Over the past few weeks I’ve gotten more texts from friends on what to get someone for a baby shower than I have in a while, which ultimately inspired this post.

Shockingly, I have never been to a baby shower except for my own. But I thought, “what better way to know what to get someone than to have personal experience in receiving baby shower gifts!?”

I am lucky enough to have had four small showers thrown for me while I was pregnant. One was hosted by my closest friends, one was thrown by my parent’s friends, one was thrown by my fiance’s parent’s friends, and lastly one was thrown by my fiance’s aunts. Thinking back, that is a LOT of showers, but it was really such a blessing since our daughter was our first.

With your first baby, you really start out with nothing. And since my fiance and I were still in college at the time, we didn’t have a lot of funds to pay for everything that comes with having a baby. Having a baby shower (or multiple!) is such a blessing for the first time parents!

I hope this guide of do’s and don’ts for baby shower gifts serves as a helpful aid and guides you to grab the perfect gift for that special mama to be!!

DO’s:

• Check the registry. This one might be obvious, but if the mom to be has created a registry it is best to check that before you start buying gifts. It’s created for a reason, after all. It not only will help guide you to see her taste & style, but it will show you what gifts have already been purchased. We don’t want any duplicates!
• Plan ahead to bring your gift. If you’re ordering your gift online, it’s important to make sure it will come in with enough time for you to wrap it and bring it to the shower. If you’re able to attend a shower, I recommend shipping the gift to yourself to bring it for the mom to be to open at the shower. If you can’t attend the shower but want to send a gift, friendly reminder to make sure to include your name to say who it is from!!
• Gift diapers & wipes. Nuff said.
• Match the outfit with the season. There’s nothing worse than receiving the CUTEST winter outfit in the size that your baby will be in the summer. You’d be surprised with how often this happens! Double check the size of the baby and match it with the season it will be when gifting clothing. And when in doubt, ask the mama to be.
• Consider pitching in towards a group gift. Let’s be honest, baby items can be expensive! Maybe a group of you and your girlfriends want to pitch in to get the mama to be her dream stroller… go for it! I had multiple friends and family members do this for a few items on my registry and think it is absolutely acceptable.
• Incorporate something for the mama to be. I remember receiving a Starbucks gift card and a set of mom + dad coffee mugs at my baby shower, and how special it was that I was thought of too. Of course, get a gift for the baby, but if you have a little wiggle room on budget it’s a nice touch to throw in something simple for the mom to be. A gift card for food delivery services or a manicure could go a long way.

DON’TS:

• Overspend beyond your means. Usually a mom to be will put all sorts of price ranges on her registry, and even if something doesn’t cost as much as other items, it was put on the registry for a reason! Even lower cost gifts are so thoughtful and appreciated.
• Gift too many newborn sized clothes. Hear me out- babies grow SO fast. While it’s still very acceptable to gift newborn clothes, keep in mind that they might only wear them once. When I was gifted clothing sized 0-3 months and 3-6 months at my shower, I didn’t know then how much I’d appreciate it later and how much more wear my daughter would get out of it.
• Buy decor for the nursery without knowing the theme/style. You may have heard of a thing pregnant ladies do called “nesting,” which means they probably already know exactly how they want to decorate their child’s nursery… if they haven’t already done so. When in doubt, it’s okay to ask the new mom if you have any questions.
• Forget to include a gift receipt. This is a MUST for your baby shower gifts!! If you do anything from this list of do’s and don’ts, let this be it!

I hope this helped!! Let me know in the comments some of your favorite baby shower gift ideas!