Alethea, i know of pple who rather buy gift cos they tink it is more sincere that they went shopping for it and some of them rather buy cos they wanna know where the 'gift' went to.
I did my resesrch already. drew up a list and posted it on my baby's blog under wish list
I got write down price and where to get. Some of my frens say they got no time to go buy, so they transfer me the money, tell me to go get it then pass them the reciept
And feedback from them is tt at least they know what they bought for me and baby is useful! and I tink they will be v proud when they come visit and see baby using something they bought (cos i know i am v proud when i see my niece and nephews using something i bought for them)
Somemore they can choose what they wanna get for me based on their budget.
I listed items like clothes, cot, stroller, bottles, etc etc. From cheap items that cost a few dollars to expensive items like cot and stroller
My relatives also like the idea, so they know what else I need, they buy for me
Then i also created a wish list at a few online stores which is linked to the blog. overseas frens will purchase whatever item i placed on the wishlist and send it over
To date I've recieved alot of hand me downs plus new items from my frens and relatives already
so baby fair i go, onli spent less than S$50 on my own baby...heehee...the rest of the items is buy for my niece and nephews (their toys!!!)...