Gift ideas?

[SuperLovefuzz]

Hi all, this is my first post here though I've been coming on these boards for a while to read about other people with similar pregnancy issues to me :)
I'm 37+1 today and hoping for some help on gift ideas. Even though money has been pretty tight for us, friends and family have been sooo generous with gifts and hand-me-downs already and I think we have pretty much all we need.
I still have 3 or 4 family members looking to buy 'bigger' items and not only do I not want to offend them by 'rejecting' their offers, I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to get stuff which I later realise I need! I know people love to buy for new babies but after that this gift bonanza will come to an end! lol.
So I'm hoping you can think of some items that can be easily forgotten maybe in the price range of around £50-£100? Maybe even things that would be used later on. The only thing I can think of is a high chair.
Also the baby will be spending a fair bit of time at my mum's house after I go back to work (when the baby is about 8 or 9 months old) so would you say it is cheeky to ask for duplicate things to have one at both places??
This is my first baby so I'm not really sure on everything that will be needed, or the etiquette when it comes to gifts!
I think the main thing we need is clothes. We've been given a lot second hand, but mostly girls stuff and we don't know the sex yet. Is it ok to ask people for next size clothes?
Thanks!

I'm in a similar position, and also loathe to allow people to buy us new stuff when we've been offered perfectly good hand-me-downs of stuff that will only be used for a short time anyway.

Have you got a sling?
Sheepskin/footmuff/pram liner?
How about cleaning vouchers?

Some things that could be handy...

A travel cot with decent mattress (use as playpen at home and then use for naps & play pen at grandparents).
A jumperoo or similar walker/bouncer
Definitely ask for next size up clothes, and keep tags on clothes gifts as if you get duplicates or too much that is too small then most shops will exhange without receipts.
Boots vouchers

I'm sure theres lots more, will post if i can think of any.

Thanks a lot both of you :)
Haven't got a sling actually so that's a great idea. I wasn't sure about the footmuff because it will be spring/summer by the time the baby is big enough for the pushchair, will I still need that? I am in Scotland I suppose!
Cleaning vouchers for someone to clean my house do you mean? Hadn't thought of that at all! I think people just want to buy for the baby!
Travel cot we've been given second hand, haven't actually seen it yet as it was given to my mum but I think it's a good one! Do you need to replace the travel cot mattress because of links to cot death? Also getting a second hand cot and getting a new mattress for that but only just thought of that for travel cot!
Was given a lovely bouncer from my work colleagues :)
Thanks for the advice on the clothes, will keep the tags on until using!

Size 3-6 or 6-9, or vouchers, are ideal. Size up clothes could be tricky because the changing seasons could make what's available to buy now completely unsuitable by the time baby is big enough - you probably won't need a snowsuit in March-May!

Yy to duplicate high chairs, or to saying "ooh could you buy us a high chair in the spring?"

Swing/bouncy chair? Bath support?

Ooh, a good expensive one is a proper in-ear thermometer. They can be expensive but I found them invaluable - you don't have to undress or wake baby to take the temperature, and that reading takes just seconds and is very accurate.

Not sure about the sids guidelines for travel cot mattress as they are designed to be used occasionally. Most come with a horrible vinyl thin sort of base that makes a lot of noise every time baby moves on it. We got a travel cot mattress for about £25 from kiddicare as DS slept overnight at grandparents place (from about 9 months) and i wanted something comfortable for him.

Longer term, the next stage up car seat could be something to mention. Baby will be somewhere between 9 months and a year when they are ready for it.

How about some photo vouchers? It's lovely to get some proper professional snaps of baby (and some of u and dp) and its something u might not be able to afford. I know a lot of photo studios where I live do baby's first year packages where u get a photo taken every month and then at the end of the year they put them all together for u to hang on the wall.

i second sheepskin for pram. Natural fibres keep warm in winter, cool.in summer. Brilliant thing.
Also if you're going to breastfeed a good solid pillow is an idea.
ear thermometer also good idea as mentioned above, trying to get a toddler particularly sit still for long enough to warm up a normal one is.not easy!
Do you have a good.monitor?
Clothes, clothes, clothes. Maybe a good quality Pram suit?

Most of my suggestions have already been made!
However one of the best gifts we got, which was actually for us, we're some vouchers for a company that does what I'd call fancy frozen meals. We filled our freezer with them, she's three weeks old & they've only just run out! Although we haven't used them every day as other people have cooked for us it's still been wonderful not to have to meal plan in the evenings but just stick something tasty & nutritious in the oven. We used a company called Cook but there are a few different ones out there.

We've been given so many 0-3, 3-6 & 6+ clothes I think we might already have enough to last her first year!

Also I know it's dull but you can seriously never have enough nappies & wipes so mange just a trick load of them? Amazon are amazingly cheap for those especially if you join the 'family' scheme. For the first three months you also get free next day delivery.

When I say mange, I mean maybe.....

Ask for loads of nappies in dif sizes? or big packets of wipes or muslins? You will never have enough muslins!

I would suggest asking them to put the gift of money on a voucher so that u can buy things at later dates as your baby grows, I know it may feel cheeky but they have offered already so u suggesting a way to use it that is convenient to u won't be insulting to them. We got a lot of vouchers and they were great for further down the line for buying bigger clothes or even nappies if ur a bit strapped for cash one week. Suggesting they get bigger sized clothes is a good idea too but u can never be sure when they will fit and have to think of overlapping seasons as a PP said. My son was tiny when he was born and wasn't properly fitting his newborn clothes for months so some things did go unused, current bump has those things still with tags on waiting for them to arrive, good luck x