bundle of joy

Rich's baby sister, Beth, just gave birth to her first little one, Samantha. We met her tonight. I love brand new babies. Well, I love all babies to be sure. But the newest ones, the way they nudge and smile and are like just little baby birds! And Samantha is so very sweet. She slept the whole time but made sweet little noises and faces.

I thought maybe I would show you how I put together the basket of gifts for mama and baby.

Here's what I bought:



It was one-stop shopping at my neighborhood discount store. If there are a lot of babies due to arrive in your life, I recommend frequenting their baby section for good buys.






Here are some tips for putting together a basket like this:

Keep an open mind. Look in areas other than the baby section. For instance, I found a beautiful quilted throw that I thought would make a wonderful play blanket for the floor.

Take all of the hangers off the clothes. They just make the clothes look cheap. Fold the clothes with a piece of tissue either inside them or behind them. It'll give the clothes a little body. And tie each bundle with a pretty bow.

Think of covering these bases...something practical, something heirloom-quality, something cute, and something to read.

Add details (like her name in the bin's slot)

Get the cutest and softest stuffed animal you can find. Take off any annoying tags that detract from his look. Use him as the anchor for your basket and put things in his arms, tie things to his wrists. You could even put some of the gifts on him, like a bib, hat, booties.

Use items like blankets to "fill" the bottom of the basket so that the items don't sink.

Don't just mark through the tags, especially if they are from a discount store like these were. Just remove the whole price tag. It looks better without 'em.

I didn't have time for this, but it's extra cute to use yards of tulle in baby-shades to "wrap" the basket. Put the basket in the center of the length of tulle. Bring the shorter sides in and tuck into the basket if you can. Bring the two longer ends together, making sure to keep the shorter ends tucked inside. Use a rubber band to secure the two longer ends together. Tie with a pretty satin bow. Tulle also makes a wonderful veil for Easter baskets and the result is so much softer than shiny plastic.