thread! I finally have some of my friends joining me in mommy-land so I get to go to a lot of showers this year. There are some really great ideas here - I like the one for the bridal shower too. If it lets me, I am going to rep every single one of you.

[MamaBird06]

Someone gave me a diaper pail with a couple packages of diapers and wipes inside for a shower gift, i thought that was clever. I also got goodies in a laundry basket.

[TSUalum93]

Originally Posted by TheWoman I would actually prefer my gifts wrapped in the sunday comics or christmas paper purchased at 90% off.

Ah . . . what fond memories this brings back of my mom using the Sunday comics to wrap gifts :)

When my cousins wife was having a baby she had a shower. He married a girl outside of our faith and we don't typically have showers before a baby is born so it was a little strange for me . . . I did not have a lot of money at the time but I did have a stockpile of baby stuff from when I went nuts when my sister had a baby. I bought a laundry basket she had on her registry from Babies R' Us (I like the bathtub that someone else mentioned earlier as well) for less than $20 and filled it with stuff. Everyone at the shower ooohed and ahhhed.

One of the guys my husband works with had a son and we were invited to the babies bris (ritual circumcision). I really didn't know these people so I found a baseball basket from Target Easter 90% off clearance. Nothing Easter about it . . . just a cute baseball with a handle. I filled it with a ton of baby stuff and it turns out that the dad is a huge baseball fan so they thought I planned it that way. The mom wrote in her thank you note that she loved being able to try different products and find out which ones she and the baby liked. When Target goes to 90% on Easter often the only thing left in the seasonal section are baskets. They make great gift/gift bags . . . Spiderman, Superman, Hello Kitty, etc. Just check them to be sure because I know the Elmo one we have in my son's room does have a lining with Easter eggs.

My feeling is no matter what you do this type of gift will be loved and appreciated.

Maddy

[smachel]

i picked gift basket before i read the post that described each choice.

that said, i would revote for the wrapped box. storage goes a long way!!!! you can never have enough storage tubs. however, the basket can offer more creativity and arrangement. i would just want the container to be useful as well, not just picked b/c the giver thought it was pretty.

[tivaclare]

It'd be happy getting them in the shopping bags they came in, I'm not picky! :-D I know it isn't very festive, but as pretty as it is, I find gift wrap terribly wasteful. I've actually found a way to make my own recycled gift bows (they're cute!) and hope to find an equally cute alternative for gift wrap.

However, I'd have to say gift basket or boxed, simply because with DD we didn't use a lot of stuff we got so I've since re-gifted it to other families (shh...oh, and never in circles I'd get "caught" in) so it's nice not to have things unopened. Actually at my shower, most of the gift givers encouraged me to take things back if I needed to.

I also live in an itty bitty apartment with little storage, so a basket or box would be easier to deal with.