Ideal Bite

I agree...the green gifts are great. I brought organic cotton onesies and toys to my cousin's baby shower and not only were they a huge hit, they gave me a chance to educate the older women who hadn't experience with green merchandise. It also took attention away from the silly "guess the number of skittles in the baby bottle" game. An all-around successful gift!

This past Saturday was a baby shower for one of my best mates and I gave her a baby green kit. It had everything from earth friendly laundry soap to organic baby lotion and non-talc powder. What a hit! I want to put in a plug for green-kits.com, it's the perfect little green gift for baby.

I have a friend who, a year ago, went into business for herself. She does crafts mainly for kids, and they are mostly "green" crafts - made from recycled fabrics and materials, or organic, 100% vegan items. She creates sock monkeys and sock friends; baby onesies, t-shirts bibs, and hats; adult shirts and other items. You can check her out at http://www.ahimsa-creations.net/about.html Thanks! Amanda

Instead of buying items that are ultimately disposable, you can contact the parents and put the money in to a savings account for the little one as well. Or you can buy the child some Treasury Bonds. Still one of the safest investments in the world because you will get double your money if you wait the term. The baby will probably probably appreciate it more when they are older and starting to put their mark on the world. The biggest thing we have to do is get out of this idea that gifts have to be about stuff.

I just bought a friend a box of chlorine free diapers and natural baby products for a her shower gift. I know she'll need them, right? Another tip is to buy bigger sized clothes. The newborn adorable onsies last a few weeks. Clothes for when they are ones, last about a year.

Hey Jen You should come to one of the baby showers I give for my friends. We do it when baby is a few weeks old ( esp. handy for those who choose NOT to find out baby's gender) Then we sit around admiring the baby, visiting, and writing wishes in a book for the baby. Then we have a fabulous lunch which includes a fabulous dessert of new mom's choice. Then we open gifts and go home. No stupid games at all. In addition to green gifts- New parents love gifts of service go grocery shopping for them, stop by and do a few chores, bring dinner, take the older kids on a fun outing....many possiblities. Gifts do not have to be things.

My wonderful BFF, Jenny (or Jen Boulden as y'all know her!) sent me a fabulous gift set of organic bamboo goodies (from Bamboosa) when my 2nd baby was born!!! The softness is unbelievable! The perfect gift... :-)

One of my favorite items to give at baby showers (or to send to my far away friends) is the organic romper and blanket set from Gaiam (http://www.gaiam.com/retail/product/23-9129_MSTR). I've gotten a lot of great feedback, and everyone is amazed at how soft the fabric is.

I am appalled to see a $75 stretch mark cream on the gift list. There's no quicker way to turn off would be green folk than to tell them they can't afford it!...had a lovely shower for my daughter, no idiotic games or cakes.

What young families really want and need is 1) cash and 2) food after the baby comes. If cash seems too crass (or your budget too tiny) you can do a gift card for organic groceries or, better yet, deli or an organic take-away (and if they deliver, you get a Star-in-Your-Crown). When you visit after the baby comes, you can take a FROZEN healthy meal with you - you never know who else has fresh stuff languishing in the fridge, waiting for someone to have the energy to cook. When I visited my daughter, I would routinely say, oh, I'll bring along some dinner/lunch/snacks, and because she is my daughter I could also toss a package or organic chicken or beef into her freezer for when they felt like cooking. They've gotta eat, and there's so much baby STUFF available for resale, just using up what's leftover will take us a generation - and with your cash, they can get what they really need. Need. Need.