Hey There, Friends!
Happy Tuesday! It’s time for another TUESDAY TALK with Fancy Ashley. On the third Tuesday of every month we host a link-up and would love for you to join us. The idea is simple…you can chat about anything and everything.
It’s March 20th, which to me means SPRING is HERE! The weather is warmer, the days are longer, lots of food made on the grill, and SHOWER SEASON!! Wedding showers, baby showers, adoption showers…you name it. I feel like this is the popular time for all those showers. It got me thinking about best gifts to give for those occasions. Sometimes a gift that’s a bit different can stand out as the BEST EVER?
Those are the ideas I’m looking for. 🙂
What was the BEST gift you received as a wedding present? Does a special gift stand out to you? If so, PLEASE share because we should be gifting it to others!
And I’m sure I got a TON of amazing things as a new bride, but I can’t remember! EEK! I feel awful saying that! I think the time has caused me to forget. 🙂 Almost 13 years ago, friends.
Please share your best wedding gift….if you can remember. 😉
Or as a mom with a new baby, what gift really stood out to you?? Did you have one you just loved?
A few ideas I’ve experienced or heard from friends {these are more helpful things/not so much gifts}…
*I remember talking to my cousin right after she had her baby. She was bragging on some sweet ladies in her town. She had lots of amazing friends sign up for meals, but two of her friends brought her all kinds of goodies for breakfast. Cut up fresh fruit, homemade cinnamon rolls, oatmeal, and on and on. I think it stuck out to her because it was different AND super helpful!
*That same cousin {her tribe must be GOOD…haha!} mentioned a friend bringing her all kinds of paper products. Paper plates, napkins, paper towels, toilet paper, and more…we all have to use that stuff and it made her life a little easier.
*Something I remember well after having Bowen was friends offering to take my big kiddos out of the house. As a mom to a new baby, you want to just sit and snuggle that new baby and with older kiddos, you just don’t have a lot of time for that. It was so helpful to me when a friend would take my big kids so I could just stare at baby Bowen OR do some laundry. 😉
*When we got home from China last summer, one friend dropped off a ton of lunch/snack goodies for the kiddos. It was summer time, everyone was home, and if you’re kiddos are like mine they want to eat 24/7 so it was so nice to instantly have this big batch of options.
What about a baby gift? I’d love to hear about your favorite baby gift! Or something you do for new mamas in your town! I’m hoping to “up” my gift giving game right after this post. haha!
I cannot WAIT to read your suggestions! Thank you in advance, ladies!
XO
So my favorite gift to give a new mama these days is to pool resources with a friend and pay for a housekeeper to come regularly for the first couple of months if they don't already have one. It's kinda lame but super practical – who doesn't love a clean house? And then for shower gifts, I usually give something off the registry (my favorite are the sound machines because we lived and died by those sound machines!) but then I also like to give a "mommy survival kit" – a cute jar or box with a Sbux gift card, Advil, deodorant wipes, lip gloss, etc — just little things that can lift a new mom's spirit on a tough day.
That is brilliant, Meagan!!!
My favorite baby gift was a laundry basket full of little things a new mom may not think of yet: Tylenol, teething stuff, dishwasher basket (it was for the little things/pieces so u didn't have to handwash everything), diaper rash cream, lotion, bodywash, etc. I know there was SOOOOO much more than that, but I can't rem 12 yrs ago!!!! 😉 This is what I do for baby gifts now too. I figure everyone will be giving cute little clothes, so I go for the practical & "emergency" type stuff…things you don't know you need until some night at 2am.
Can't wait to see all of the great ideas! Love the idea of getting a standard gift idea that becomes my GO TO for certain events!
All those thoughtful, practical gifts really meant the world to me- I had three boys in three years, and then an unexpectedly long and painful adoption process…and then a complete surprise and miracle pregnancy at age 40! Cute baby clothes are nice, but the meals, offers to babysit, house cleaners, and even games and things for the older kids, were SUCH a blessing to me.
My favorite baby shower gift was a few of my friends pulled together and got me a years worth photo sessions with photographer. It was 5 sessions..new born, 3 mom, 6mon, 9 mon, and 12 mon. I also had friends sign up for a meal train in my honor so for first 30 days dinner was brought to me…so helpful. Another group of friends pulled together and got me cases of baby food (back when we still used jars). It was so appreciated. For wedding gift, my bridesmaids sent a recipe card to each person invited and asked them to share their favorite recipe and on the back of the card to put their best wedding advise. They then put it in a recipe book, and 35 years later it is one of my most treasured posessions. I use the recipes all the time and some of those cards are from loved ones no longer here so cooking their food, seeing their hand writing and their words of wisdom just warm my heart
Me go to wedding gift is a personalized slate. I have a super talented friend who hand paints them with whatever message you want and they are always a hit. http://www.sjrp.net
For a wedding gift I love to look at their registry and see if they listed games because it seems a lot of them do. I buy the games and put them in a cute basket with popcorn and candy and maybe even a funny movie and then it becomes a Date Night at Home basket. For baby showers, I am all about a monogrammed gift – especially if it’s the 3rd or 4th kid. I find moms of multiples have all the basics but maybe not something cute with the new baby’s name on it! I have also gifted Posh Pushers matching gowns for new moms and babies. Google Posh Pushers but they are super cute labor and delivery gowns that come in tons of patterns and were created by two labor and delivery nurses in my hometown in Kentucky. They make one for mom and a tiny one for baby to match. Then your first hospital pictures are you in a cute gown and not the dreaded ones the hospital provides ☺️
What a great idea!! I can’t wait to read these comments! I need some new gift ideas!!
When I had my second child, my favorite gifts were the people who showed up with breakfast food and the people who showed up with meals that included something my toddler would eat And, as a new mom not too concerned with health food for a few days, knowing my toddler would at least eat some mac n cheese and rolls, I was thrilled. Most meals people brought were appreciated, but weren't something my just-turned-two-year-old would eat a lot of. I also loved it when a friend would drop off a large Starbucks or offer to pick up my older kid from school or watch the baby so I could easily do the school run. Truthfully, I loved these things more than any tangible gift because they were so needed and so kind. My most used actual gift was a rock n play. I have now gifted that more times than I can count and it is always a favorite – though not usually until after baby is born! 🙂
As for a wedding gift, a friend of my husband's (really his wife 🙂 ), gave us some nice cookbooks (2 everyday and 1 special occasion) and a cookbook stand. I didn't register for either, but they ended up being some of the most used gifts. Especially that stand!
This may be hard to do but one of my favorite gifts was a set of picture frames- each contained a picture of a family member (grandmother, great grandmother) and a copy of a recipe that was hand-written by them. I ugly cried at my shower because it was so sentimental and meaningful. A close family friend did this for me and had about 6-7 frames total (some from my side and his side of the family). I also loved receiving loads of BBB gift cards and any personalized with our new last name.
For wedding and shower gifts I try to usually buy off the registry because it seemed that all “off registry” purchases I received I have NEVER used. I look through the registry and buy things I use regularly in my own house and know are good products!
I didn’t really notice a great gift when I had my first baby but after my second was born (15.5 months later) I loved when people brought dinner over! It was the biggest weight off my shoulders! And apparently Chick-fail- offers a new mom meal. They will deliver a meal to a new mom- not all locations offer but you just have to call and ask and it’s free!
I love giving anything monogrammed as gifts. I gift a lot of the Stella & Dot engraveable necklaces with either the new couples names/wedding date or the new mom's baby's name or birth date.
I just LOVE personalized items. When I got married my aunt got me a personalized beach bag that was oversized. I literally used it until it fell apart. When my daughter was born ANYTHING that had her name or monogram on it I loved! However, THE BEST gift you can give a new mama (my son is 4 months old) is ANY act of service that will help make life easier!! Laundry, groceries, running errands, house cleaner….those are golden gifts that are so appreciated!
When i had my baby, my mother in law paid a housekeeper to come clean my house while i was in the hospital! It was AMAZING to come home to an extra clean house!
I’m no help in the baby department because I’m just practical and get diapers, etc.
Best wedding gift, hands down was a laundry basket filled with ziplock bags of various sizes, foil, Saran Wrap, paper towels, trash bags, etc.
For bridal showers, I usually do a gift off of the registry, and I ALWAYS pick the item that seems like a splurge/treat. We know we all put the practical items, but also a few items that we are secretly hoping to receive, even though they aren't necessary. Those are the ones I go for because typically they are ones the bride would not buy for themselves.
Our favorite wedding gift that we received was an Anniversary Book. When I opened it, I was like "hmmm, not sure how I feel about this". But it has become my favorite – every wedding we have attended since, it has been the gift I give, usually tucked with a giftcard. It has a spot for you to reflect your last year of marriage and document the highlights – trips, moves, babies, etc. but then also has a spot for a current picture. I love documenting our years, plus it will be a keepsake for our future children.
Here is the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Our-Wedding-Anniversary-Memory-Book/dp/1892953005/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1521548396&sr=8-1&keywords=anniversary+book
One of the best wedding gifts I received was a Waterford crystal vase. It wasn't something I registered for but stands out to me because it was something that was so nice and I never would buy it for myself. I use it on the daily now and fondly remember my friends who gave it to me. As far as baby gifts…I don't remember anything standing out…but I like that breakfast idea…so going to do that next time a friend has a baby!
One of my favorite wedding shower gifts we got was a basket with bottle of wine for all of our "firsts" – first Christmas, first valentines day, first anniversary, first thanksgiving, first new years, etc.
In the end all the practical stuff from my registry gets used so much – it seems silly but I LOVED replacing all my junky plastic hangers with those huggable hangers.
We also got a few personalized gifts for our wedding that are memorable, like a wooden bowl with our name and wedding date carved into the bottom, and someone gave me a necklace with our wedding date on it.
When I got married one of my friend’s moms got me a basket of the most adorable Christmas decor! Since we had not lived together, I had nothing! I think it was a set or two of Christmas plates, some items to decorate the mantel with, a framed Christmas saying, a Christmas candle & some ornaments! I do that now for showers and people LOVE it! We didn’t get married close to Christmas, but it was the first thing I got out the following year!
For new bebes, I give paper products for food. Napkins, cups, plates, bowls, and recyclable cutlery. And offer to do laundry or watch the bebe so she can shower, run errands, or just go for a walk. I also like to do a little craft with the bebe while their hands and feet are teeny tiny because they won't be for long!
For deaths, I give pizza gift cards or drop off a sack of cheeseburgers. I don't know about y'all but during grievous times, I crave all the junk food and if I see another piece of fried chicken or a casserole, I may scream. I also recently dropped off a gallon of top shelf margaritas that we VERY well received.
For new homeowners, I give a basket with cleaning goods and some yummy or fresh smelling candles. Depending on the time of year, I like to include a sapling for the yard.
For weddings, I give movie gift cards. For the shower, I give a lovely (and inexpensive) glass/crystal pitcher that can be used for beverages or flowers.
For a wedding I like to do – “ even though you’re married, don’t forget to date”. And then give them a bunch of gift cards and movie tickets. A basket with pipcorn and candy. Maybe you can through in a cozy blanket off the registry if you wanted to take it even further ��
The most practical and well-used baby gift I received was a rock and play sleeper. We used that so much for both babies! The most thoughtful gift was when my sister-in-law came to the hospital with my favorite drink and some homemade baked goods. It was amazing to have some non-hospital treats. It made me feel normal, haha 🙂
Love all the food ideas, those really are a blessing!
A couple gifts I received with my 3rd were little baby booties (socks NEVER stay on). The ones I received were called Bison Booties (on Etsy). So cute and stayed put! Another gift I love to give is silicone bibs. They are a staple in our house. They hold up well, wipe off super easy, are dishwasher safe, and cute!
My go to gift for bridal showers are personalized cutting boards. They are always a huge hit and I like being a little bit more creative than a wedding registry allows. There are tons of options on Etsy. They can definitely be used because who doesn’t need a cutting board but I’ve found most of my friends- and me included have hung them or displayed them in the kitchen.
New baby gifts- I just had my first baby 2 weeks ago and while we haven’t had anything amazing or creative in terms of gifts, at my showers it was nice when people stuck to the registry as honestly for baby items those were primarily things we really needed. I also liked when friends that already had kids gave us things their kids loved!
Now that we’ve had the baby our favorite gifts have been ones geared towards us! Some friends got together and made us a bunch of freezer meals. One friend brought us cute “mom” and “dad” coffee mugs and a Dunkin’ Donuts gift card. At this point we have so much for the baby so any gift that helps us out in any way is more needed!
One of my favorite wedding gifts was a simple Betty Crocker wedding edition cookbook, it is the basic "cookbook" that has a variety of recipes & also how to boil an egg…. Something new brides might need help with. I've referenced it so many times over the past 10 years!
For my bridal shower, I received a whole basket of thank you cards, envelopes and postage stamps. That was very helpful to receive them as a gift so I didn't have to go out and purchase those.
My favorite wedding gift came from our Bridal Party. I am originally from NW suburbs of Chicago but living in Houston and they got us a years worth of Chicago meals! Once a month, on our monthly anniversaries, we got a package of yummy Chicago food on dry ice. It was so sweet and perfect for those nights I didn't feel like cooking!
As a new mom my favorite gift was breakfast! Not having to worry about getting myself fed while being up all night was perfect 🙂
I had a baby in December and would recommend buying off registry or just whatever you do include a gift receipt. Also if purchasing online make sure there is a way for them to return without paying for shipping. Make sure amazon items say free returns if it’s not off the registry. Unless some one has asked for clothes I wouldn’t buy them. I received so many clothes I couldn’t return that were totally off season size wise for us. I would’ve loved to be able to return them and put the money towards something else instead of stuck with them as no gift receipt and no idea what store they were from. If money is tight, just do a meal or some diapers or wipes. Or go in with some people and get a spa gift card or something for mom to use as this momming thing is hard!
If you ask Craig what the best wedding gift he got was he'll tell you it was our Shop Vac. Hahaha. He loves that thing. I will say though that I regret registering for wedding china. We aren't fancy. We've never used it and we never will. And we only got 3 full sets and then some random pieces. What am I supposed to do with that? That Inspired Chick
INSTANT POT!! For both a new bride and a new mom. It is my new favorite gift to give accompanied with my tried and true recipes. Once the casseroles, and gift cards are gone, this will allow the new bride or mom to spend more time with new baby or new hubby. This thing is life changing, and I only wish I had discovered it before my twins were born.
One of my favorite gifts as a new mom was this text from a friend, "I'm at Wal-Mart, what do you need?" She got an entire list and you know what I needed most, breakfast foods!
One of my most useful gifts as a new bride and still to this day (7 years later) is a personalized return address stamp with our new last name 🙂
My niece just had a bridal shower. I got her a "first Christmas together" Christmas ornament with their engagement picture on it. My husband & I received one as a gift & it's fun to look back & see how young were looked!
wedding shower: the gift that stands out was a box of christmas ornaments given by my mom's best friend.
baby shower: i don't remember anything special from the baby showers i had before my children were born but what i do remember are the beautiful purple and pink tulips i rec'd after my daughter (1st baby) was born. it's 30 years later and i can still remember nursing my girl and looking at those flowers like it was yesterday. after my son was born (2nd baby) my mom paid for someone to clean my house once a week for 3 months. that felt like a gift from heaven!
one of my favorite baby shower gifts to give is a humidifier, baby tylenol, baby thermometer, and anything else i can think of at that time that one might need when a babychild gets sick in the middle of the night!
So many great ideas! Love seeing them. I love giving stuffed animals with music (forgot the name). I know families get a ton of stuffed animals but the families i gave one with music had them for forever. even after the kids dont cuddle with them anymore.
for newlyweds i allways try to find something fun from the registry oder give somehting personal like a photoalbum if its a good friend.
what i really dont like is the paper plate thing idea. why not giving a gift card for cleaing dishes instead of giving something that destroys the enviroment in which the new baby is going to live.
One of the sweetest wedding gifts I received was an ornament. My aunt took our invitation, cut it in to strips, then curled them and put them inside a clear globe ornament. She added some pretty ribbon and it's just gorgeous! It'll be such a sweet reminder of our day every Christmas season.
As a new mama I loved receiving some of the more frivolous things on the registry (the expensive decorative baskets for the nursery, etc.) because I was less likely to buy them for myself if I wasn’t gifted them. Though at the same time, diapers and wipes and the more practical things were gold as well!
My favorite baby gifts to give are these One Line a Day journals… there is a blue and a pink version. I have been keeping these for my kids since they were born and it's just such a thoughtful gift that will eventually become a treasured keepsake. Won't break the bank either!
https://www.amazon.com/One-Line-Day-Five-Year-Memory/dp/0811870197/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1521563217&sr=8-2&keywords=one+line+a+day+journal
I love personalized gifts. I save pics that friends post of themselves as a couple. Then I go to For ALl Time Clocks,and have a beautiful clock made for them. I also use the Etsy shop A Little Delightful to have personalized dry/erase boards made for new moms to schedule appts,feedings, etc. I really like the idea of dropping off foods and items that people need to make life a bit easier.
The Baby Bum Brush! We got it as a joke (its basically a spatula to put diaper cream on baby) but seriously, it’s our favorite baby item we own! I get one for everyone now!
About 9 years ago I gave a young couple a cookbook called "How to Boil an Egg" plus some cooking gadgets I really liked. (I cooked for the youth every Sunday and these were two of my youth so the "cooking" theme was personal.) The couple has since moved to Bend, OR but she messaged me the other day because she still uses this "how to do the basics" cookbook and she's given it to many friends since — so I guess this one was a winner. Dropping off breakfast items is really a big hit because everyone thinks of casseroles and such for dinner but no one ever thinks of breakfast. I makes lots of breads (apple butter, aloha loaf, lemon, cinnamon roll muffins) for gifts.
For my wedding shower, my aunt got us a cute bin from home goods and bought us over 15 different board games. Anything from Scrabble to Uno to fun ones I haven’t played before. Decks of cards and poker chips were included! We seriously have used them at least once a month when having over family and friends and it was just something fun and different that as a new couple it helped stock our house for future kids and family gatherings to come.
I saw the most clever bridal shower gift last Fall. It was a basket of wine for specific occasions with a play on the name of the wine. I don't remember all the names of the wine, but for instance, the one with a cute tag that said "First Anniversary" was 1000 Stories. And the one tagged "First House" was a wine called House Wine. The other bottles were tagged First Argument (wish I could remember the name of the wine – it was very clever), New Years Eve and Valentine's Day.
I like to go on Etsy and get personalized "paper" gifts for bridal showers and weddings. My favorites are a custom, self-inking rubber stamp with their first address, a cute nautical notepad with a rope and a "knot" and their first names, customized post-it notes with their names, gift tags with their monogram and more formal enclosure cards that say "Mrs. and Mrs. __________. Oh, and cute Christmas stickers that say "Merry Christmas from the _____________(last name). Brides love it!
My favorite gift was my Le Creuset dutch oven—that thing is amazing to cook with and incredibly easy to clean up. And call me unsentimental, but my 2nd favorite gift was cash. 😉
Cheryl Shops | http://www.cherylshops.net
For my wedding a few of my bridesmaids got us Christmas decorations and ornaments which was really cool and great for someone just starting out! I’m expecting my first baby in June and my baby shower is a couple weeks away so can’t answer this part yet but these answers are fun to read 🙂
My go-tos for a baby shower are Freshly picked Mocs or anything Kickee Pants. Their swaddles are amazing!
If you know the baby's name- a pottery barn blanket with name engraved.
These are kind of pricey items that the mom would never register for or may not buy. It's fun to spoil the baby with something fancy 🙂
For baby gifts, if the parents have already selected a name, I always order a personalized blanket from http://www.agreatbaby.com – they are beautiful, high quality and are always a hit! I think when parents spend so much time selecting a name for their child, seeing that name in print just brings all the feels! 🙂
For wedding gifts – bride here (getting married 6/29!) so we just started our registry and have added some less-common things that I am so excited about: board games and card games, an air mattress, beach chairs and a beach umbrella, a fire pit, etc.
I'm pretty partial to the gifts I gave to my wedding party – which I think can sometimes be hard to thinking of unique things! Our theme was travel and at an Air and Space Museum, and I wanted out gifts for our bridal party to reflect that. We ordered personalized luggage tags from leatherology.com – the quality of these were INCREDIBLE and all of our friends still talk about how great of a gift it was to this day.
For our parents, we ordered these gorgeous (and again incredible quality) blankets with special tags on them. These can be for anyone, even for a baby gift, and get this – a portion of the blanket price goes towards the foster system for those children hoping to get adopted. AMAZING!! You can customize the tag to say anything including a personally written note in your own handwriting. I'm obsessed with this idea and brand and plan to continue to gift these as appropriate.
Id suggest a set of date envelopes for a new bride or new mom. Usually one will hold a gift card to marble slab, and 2 target fist cards for $10 with instructions to each go buy one thing for $10 that will make the other smile or laugh…then enjoy a little time and treat together alone! The other might have a restaurant gift card and a babysitter certificate for me to take their kiddos for a planned ate night. Another can be somthing silly and random like instructions to packa lunch and drive to the nearest airport to eat together (kiddless) and watch teh airplanes take off, or take a nap..whatever!
Beigna new bride and new mom can be tiring, hard, stressfull, and sometimes exhausting…so having outs like that can be the best gift ever!
My go to bridal shower/wedding gift is a nice grill tool set from Williams Sonoma. Often the groom gets very few "manly" gifts and I feel this is something the bride and the groom can get excited about