Frugal Shopping For A Baby Shower

I’m going to a baby shower this weekend for the wife of one of my husband’s cousins.  I’ve known her for years and we get along well, but we only see each other a few times a year and aren’t super close.  In situations like that, I tend to stick to buying things off the registry (if it’s a very close friend or family member I’ll usually go all out with some sort of handmade item that I know the recipient will love, but if I don’t know the person as well, I figure the registry is a better bet). 

So I braved Babies R Us a few days ago in search of a gift.  The only time I ever go there is if I’m looking for baby shower presents.  So I have no idea where anything is, and I find the whole place a bit overwhelming.  I’m firmly in the "less is more"  camp when it comes to baby gear (and most everything else these days) and that is definitely not the idea they are trying to convey.  But I digress.

As I was flipping through the registry, I saw one of those things you attach to a car seat or stroller to keep the baby warm, and it seemed like a good practical gift.  When I got to that section of the store, I noticed that they only had one left, and it was a bit bedraggled looking.  It was still in it’s package, but it had been taken out and stuffed back in without being folded.  I knew that could be easily fixed (the package had a zipper on it, so it could be opened, folded, and put back in without damaging anything), and as an added bonus, that one last cover had been marked down to half price.  Score!  Since it was so inexpensive, I was able to pick out another item from the registry and get them both for the same price that the cover was supposed to be.  (later that evening I rearranged the stroller cover in its packaging, and you’d never be able to tell that it was messed with at all – good as new.)

I then browsed through the shoes and socks section, looking for something cute to tie onto the outside of the package.  But everything I liked was $10 to $20, and I had already spent as much as I had budgeted for the shower.  So I decided to just get the gifts I had already purchased and call it good.

My next stop was Goodwill, as I’m still on a mission to find a hat for our scarecrow.  No luck with the hat, but I decided to take a peek at the baby shoes, just in case.  And I stumbled upon the cutest little pair of baby boots:

They’re soft and fuzzy on the inside, easy to put on and off, and will keep tiny toes warm in the winter.  They’re brand new, with their original hanger still attached, and I got them for two bucks.  I actually like them more than the $15 shoes I saw at babies R Us. 

That was all I bought at Goodwill.  It’s been over three months now since I vowed to de-clutter, stop buying clothes, and start donating more (a lot more) and shopping less (a lot less).  I never would have thought that my formerly thrift store addicted self would be content to not even glance at the clothing or housewares section in the thrift store, but that’s how it is.  A year ago, I would have left the store with at least a few new treasures, but all I bought was a small gift. 

I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.