Liste de naissance? French/France-dwelling help please!

[SnapFrakkleAndPop]

People (mostly DH's family and colleagues) have started asking about the liste de naissance for baby and I've been dodging the question as I've no idea what the done thing is!

Where would it be normal to have one? What do you put on it?

DH is being no help at all and I'm worried asking his mother will show me up as uselessly English. Plus the stuff we have that were on his liste de naissance (or maybe it was christening gifts?) seem to be silver trinkets!

[AuldAlliance]

I think people have a list in baby shops and that's how they get big, expensive items (pushchairs, furniture, etc.). Overheard conversations to that effect in the local baby emporium. But I have no actual experience of them, TBH, and am not sure many people do them any more.

[ElsieR]

I had out one on John Lewis nursery list. I listed all sorts of stuff in a wide range of prices. I think it's great cause at least you get stuff that you actually need.
I'd ask his mother if you're in doubt.

[flyingcloud]

Like a wedding list, but for babies. A few people do them in France, but I only know personally of one couple that have had one.

Personally I don't share the MN opinion that wedding lists are the work of the devil, but I do think listes de naissances are a bit tacky... call me a hypocrite. DD was born 9 months after we got married and I just thought it was trop to issue another list!

In saying that French people were exceptionally generous when dd was born, almost everyone who had been to our wedding bought us a gift, whereas English/Irish friends sent cards but not gifts, on the whole - so you will get a lot of gifts, without a shadow of a doubt (lots of Sophie La Girafes!) and if you feel you want to manage the gift giving, go right ahead and do it.

[ifaistos]

I don't know anyone who's done this in France - I don't think it's very common. You send a faire part and people give you presents. Lots of fluffy animals from doudou & cie ime.

[Bonsoir]

If your family are asking for a liste de naissance, go for it! IME French people are incredibly generous with baby gifts, with which they include the gift receipt - they fully expect you to exchange them. I had some amazing presents for DD, including far more Bonpoint than she could use!

How about having it at Le Bon Marché? They have a great baby department, including cots, bouncy chairs etc as well as great clothes. Or have it at the Baudou store and furnish your nursery!

[FlingonTheValiant]

Everyone I know with a child had a liste de naissance. And I couldn't believe the stuff they had on them! A list is one thing, but as flyingcloud said it all gets a bit trop when people are asking for top of the range prams, stokke cribs and tripp trapps, and apparently the most expensive of everything. My sil's liste was worth thousands, cheapest thing on it was ?65.

That said, I will confess to being a wee bit jealous when we had to buy everything ourselves and got babygrows and little teddies as gifts (which I loved and was very grateful for, but when she was showing off all her gear I felt a bit unloved by comparison, especially as there was only a 4 month gap) God I sound really grasping now

Anyway, friends in France have since complained that we didn't do one in France for them, but since we didn't in England and just got on with buying stuff I couldn't think of anything to put on it. Result - we've ended up with lots of larger sized petit bateau etc, which I'm thrilled with :)

[SnapFrakkleAndPop]

Okay well most of the major stuff has already been bought/promised by family (pram, car seat, high chair) so it would be nice-to-haves/clothes/toys etc. Would love a list at Baudou but baby is sleeping in a cardboard box until we know whether we're moving or not and how much we'll move over the next 5 years...I used to walk past their shop on rue de Solferino(?) and dream :)

I loved our wedding list at Printemps, partly because we didn't have to buy what was actually on the list (good thing as some of the styles of glassware changed in between making the list and getting married) and people can give you a donation instead so I might look into their liste de naissance service seeing as people seem to want to give us stuff and being a control freak it would be nice to get stuff we want rather than stuff we don't.

I was worried it would look a bit grasping but I guess if people are asking then they genuinely want to get us something, which is nice.

[Bonsoir]

Sounds like all you need/can reasonably transport are clothes and toys. And babies really don't need many toys! You could have the world's best dressed babe

[SnapFrakkleAndPop]

Ahhh but if we're coming back, and the list is in Paris, we're not limited to 1 cubic metres air freight and 7 or so shipped because whatever I acquire in Paris the next move would be one of Paris/Brest/Toulon, therefore overland and not so much of an issue. So I could think ahead to what I might want from about July time (if we're moving) and put it on there....

If not, I can operate a rotating system and send what I don't need back with visitors, who all fly Air France so get 23kg for them and 23kg for me on the way out - they can spare a bit of space for baby stuff on the return leg!

I like this more and more

[Bonsoir]

Why don't you just go for the Baudou nursery furniture then? It takes 12+ weeks to be delivered from date of order anyway!

[flyingcloud]

Baudou - dh and I made the mistake of wandering in there before our trip to Ikea.