Gifting Books Instead of Cards at Baby Showers

I love reading. Like that is what I would do with the majority of my free time if I could. And I fully believe instilling a love of reading in our children is one of the greatest gifts we can offer them. If they can read, there is no door that can be closed to them. But more importantly, the time spent reading together is precious to me.

So how does one grow your home library while pregnant from the 15 most common board books to a world of variety and joy. My vote is at the baby shower!

At most baby showers, you get a gift and a little card that’s cute and wishes well. Now if that card is lucky, it ends up in a scrapbook of some sort, but more often than not, it’s going in the recycling. Cards don’t hold a lot of long term value. Very few people pull out a card a year later and fawn about how nice it was to get it. This is a new generation, and there is nothing wrong with that.

So instead of cards, I encourage books! Write your little message in the front page of the book. We did this at our baby shower by sending out the invite with the request “Instead of cards, please consider getting a book to help start Monster’s library”. It was great! Our friends and family were very supportive and we received over 50 books, easily. What is more, for loved ones who were tight on money, instead of wasting cash on a card, they could spend just a tiny bit more and get a book.

I will say the only trick with this is making sure you get gift receipts otherwise you may end up with a few repeats. Otherwise, I highly encourage this approach. It’s a great way to build your family’s library and a simple, long lasting gift.