Toy Boxes as the Perfect Baby Shower Gifts

Do you want to give truly unique baby shower gifts? Then veer away from the usual diaper cakes, baby clothes and baby accessories and think months ahead into the baby’s future with fully accessorized toy boxes! But first, learn what it takes to select the best toy box for your godchild, grandchild, niece and nephew and little family friend.

Style and Storage

Your choice of toy box as gift largely depends on the style preference and the storage requirements of the baby’s parents. You can do research by asking them regarding the nursery’s theme and colors, assuming that you have close relations with them. Otherwise, you can inquire from family members about the parents’ style preferences. From there, you can look into the various styles of toy boxes – with or without bench-type features, plain and solid colors or decorated and ornate panels, for boys or girls or unisex, personalized or non-personalized, and with or without cushions.

As to storage capacity, you have to remember that babies accumulate toys as they grow. Thus, your gift of a small toy box is perfect for infants with a few stuffed toys but not so for toddlers with a smorgasbord of toys. Again, you can ask the parents regarding the space constraints they might have in their home. Barring that, you can always opt for a medium-size toy box to be on the safe side.

Safety and Security

As much as you should consider the safety of the toys you will be stuffing inside toy boxes as your baby shower gifts, you also have to ensure that these boxes are safe for children. You can look out for these safety features:

- The paint used should be lead-free. You can ask the store regarding the origins of their toy chests – if these are from European countries and the US, you have the assurance of lead-free paint due to the strict standards imposed on their products.

- The lid should have a slow-closing metal safety hinge to prevent little fingers from injury caused by slamming lids. Also, you should avoid buying toy boxes with locks since children use them as hiding places. Better yet, look for a toy box with ventilation holes and handle cutouts that allow the free flow of oxygen in the event that the box does close accidentally with a child in it.

- Look for rounded edges and cushioned pads in toy boxes for added safety. You have to remember that sharp edges and hard surfaces cause more injury to children than they do for adults.

The baby’s parents will definitely appreciate the care and patience you put into selecting the perfect toy box that will suit their baby’s needs. Just imagine their happiness as your own when you receive this kind of gift on your own baby shower!

Now that you have chosen the perfect toy box to give, the next step is to actually put toys in it. You need not pack it to overflowing. Just a few stuffed toys, baby picture books, and age-appropriate educational toys will do perfectly so long as these are safe to use, too.

Just be prepared that with fully-accessorized and fully-stuffed toy boxes as gifts, you might not receive heartfelt thanks until the baby is about a year old! Then again, it will be one of the best appreciations you will ever receive for a baby shower gift.