Papenting tips
Baby showers are always great occasions to attend, and everyone loves celebrating the birth of a new baby boy. It’s also customary for every guest invited to a baby shower to bring a gift for the new baby or his parents, and it can be pretty tricky to find the best possible gift to give. There’s always the nagging question whether or not your gift would be appreciated, and there’s also the worry of walking into the baby shower carrying the same gift as another guest.
It’s easy to come up with a totally original gift for the little guy. Instead of looking for a single gift item, look for several and prepare a nice gift basket. Gift baskets contain several closely-related gift items bundled into a nice basket, which can be decorated with ribbons, gift wrappings, banners, etc. There are countless possible designs for a gift basket – all you have to do is decide what you want yours to look like.
Of course, baby boy gift baskets should look different from baskets for baby girls. It would be downright wrong to theme a basket for a baby boy with a pink color, and it’s a sure way to sour the mood at any baby shower. Here are a few helpful tips to help you prepare a suitable gift basket that the parents – and all the other guests – would love you for.
Tip #1 – Try to use a masculine or neutral color. Blue is the most popular color for baby shower gifts for baby boys, but green, brown, white, and purple are acceptable colors too. Avoid pink and yellow, since they’re mostly “girl” colors. Keep colors in mind whenever you shop for items like towels, sleepwear, bibs, and bottles – in other words, items that the little guy will be using for a long time after receiving them.
Tip #2 – Try using alternative containers for the gift items. While wicker baskets are the most common and acceptable kinds of containers (owing to their usefulness after the party), you can also try hampers, baby bathtubs, and wagons. Wagons make great toys when the little guy gets bigger, and you can even design your gift basket as a welcome wagon. If you’re walking into the baby shower with a very young companion, you can let him/her pull the wagon into the party – it should make an interesting entrance!
Tip #3 – Don’t use too much decoration on the gift basket. Using too many ribbons, gift wrapping, and other ornamentation may make the basket look a tad bit feminine, so keep it to a minimum. Baby boy gift baskets are much better presented with banners, flags, and slogans than with ribbons and buntings. Take the opportunity to decorate the gift basket with a message for the little guy – for instance, if you’re planning to prepare a basket filled with star-shaped cookies, you could include the sign: “A Star Is Born!”
Tip #4 – Stuffed toys are actually fine. Some might argue that stuffed animals are for baby girls only, but they make for good cribside company for the little guy. Certain animals, such as “jungle” animals like lions, giraffes, and hippos, are very suitable for a baby boy’s crib. But it might be a good idea to fill the gift basket with stuffed sports items, such as small basketballs and footballs, instead. To make it more fun, give your gift basket a theme that matches the parents’ sports preferences.
Tip #5 – When giving “baby” items like shampoos, talcum powder, and baby lotion, try to be a little extra thoughtful and fill your basket with “travel-sized” bottles. This would be a gesture to the new parents to go out and take the little guy out every now and then. Any parent would appreciate the idea that they don’t have to be cooped up in the house.
Tip #6 – If you want to make things a little extra special for the new mom and dad too, don’t be shy about throwing in a bottle of wine or some good apple cider (if the mother is nursing). Taking care of a new baby boy is hard work, and the new parents would appreciate a little something to enjoy at the end of the day.
Remember, though, that many baby showers take place a little before the baby boy is born. In such baby showers, it’s also a good idea to include some gift items for the mother in your gift basket. Naturally the mother is going to be sitting still for most of the time, she’ll appreciate a good book or two. If you can find books that will help make the waiting a little more bearable, then you’ll definitely be doing her a favor.
Most baby showers have themes to them, so an invitation should clue you in on what the party’s going to be like. You can make things a little more fun by preparing your gift basket in the same theme as the baby shower, too.
Preparing a gift basket for a new baby boy can be fun, and it’s pretty easy to come up with a pretty one. But if you think you don’t have that creative streak in you, you can go ahead and buy a baby boy gift basket off the shelf. Many gift basket shops have some pre-made baskets specifically made for a new baby boy or his expectant parents. For a little extra cash, these gift basket shops can even prepare, customize, and personalize the gift basket to make it more memorable.
It’s also a shame when you realize the baby shower is scheduled on a date and time when you’re unavailable. Besides missing a great party, the parents of the little guy will definitely miss you. But that’s okay – you can still have a nice basket prepared by a basket shop, and then ask them to deliver it to the new parents’ doorstep. It would be best if they can deliver the basket during the baby shower itself – it’ll be a very welcome surprise.
Papenting tips
