I had an amazing baby shower this past weekend. That was due to many factors: the creative mind of my sister and her excellent organizational skills, the lovely and caring women attending coupled with lots of laughter and love in the air. However I think what also made it a success is that I had asked for specific things as shower gifts. Several people had asked what we needed for our baby so I spent many, many hours researching what items Sustainable PF and I wanted for lil’ SPF. In the end this meant that we did not get products that we won’t use (like plastic pacifiers and disposable diapers). Giving out a specific list meant our guests did not spend money needlessly and we don’t have a baby’s room full of useless stuff. Ask for what you want and you may just receive it!
Do you ask for what you want?
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Glad to hear your shower went so well. They are really fun aren’t they?! I have often thought about registering in some way for the items that we will want but I know that there are still those people out there who will buy something that is not on the list. I would still be appreciative of the gift but I would then either donate it or see if I could exchange it for something that we would use. What would you do?
We got items we didn’t ask for but our friends and family seem really in tune with what our needs AND wants are. I don’t think we’ll need to sell, trade or donate anything! E.G. from Mrs. SPFs brother we got uber-green baby wipes! They won’t last too long but he knows precisely what kind of products we like to use.
That’s great to hear. The baby shower really helped us too. We didn’t have to purchase too many things when the baby came home. It’ll be crazy and fun. :)
The list is still there, but, much smaller.
Way back when my oldest was born (ok, just 9 years ago, seems like forever and yesterday both), we registered for the baby gear we wanted. I really think it helped, although the handmedowns we got helped a lot too. I wasn’t going specifically for sustainable back then, but it still amazed me the sheer amount of STUFF the popular lists proclaimed was absolutely vital.
We don’t have too many hand-me-downs. A lot of our relatives and friends are at the same life stage as we are (having kids) so there isn’t much spare to go around.