When my son was born I was completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends and family. We received some absolutely lovely gifts, some of which I will treasure for ever, even after my son no longer has any need for them.
One of the best gifts people bought for us were clothes. Before I had a child I had absolutely no concept of how fast the little suckers grow! 😉
So clothes were always very well received and in fact are even now my son is two. These clothes are often absolutely beautiful, but also often sadly wrong or end up not being worn for various reasons. So here is my top 5 tips on how to get gift fight just right.
- Get nothing that needs ironing – because that will never, ever happen. If you’re existing on three hours sleep you’re lucky if you remember to brush your hair let alone get the iron out trust me
- Make sure it’s easy to get on or off – it may look like the cutest outfit in the entire world, but if it takes about ten minutes to take on or off it will stay at the bottom of the pile. Seriously you can change a newborn about 8 times a day, they often scream during the process, it’s got to be as quick and easy as possible
- Resist the urge to go designer – please don’t get me wrong they’re fabulous, but let me let you into a secret you only discover after you have had a baby – nappies leak and I mean badly. You don’t know the meaning of the word poo explosion until you’ve had a baby. It will always happen when they’re wearing something seriously expensive and stain irrevocably. Trust baby poop is more toxic than curry!
- You love it, but will your friend? – Don’t forget to take into consideration your friend’s tastes. You might think that the page boy outfit, or knitted duckie dungarees are the cutest thing since Prince George, but do you think your friend would? If your friend is a super trendy skinny jeans lover or bright colours fan, well there’s a good chance they will dress their child similarly. That Santa’s Elf outfit will be worn for about two hours and never seen again. Think is it cute? Or is it just gimmicky? Does it reflect your friend’s tastes, this doesn’t just apply when you’re buying them a present, it applies to their newborn too.
- Match the size to the season – the BIGGEST tip I can give anyone, and is actually one that has made me sad on a couple of occasions. Is to match the size you’re buying to when the child will be that old. Buying bigger size clothes is soooo helpful. But, think when will that child be that old? For example I received an stunning fleece lined jumper that would have fit my son in June – August and a gorgeous shorts and t-shirt set that would have fitted him December. Sadly neither items ever got worn and were passed onto to friends instead. In both instances I was really disappointed as they were lovely clothes.