How to Buy the Perfect Baby Shower Gift – 4 Simple Kids Clothing Rules on Which Items to Avoid While Shopping.

As a mother of two energetic kids I have received a lot of baby gifts; some which I have loved and some that I put to the back of the closet. If you are wondering what to buy for a baby gift, this article is for you. Just remember most parents need an outfit to be both practical and cute.

1) Do not buy blue or pink clothing:

This is a personal preference but I know other mothers who agree with me. When my daughter was born everybody bought her pink clothing. There was so much pink in her closet that I was sick of the colour. Daddy’s and Mommy’s favourite piece of clothing soon became a rusty orange coloured outfit. The colour complemented her skin tone and most importantly – it wasnt pink. That girly colour came back to haunt me for a second time when I had my son -I could not reuse the sleepers, socks and onesies because they were all pink.

Generic coloured clothing means that they can be easily reused and your gift will get more use.

2) Avoid sleepers/clothing with snaps/buttons down the back:

When looking at any piece of clothing ask yourself two questions a) could I get this easily off the baby at 2 am in the morning in the dark without waking him/her; and b) when the diaper leaks can this outfit come off easily without spreading the mess everywhere?

Just keep in mind the first time an outfit becomes a royal pain to take off or put on the baby is the day it gets filed to the back of the closet.

What moms need are outfits that are cute and practical!

3) If it needs ironing – forget it!

I was not a supermom able to run the household and look after a newborn. Some days it was an accomplishment just to get a shower and dressed because of the night feedings and the exhaustion that came with it.

The laundry got done, but I never ironed one piece of clothing. The only time my daughter got to wear the adorable frilly outfits is whenever grandma visited and actually ironed them for me. Wash and wear was my motto, if it did not look good without ironing then it wasn’t used.

A new parent will appreciate wash and wear.

4) Out of season baby clothes:

How big will the baby be in six or nine months? How can anybody know for sure?

The out of season clearance racks may allow you buy a lot of clothes at a great price, but stay away from them.

It is too much of a gamble – you are taking a huge risk that it will not fit the baby when he/she needs it. Then your gift would not be used at all.

From personal experience, I have stored beautiful out of season gifts in the hope to eventually get to use them. In the end when my kids needed the clothing they did not fit so the gifts went from the closet to the storage bin without even being worn once.

When you buy a baby gift you are really buying a gift for somebody you do not know and that can be really hard. In our lives we have all received well intentioned but impractical gifts that have sat unused – how often have you wished for something else instead – with some thought that wont happen to your baby gift.

You will find a great baby shower gift if you remember these 4 words: Colour, Practical, Durable and of course Adorable.