I bet you loved the convenience of a wedding website – the perfect place to keep your guests updated with pictures, information, and the registry. If a baby’s on the way, you might be missing the convenience of your wedding site as friends and family start peppering you with questions about due dates, gifts, and health updates. With Deposit a Gift, you can create a website just like you would for wedding with all the same convenience, but dedicated to your impending arrival!
Pregnancy is an exciting and busy time! Make it easier with a baby website. With all the important info in one place, you’ll take a lot of pressure off yourself to keep everyone updated!
If you’ve stepped foot in a baby store recently, then you know the overwhelming feeling that comes with endless choices between strollers, car seats, and cribs. Deciding which to register for can be a daunting task, but it shouldn’t be!  A baby registry is a great way to share with family and friends what you need and to let them help out.  But before you go registry crazy, be realistic about what you want – items that seem cool in the store might end up in their packaging forever or your baby will quickly outgrow. You want to think bigger picture and longer term than the first few months. Let’s face it, babies are expensive and most of the important baby needs are too.
Register For What You Really Need:
A Deposit a Gift registry lets you register for what you actually will use long term: money. But it’s not just money for money’s sake; it’s money to be used for exactly what you need, when you need it. You can register for things that you never could with traditional store, and you have the flexibility to buy as needed instead of everything at once, such as:
What are the Benefits of an Alternative Baby Registry?
Given that a lot of the baby gear decisions are based on lifestyle preferences, it’s important to give yourself the time and space to figure out your parenting style and what works for you. Therefore, a traditional registry can often be inefficient. An alternative baby registry is perfect for:
Registries are a fantastic way to make it easy for friends and family to know what you need, but you shouldn’t feel pressured to go the traditional route if that doesn’t fit your style. A Deposit a Gift registry can help you manage and customize what you buy for your new baby to give you the most flexibility with this new phase of life.
There’s so much advice teaching new moms how to keep it together fashion-wise after a little one arrives on the scene. As a men’s Image and Style Consultant perhaps Julie Rath of Rath & Co. is biased, but sometimes new dads have just as much trouble maintaining a fresh sense of style. The keys are to keep it straightforward and functional, and we’re so excited for Julie to share her six tips for new dads to do just that.
Masculine Baby Accessories
The heading may sound like an oxymoron, but there’s a whole industry catering to hip dads who don’t want to carry around flowered diaper bags. Companies like Diaper Dude and Storksak design bags with these dads in mind: they come in solid dark colors like carbon grey and army green, not to mention in brown and black leather.
Stylish Functionality
It’s no secret that you need to tote a lot of gear when you have kids. Luckily for the fashion-conscious dad, slim cargo pants are currently on-trend, so these guys can stow some of what they’ll need in those pockets for easy access. I like this khaki pair from Lands’ End Canvas, the black camo’s from Rogue or J Brand’s vintage trooper cargo.
Dark Matter
The first thing I usually hear from clients who are parents is how easy it is for clothes to get ruined from drips, drools and worse. With this in mind, new dads should look for machine washable clothes in forgiving dark colors.
Know Your Fabrics
Style-savvy dads can further protect their clothes by wearing stain-resistant fabrics. A company called Nano-Tex has engineered an incredible fabric called Nano-Care Stressfree that literally repels stains; brands like Gap, Levi’s and Eddie Bauer sell clothing made with this technology. New dads can also protect themselves from looking worn out by wearing fabrics that look better when a little wrinkled. Think chambray, linen or flannel shirts and washed cotton chinos from inexpensive stores like Uniqlo.
Basic Grooming
It can be easy to get lax about haircuts, hair trimming and shaving once the little one shows up, but part of looking good is maintaining these elements of style. Many hair stylists make house calls, making it easy to fit cuts into your busy schedule.
Stay Organized
When you’re sleep-deprived, you won’t want to contend with a messy, confusing closet. Clean and organize your closet regularly so you can get dressed quickly. And if you need help, call in a professional.
Most importantly for new dads: Have a clear game plan at the outset. There’s no need to descend to a dad jeans + hoodie combo when you can just as easily put on a casual sport coat and well-fitted jeans – even if you’re just heading to the park. I hope the above tips help, and I welcome your questions and comments!
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As seen on CBS’s The Early Show, in Men’s Health magazine and in The Wall Street Journal, Julie Rath runs Rath & Co., an Image and Style Consulting service that gives men an extra edge. Julie specializes in image and style strategy, color analysis, closet edits, wardrobe planning, and personal shopping. She hangs out mostly in stores and other peoples’ closets, but otherwise you can reach her at julie@rathandco.com or 646.434.7842.
We can’t believe our founder Dana’s little girl is already a month old! Time flies! Isn’t she the cutest?
In case you missed the news from December, we thought we’d catch you up….
Dana and her husband Mark put together a fabulous DAG baby registry – the perfect way to share info about the new arrival and offer an easy way for friends and family to give a meaningful and useful gift.
We thought their registry could provide inspiration for any of you expecting your own 2012 bundle of joy. Take a look, and then get started creating your own baby registry!
An alternative gift registry lets you register for the money to get exactly what you want. Perfect for weddings, birthdays, babies, graduations, and more! You create a gift list, just like you would at a department store, but instead of being limited to their inventory, you can register for anything: from honeymoons to home down payments, newlywed activities to charity. Gift-givers contribute via credit card and when you’re ready, you cash-out to redeem your money via FREE direct deposit, personal check or Visa gift card to spend it how, when and where you want without being tied to a particular store. There is no shipping, no gift wrap, no need for returns.
So once you’ve set up your registry, what do you want to put on it? If you’re short on ideas, then we’re dying to point you in the direction of The Gift Insider – an insider’s look at the best, newest, coolest, most unique, most romantic, most perfect gifts for any occasion. Â Here are some of our favorites, perfect for an alternative registry!
For the jet setter or new graduate, Heys USA has some of the sleekest luggage that’s fun and vibrant.
Del Toro makes customizable men’s shoes and slippers that will make all the guy’s friends jealous.
Towels and blenders can be dull gifts, but this decanter from Reidel is sure to excite any couple.
Looking for more inspiration? Click here to see what others are doing to get exactly what they need, not ‘stuff’ they don’t. Have fun and happy registering! And don’t forget to check out The Gift Insider!
