Baby Shower Gift Ideas: Help For Choosing That Special Item

A baby shower is a special time for celebrating the birth and addition of a new member to the family. Children are truly a gift and a wonder! But children won't always be little kids forever.

One day their parents will wake up, and realize that their kids are bigger than they are. Pretty soon they willl go away and the house for good, to make their way into the world.

So this is all the more reason to celebrate children when they are still young and
still consider their parents their closest pals. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

You see, even before these beautiful children arrive, mothers-to-be are treated to a festive occasion that celebrates the coming of her new baby. This celebration is called a baby shower, and what's a celebration without good food, some good time, and tons of presents?

This is where the guests come in. The guests are in charge of the gift-giving duties. Baby showers are a wonderful occasion for gift giving. It's always fun to shop for things that a newborn baby will need. Just think of yourself as a modern day fairy godmother/father without the wand. This way, you will surely have a good time choosing just the right baby gift. Maybe, you might even get generous and buy two gifts!

There are so many baby shower gift ideas that you can chose from, that you will have trouble choosing just one. Some of the more popular baby shower gift ideas are:

baby shower gift basket- This includes everything. A lot of items that a baby will need, such as: blankets, towels, bottles, toothing toys, soft toys, comb and brush sets, etc.

baby savings bond- This is such a meaningful gift, a bit on the extravagant side. But if you can afford it, this is a gift that mother and child will both appreciate. Also, this will go a long way in taking care of the child's financial needs.

baby gift registry- This is the easiest way to buy a baby shower gift. Just browse through the list of the owner, it should tell you exactly what the mother wants. This way, you would not have to wrack your brains trying to guess what kind of gift the mother-to-be wants.

diapers- This may not seem like much, but baby diapers are essential to babies!
They need an endless supply of diapers. They go through them so quickly. Even if you are presenting a gift, you might also want to bring along a pack of diapers.

baby toys- Baby toys are such a fun gift! Plus, you can't go wrong with baby toys. For newborn babies, less complicated toys are best such as: soft toys, baby rattles, books, etc. The more fancy toys are more suitable for toddlers. It is best to stick to the basic when buying toys for babies. Also, their safety must be considered. Stay away from toys that have pointed edges, are toxic, can be easily swallowed, etc.

gift certificates- These are a great gift to give, since gift certificates are very flexible. It allows the recipients to purchase things that they want, or things that they need, but didn't received as a present. Gift certificates should not only be limited to baby products. A mother-to-be will also appreciate receiving a gift certificate that attends to her needs.

There are so many baby shower gift ideas to choose from that you are sure to find something that the baby and mother will love.

Ridding Your House of Fleas

Chances are if you have pet's you have had to deal with the almost inevitable flea infestation. All pet owners know that once a flea infestation has gripped your living space it can be the start of a long battle.

In order to properly rid you home and pets of fleas you will treat the infestation as a whole. The fleas do not only live on your pet. Some research indicated that fleas spend less than 15% of their time on you pet. The rest of the time they are comfortably tucked away in a variety of warm places. Your carpet, your couches and even in your garden.

Summer and warmer weather will also bring out these evil little critters. This is because the warmth speeds up their life cycles. Depending on where you live you could face a flea problem all year around.

RECOGNIZING INFESTATION

Chances are you will know all about a budding flea problem. Fleas leave itchy bites on the ankles and beyond and make life for everyone in the area a misery. Fleas also leave telltale black or dark brown droppings.

One way to gauge the severity of the infestation is to comb your dogs coat over a white paper. The number of dark crumb-like bits that fall onto the paper will indicate the seriousness of your infestation.

If the fleas are leaving a lot of bites on the people in your home you will know the infestation is bad. Calamine lotion will provide some relief if the itching is bad. You can also experiment with one of the many natural repellents. Various substances rubbed on ankles or exposed skin will help keep the fleas from biting the humans; so you can concentrate on killing all the fleas.

THE DANGERS OF CHEMICALS

Many experts agree that the current chemical warfare on fleas is doing little to lesson the problem. Not only are these chemical treatments ineffective; they are also dangerous.

The dangers of these chemicals being ingested by dogs or even your children are high.

And there's the fear that repeated, prolonged use of these chemicals is creating a new "super flea'. Eventually fleas will become completely resistant to our treatments. This evolution of fleas will create a need for stronger and stronger chemicals. Who knows what kinds of super chemicals we'll need 50 years from now.

Those in favor of natural flea remedies claim that natural treatments work better than the chemical ones. In order to treat the problem effectively you will need to adopt a holistic action plan.

A Baby Gift Basket Can Be A Perfect Present

When a close friend or relative is having a baby, there are always presents and baby shower gifts to think about getting. The new mother is going to have an intense period of adjustment before she gets settled into the routine of having another human being to look after, so she will need all the help possible from family and friends to make that transition as easy and memorable as possible. This should be a celebratory time for the new family, not a time of worry or stress, and a gift basket to commemorate the new addition can be just the thing to brighten their spirits even more, and maybe even supply them with some things that will end up coming in handy.

A baby gift basket can be one of the easiest way for you as the gift giver to be creative, and show the person your giving it to just how much you care about them. Instead of one big gift, you get to give out a plethora of trinkets, toys, and other fun items, wrapped together in a beautiful package which, in itself, can be a gorgeous thing to receive. A popular thing to do when buying a gift basket is to let the company who makes it fashion the wicker basket as a bassinet, within which are all the things you want to bestow upon the new child, making your gift all the more thoughtful and appropriate. Better yet, there are so many companies out there that are experts at making these sorts of things, so even if you're not exactly Martha Stewart yourself, you can let an anonymous craftsperson make it seem like you should have your own cable show.

Within the gift basket, you'll want to include the basics, those simple bare necessities. This means, teddy bears and or dolls are a given, as any parent will know a young child can never have enough teddy bears. If you want to be gender specific, you can go for the standard pink or blue color palettes to appease notions of femininity and masculinity, but many people nowadays are shying away from such black and white notions of sex, so your best bet is probably to stay as neutral as possible. This also means that you can go nuts and include just about anything in the toy department that you want to give the new baby. No longer do Tonka trucks mean 'it's a boy' nor do Raggedy Ann dolls indicate the infant is a girl, so take advantage of this freedom in creating a truly unique and baby gift basket. Baby oil or baby wipes can be the new parent's dream as well, since they'll surely be running through plenty of both, so don't be afraid to include the practical as well as the sentimental.

In addition to the variety of contents you can include in your basket, you also have the luxury of having a wide range of prices and sizes to choose from, as crafting gift baskets for babies is a burgeoning market right now baby. Obviously, if the expecting mother is only a co-worker or a casual acquaintance, you don't want to present them with an elaborately fashioned and ornately packaged baby gift basket, as you'd probably be shelling out more money than you really want to spend. A nice, small gift basket can say everything you want to say, and do it in a classy, memorable way, without costing you the proverbial arm and leg.