Special Guest Blog: Top 5 Ideas For Your “Extra” Baby Gifts

Special Guest Blogger: YourRetailHelper.com

We had a difficult time starting our family. Our friends and family were there for us on our uncharted journey. Several years later when we joyfully made the announcement we were expecting, those same friends and family celebrated with us. Because everyone was so excited for us (it’s almost embarrassing to say it out loud), we had six Baby Showers. Don’t get me wrong, we were so incredibly thankful and blessed by the outpouring, but oh my, were the gifts overflowing!

So here’s the question, when you have gifts you aren’t able to use, duplicates or have no gift receipt, what do you do with them? First let me say, that this doesn’t mean you’re ungrateful. In NO way, does this negate the heart with which a gift was given. But people need to understand, that babies grow too quickly to fit into all those adorable clothes and there’s only so many bibs and blankets you’ll need.

1) Pay It Forward. Give To Charity. Contact your local Chamber of Commerce and ask them for a list of non-profit charities, homeless shelters, crisis pregnancy centers, etc… You have no idea how much they would appreciate your “extras”.

2. Re-Gift. I realize I may lose some of you here, but hear me out. There’s nothing wrong with re-gifting if you follow some simple guidelines:

• Remove all cards, notes and wrapping

• Don’t re-gift in the same social circle

• Don’t remove price tags

• Do think intentionally about who would receive your “re-gift”

3. Make a Gift Basket. Combine all those small items into one gift. One of my favorite things to make is a “Diaper Cake”. It’s a great way to use some of those extra baby gifts in a creative way. People love this!

4. Re-use your Gift Bags. Five years later, I’m still using my gift bags. I’ve even sold bags at garage sales or gifted them to a crisis pregnancy clinic. They’re always needing gift bags for their clients. Make sure you’ve removed all the tissue paper and tags.

5. Sell. Sell. Sell. My preference is a Consignment Sale. (It’s anonymous, unlike a garage sale where the person who gave you the original gift might drop. Save yourself the embarrassment.) Keep the original tags on the items. They tend to sell better if people realize they’ve never been used.

Don’t hang on to a gift from someone if you’re not able to use it. That person doesn’t have to know where their gift ended up. (There are the occasional exceptions if that person is close to you and you know they’ll ask about it.) In your Thank You notes, tell them how much you appreciated their thoughtfulness. Then, get rid of the guilt.

Your Retail Helper is dedicated to Helping the Mommas find the best Retail and Gift Deals. We’ll teach you how to Stockpile a Gift Giving Reserve and help you look for opportunities to Pay It Forward.

YourRetailHelper.com

Part of the “Helping The Mommas” network