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The Cost of Raising a Baby

Date:March 26th, 2012 | Category:Babies, Birthdays, Fresh Ideas, Holiday, How To, Showers | By Anna

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Here’s a surprising statistic: the average cost of raising a child is $226,920 (not including college!). For a lot of parents, this cost is just too high to tackle alone. But is it really possible to ask for assistance from friends and family in a tactful way? It sure is! With a Deposit a Gift registry, you can ask for just about anything in an appropriate way. The costs of raising a child can be alleviated by registries for baby showers, birthdays, and holidays. Here are a few costs to be considered…

The Early Years

Diapers, clothing, toys, activities, toys, strollers, a crib – there is so much needed to prepare for a new baby. You’ll be shocked by how quickly all those costs add up! What better place for them than a registry? And an alternative registry let’s you gather the funds and choose which items to buy, so you can get what you really need. Read more about using a cash gift registry for baby here!

School

Preschool, elementary school, and high school bring a lot of costs. Clothing, school supplies, athletics, and field trips all represent additional costs. But they’re all important for a fun and rewarding experience, making them the perfect fit for a registry for kids. Who wouldn’t want to contribute to something so important?

Higher Education

It might be many years away, but chances are you’ll want a college education for your child. If you get started early by registering for donations to a college fund for birthdays, those costs won’t seem nearly as jaw dropping.

$226,920 is a big number! But it doesn’t have to be scary when you’ve got help from friends and family! A registry for baby showers, birthdays, and holidays with Deposit a Gift is the perfect place to start!

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Party Planning: Kids’ Birthday Decor (+ Special Promo for Readers!)

Date:March 23rd, 2012 | Category:How To, Kids | By Guest Blogger

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You’ve chosen a theme, but now what? One of our favorite hand crafted stationers, Tickled Plum, is here with decor tips to throw a birthday-to-remember! And as a special something extra just for Deposit a Gift readers, mention code DAG12TAGS when ordering to receive 12 free favor tags with any invitation purchase. Also, receive 10% off any $150 order from Tickled Plum ~ no code required!

You don’t have to spend a fortune on mass-produced party supplies to have a coordinated party that looks fabulous and will be memorable for your child. It’s easy to create a themed party custom-designed by YOU especially for your child. The key is “coordinating” items ~ not everything has to match perfectly.

These 5 simple tips will bring out the inner event planner in you!

1. Color Palette: Keep it simple! Use seasonally available colors if you can. Even better, plan to use one or two colors from the holiday that just passed because everything will be on sale. For a late February princess party after Valentine’s day, I shopped for pink items that didn’t have holiday wording on them. For a summer train party after the 4th of July, use red and blue and re-purpose 4th of July holiday decor for your child’s birthday party ~ a spray of decorative red stars added to a fresh bouquet of white flowers instantly makes a festive centerpiece!

2. The invitations: With your theme and colors in mind, choose an invitation. It sets the stage for the party to come and lets the guests know what to expect. There are fantastic invitations available in any theme you can think of ~ check out etsy.com and search for your theme. Chances are, you’ll find something you love and many etsy shops will customize items for you. (I love that purple princess invitation, but I’d really like it to be pink…)

3. The paper goods: Use inexpensive solid-color paper goods from a 99-cent store and dress them up with themed stickers. You can put a waterproof sticker on the cups and even on the cake plates to carry your theme through the party. It’s easy to do and will really impress your guests! Other easy custom touches could include buffet food labels, napkin rings, water bottle wrappers, and cupcake toppers.

4. The décor: Hang a pennant banner in a high-visibility location and a welcome sign on the front door. Use themed toys that you already have for table decorations. Just gather all theme-related items you already own and incorporate them into your decorating plan. Train party? Set up your son’s trains on the table around a flowering potted plant (which you can keep and enjoy long after the party). Princess party? Display your daughter’s favorite tiaras and princess dolls with a fresh bouquet of flowers in your party’s colors.

5. Tie it all together: Buy one or two large spools of wide ribbon in your colors from a wholesale store (papermart.com is a great online resource). Continue to weave the colors throughout the party by tying wide bows or knots on chair backs and table legs, around vases and centerpieces, and anywhere else you want (tree trunks, veranda, canopy legs). After the party, keep the ribbon to tie luxurious bows on presents for other parties.

Stay tuned, because Tickled Plum will be back next week with the best activities to make for an unforgettable birthday party! And remember, mention code DAG12TAGS when ordering to receive 12 free favor tags with any invitation purchase. Also, receive 10% off any $150 order from Tickled Plum ~ no code required!

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Laura started Tickled Plum shortly after her daughter was born in 2007. She had looked and looked for the perfect baby announcement, and finally decided to make her own. Everyone was so impressed with the unique and beautiful announcements that they told her “you should start a business!” So she did. Now, Tickled Plum offers custom boutique paper for all of life’s events, from weddings to births to birthday parties and everything in between. Tickled Plum specializes in custom designs to create the perfect design for your event. Choose from ready-to-go themes or let Tickled Plum create a custom Party Pack to make your event exactly the way you want it. Find Tickled Plum on Etsy and on Facebook.

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How to Raise Money for Adoption & IVF with Your Registry

Date:March 12th, 2012 | Category:Babies, Fundraising, How To | By Anna

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In this modern age, families come in all shapes and sizes – often the result of IVF or adoption. But what to do when financial reasons hold you back from starting a family? Luckily there are creative ways for friends and family to offer support in this journey, especially if financial support is what you need most. For families challenged by infertility, traditional baby registry needs are the least of their concerns. Their focus is on having the baby, so it seems only logical to create a baby registry that suits your adoption or IVF needs – think of it as an alternative baby registry.

Looking to adopt? Try registering for:

Medical fees: Adoptive children require lots of checkups throughout the process.
Travel fees: For those who are adopting a baby from afar this will help you get there the numerous required times as well as assist with housing while you’re required to live on-location until the adoption is finalized.
Paperwork: Between the agency and the lawyers, there is a lot of paperwork!
Baby Gear: With good news on the way, you’ll need to stock up on some baby basics to bring home the new addition to the family!

Going the IVF route? A registry is perfect for:

Medication: The ugly side of IVF is a lot of needles and pills, but it’s all worth it in the end.
Doctors Visits and Procedures: A full cycle requires lots of trips to the doctor and some important procedures.
Yoga classes and Acupuncture: For stress management during this exciting time
Vitamins and Healthy Food: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial.

But that’s not all. A monetary gift is much more than just financial support. It includes your loved ones in one of life’s biggest dreams by:

Offering a tangible way for friends and family to show support.
Facilitating the conversation about what the process entails by having something in writing.
Offering an opportunity to shine a positive light on the effort to create a family (even an excuse to celebrate!), during a moment that can be stressful.

A registry serves as an easy and interactive way for your loved ones to be part of bringing your dream to life while contributing to what you need most: money for IVF or money for adoption. A registry as diverse and flexible as Deposit a Gift is the perfect way to get there!

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Craft Your Dream Nursery

Date:March 7th, 2012 | Category:Babies, How To, Showers | By Anna

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With a baby on the way, you’ll start dreaming of every detail of your new child’s life – the nursery included! This is where your infant will sleep, eat, play, and grow. It should be perfect, right? So, what goes into making the perfect nursery? How exactly can you craft the nursery of your dreams? Well, there are a few things to start thinking about…

via Project Nursery

1. Think Ahead. Sure, it’s a nursery now, but your child won’t be an infant forever. Think about a color scheme or wallpaper that will work farther down the line and for boys and girls alike (especially if you’re waiting to find out!). Think about blues and green, so that your child won’t insist you redecorate just a few years from now.

2. Try Accent Pieces. To personalize the nursery without spending a fortune on something that will change in just a few years, choose a basic backdrop with accents that are more easily replaceable, like lamps or curtains.

3. Go for Big-Ticket Items. But that’s not to say the nursery doesn’t deserve at least a few splurges! A rocking chair is a fabulous piece for new parents – there’s nothing like rocking your new baby to sleep at night or reading to your growing infant a few years from now in a rocking chair.

via Project Nursery

4. Be Practical. There are a million things new parents think they need, but a few are super important. A crib, storage, changing table, mobile, bedding, baby monitor, night light, and diaper pail are just a few of the essentials.

5. Have Fun. This is an exciting time for new parents – welcoming a child into the world! The nursery should be a warm and welcoming place, and it certainly will be with parents who care to craft it just right!

via Project Nursery

If you’re concerned that crafting the nursery will break your budget, there’s always a solution! An alternative baby registry is the perfect way to ask your friends and family for the funds you need to get what you really want – a dream nursery for your baby to grow up in.

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Ask Dana: Register for Your Green Wedding

Date:February 29th, 2012 | Category:Ask Dana, Green, How To, Weddings | By Dana

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Today we’re blogging about one of my favorite causes: going green! There are so many ways we can adjust our habits to be better for the earth, and wedding planning offers us many green possibilities. A fabulous place to start is with a Deposit a Gift registry.

Save Paper

A Deposit a Gift registry is more than just a registry – it’s an entire wedding website! You can use it to keep guests posted about travel and accommodations, and to send email blasts with any updates. No need to send out dozens of paper mailings to keep them in the loop.

No Shipping, No Gift Wrap, No Returns

A standard registry means shipping or traveling with gifts, wasting paper on gift wrap, and the inevitable returns, none of which is a very sustainable practice. An alternative registry that allows you to register for the cash you need to buy what you want lets you avoid these eco-unfriendly practices.

Green Gifts Galore!

The elements of a green lifestyle don’t always find a place on a traditional registry, but with Deposit a Gift you can ask for just about anything. Think solar panels for a new home, membership in a local food co-op, or donations to a green charity.