What was the most impractical baby gift you were given?

[LolaNova]

Was just in the kids bedroom looking at a blanket DS was given shortly after he was born by a friend of my mum’s. It’s absolutely stunning. White, hand crocheted, really intricate, very fine yarn, took hundreds of hours to make. It’s also massive, heavy, and wholly impractical for use as a blanket by anyone, let alone an infant! You could probably use it as a gorgeous beach cover up or a christening shawl for photos. It’s hung on the bannisters in DS’ room for the last 2 years.

What gifts were you given that never got used?

A teddy bear not suitable for under 3s

I can see the consensus is that soft toys are useless, why do people who have children continue to buy them for newborns then?? We got loads and plenty were from people with their own kids who should have known better

Aww, we loved the soft toys.

My pet peeve was being "loaned" clothing - getting a bag of stuff with the "please can I have it all back when you are done" request.

Yep because I am definitely going to remember what was yours in 3 months time not to mention the state my DC would get clothes after just one wear most days.

I hate hate hate these ungrateful threads from over entitled women who think everyone owes them something.

God the most hideous lace/wool baby grow (think my big fat Greek wedding) that DC screamed at when MIL tried to force it on them - that swiftly made it in to a charity bag though I can’t imagine they ever sold it it was bloody awful

@Familyproblemsatwork

I hate hate hate these ungrateful threads from over entitled women who think everyone owes them something.

ODFOD

No one is demanding things. They are gifts just were not appropriate for use with a baby.

A Burberry baseball cap.

A husband.

Anything in the colour hot pink. Wasn’t happening

A 5ft tall teddy bear, my daughter was absolutely terrified of it as she got a little older. It was also an awful dust magnet. Thankfully I found it a new home at the local household waste site. Always thought it was a thoughtless and pointless for a tiny premature baby!

My MIL used to buy clothes for the age my babies actually were, rather than the size they were in - ds1 was 99th centile for length and ds2 was 11lb4 when he was born, so neither of them could ever fit in the right size clothes for their age. So many lovely outfits that were never worn. (although ds2 did get some wear out of ds1's)

A fragile bone china training mug. I don’t think it would have withstood my 1 year old.

Made a nice ornament though.

Well this thread certainly shows how easy it is to go wrong with a present , and how it's all down to personal taste !

For me I would say it was when people bought me flowers. Last thing I wanted to faff around with when sleep deprived.

But I would have loved the cook vouchers people were complaining about .

Don't get the hate for cuddly toys . Please don't put them in the bin people - our Pets at Home sells them £1 each as dog toys with proceeds going to charity .

The most impractical was actually something we bought - a little designer outfit which DS was the right size for, for about a week . Lesson learned and he was clothed by Asda until he reached the age of requesting brands himself .

Real sheep skin booties. Complete with sheep's wool inside. They were very sweet but very scratchy.

And not a baby gift exactly but a first Christmas gift, ds was 11 weeks old, a v tech ride on light up singing bike thing.

Ds couldn't even hold his own head up let alone sit on the thing. We lived in a tiny two up two down ex council house at the time and barely had space for all of the other baby crap never mind that thing.

My mums friend knit DD a beautiful angel hair blanket. Its so fine you can pull it through a wedding ring. Its been wrapped up in a box since I was given it, would have been lovely for a christening or a new born photoshoot but she had neither. I was terrified it would get caught on little fingers and get ruined/pulled. Never had the heart to give it away as she sells them for £100s and it was alot of work.

@JackieTheFart I found the
Bath chairs to be invaluable when bathing slippy baby. Again just shows how different we all are .

An orange puffer jacket for my than 1 year old. It was so thick that he couldn't put his arms down. It was expensive too Was given with the best intentions by a childless mate of my DH. I've also given some useless presents to children before I became a mum. Remember giving a deep red dress with lace and voile skirts to my friend 3 months old daughter.

@Soubriquet and @FantasySeven thank you both for making my point for me.

Oh and I didn't mention demands - you did! Slip of the tongue dear?

An embossed terry towelling baby dressing gown (with belt). It was thick and soft and cuddly but made DD hard to feed, wind and even hold. She wore it once for 10 mins.

You aren’t a parent are you?

Stackable rings toyin white crushed velvet with a dry clean only label...