Place to by gift card for expecting parents

[pjmorgan.livejournal.com]

I need suggestions of a store to buy a gift  card for parents who are expecting a child.  I would prefer something in the Cambridge/Somerville area, or in Boston if T accessbile.   If in Boston or especially if it requires a car, it would have to be a really fabulous idea.  Having not shopped for babies before I can't easily come up with ideas of where parents go to shop for baby things. 

Comments

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

There is a Target in Somerville, and there is a Baby-R-Us in Everett near to Wellington. It depends on the parents, surely, but SOME KIND of diapers are going to be required. You might also check to see if they are registered anywhere--Amazon has a large baby registry.

[ron_newman]

Stellabella Toys in Porter Square, or Henry Bear's Park in Huron Village (72 bus) or Arlington (77 bus) ?

[balsamicdragon.livejournal.com]

If you want practical, get a Babies-R-Us card and they can use it for online shopping. We got a couple of these and they were really great!

If you want more fun, try a gift certificate to Stella Bella. It's an awesome toy store with locations in Inman and Porter Square.

[nonnihil.livejournal.com]

Stellabella's a great suggestion; I'd also add Barefoot Books (Mass Ave., near Porter).

Or, if you're feeling more practical, get them a Costco membership. I can't even begin to add up how useful that's been for us.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

Yes. Diapers. OMG diapers.

I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 infant diapers which will last about 5 weeks.

But I second Babies-r-Us IF the parents aren't registered anywhere.

Target's selection of baby gear is dismal.

[ron_newman]

But are there any Costos on the T?

Curious George in Harvard Square also comes to mind, but maybe not for another year or two.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

But surely they sell diapers. =) As long as the parents aren't into cloth, which is a total possibility, and not a criticism on my part, just that in that case something else might be better.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

there's one in that same shopping center in Everett near to Wellington. It'd be about a half-mile walk.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

The diapers at Target are more expensive than the bulk boxes I got at Babies-r-Us.

I haven't seen cloth diapers around, strangely enough.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Seems like all my friends are using them, and they're hard to get, and for a non-parent the distinctions between brands can be pretty opaque.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

There's also Calliope (http://www.yelp.com/biz/calliope-cambridge) in Harvard Square.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

For a new parent, distinctions can be pretty opaque. : )

I almost fainted when I saw the choices in formula at the store. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

I feel like there is almost too much out there to select from, no matter what it is you're looking for.

For diapers, I got a huge box of Pampers Swaddlers at a baby shower and decided that this would be the brand I would use because someone with more experience than I gifted me with it.

I won't use cloth. I don't have a washing machine in the home and I don't trust myself with pins. I'm also not sure that the amount of water you'd go through to ensure a clean, sanitary supply is worth the savings in diapers or lessens the environmental impact od disposing of them.

[ayelle.livejournal.com]

Although come to think of it that might be a better place to shop for a gift than for a gift card. It's full of soft, adorable things, but is also not cheap. Great place to get a present for someone, not such a great place to shop for necessities.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Isn't it funny how just about any choice aspect of parenting, from natural childbirth to breastfeeding to diapers has a crazy polarizing effect?

I'd have never guessed there were that many kinds of formula, frankly, it's all a huge black box to me.

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Ditto on Stellabella. It's such a fun place to shop!

[pierceheart.livejournal.com]

Formula?

NOO!!!

Boo-boo juice!

j/k

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

I won't use cloth. I don't have a washing machine in the home and I don't trust myself with pins.
LOL. This is the 21st century -- cloth diapers don't use pins any more; they use Velcro.

Aside from that, I completely agree with you on the rest. From what I understand, there's research supporting the notion that laundering cloth diapers is just as bad for the environment as filling the landfills with disposable diapers. Especially if you use a diaper service, which typically use lots of harsh chemicals to launder the diapers. I use disposables myself.

[mamajoan.livejournal.com]

Stellabella is great, but not exactly practical. Better to give gift cards for the more practical stuff (supermarket, Target, Babies-R-Us) and use Stellabella as your source for actual gifts. Just speaking from personal experience, you get plenty of toys as gifts when the baby first arrives -- you wouldn't really need anything from Stellabella for quite a while. Whereas diapers, wipes, clothing, etc....you're going to need SO much of that stuff.

[unsi-sempai.livejournal.com]

If you want to be really practical, give them a "gift certificate" for a dinner out, at your expense, while you watch junior :)

[komos.livejournal.com]

There's a place in Inman Square that sells things like Misfits onesies.

[ron_newman]

I assumed that the gift card is being given to someone who has no car (and therefore would not be able to get to Babies-R-Us), but maybe I'm wrong here.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

and there's a bus that runs there.

[prunesnprisms.livejournal.com]

Not that it's any closer to Davis, but my preferred Babies R Us is just off the Braintree stop. There is a certain level of accessibility there, plus the which that you can use those cards on the Internet, but I took it as the OP did not have a car.

[balsamicdragon.livejournal.com]

I used mine to order stuff online. It's hard to get out with a newborn, even if you have a car :)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I will make the radical suggestion of just giving them money so that you don't force them to shop at a store where they might not have otherwise been inclined to buy anything.

Cash was the standard gift where I grew up. Let them decide how to spend it, or if they'd prefer to put it in baby's college fund, or what.

IMHO, of course. :)