Gift help please

[pinkmomagain]

OK, I have a dear friend who I happily gave all my baby things to as I'm done with babymaking and she could really use the free stuff. It was ALOT of stuff!!!!She moved, then had the baby this summer.

I'll be seeing her new baby for the first time, as well as having dinner at her new house. I picked up a nice, little Ralph Lauren outfit for the baby. Under normal circumstances I would have splurged a little more, but since I gave her all that stuff and we are trying to budget, I picked this up. Do you think it is enough?

Also, now I'd like to bring something for her new home. Of course, I'll bring dessert or something for dinner, but I wanted to get an extra something for her new house. Don't know really how she decorated it or her color schemes. Any suggestions for a good housewarming gift? I would definitely want to spend less than $50.

Thanks for your opinions!

[katydid1971]

How about a gift card to Home Depot or Lowes? I know when we moved we really appreciated the gc's we got and when I look at our kitchen walls I think of my SIL who gave use the card to paint it. $25-$50 would be very generous.

[mommylamb]

I think the Ralph Lauren outfit is a perfectly fine gift. Not because you also gave her all those hand me downs (and as a mom who got a lot of hand me downs from a friend, that is also really great. I never minded having those things used. What a waste to buy new ones!), but because its perfectly fine to cut back on gifts when you're trying to budget.

I think the gift card is a good housewarming present idea. I also think Target gift cards are nice for that sort of thing.

[BeachBum]

I usually think a plants (orchids, seasonal wreath, bulbs etc) is a good housewarming gift.

[MamaMolly]

I think the outfit is a lovely idea, and I doubt she'll expect anything. As for the home I think the kitchen set of soap and lotion in the little chrome holder from William Sonoma is a nice housewarming. I also love their dishcloths. HTH

[Bean606]

The Ralph Lauren outfit is a perfect gift for the little one, I think.

As for the HW gift:

We sent friends the apple tree kit from Uncommon Goods as a housewarming gift - if your friends have a large enough yard to plant a seedling.

Also, I think Penzey's spices are always a nice gift if your friends are cooks or bakers.

The best Housewarming gift I received was a beautiful Christmas Ornament.

I am currently a big fan of the stemless wine glasses, if your friends drink wine - so much easier to wash in the dishwasher!

[mariza]

I love Yankee Candles, they fall into the category of stuff I love to get but I don't splurge on for myself. I also love the idea of stemless wine glasses, if they drink wine at all stemless glasses and a good bottle of wine is a great gift. You've gotten lots of good ideas, depending on your budget maybe you can put together a basket of some of the things you've read here.
I'm sure your friend will appreciate any gift that you bring!
The RL outfit for the baby is also very generous!

[pinkmomagain]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I came up with one too....a bag of bulbs to plant! This is the first time they have a real yard. I'll have to sort through all these good ideas and just decide! Thanks again!