I have a relative who is pregnant. It seems to happen a lot in our family, but in this case, the couple is pregnant with their first child, which adds to the excitement. My wife was invited to the baby shower. We knew they had done a lot of shopping for the baby already, so we wanted to purchase special baby gifts that she had not already seen or purchased. Again, our quest started at the department stores, and again, we came up empty when it came to finding special baby gifts. Let's face it, most department stores offer items that have been around for years, and finding special baby gifts is always difficult.

So we told one of the clerks that we needed special baby gifts for this particular child. Low and behold she told us that the store had a line of infant things that could be personalized with the baby's name. So far, so good. We went to see what was available.

Actually, the selection was pretty good. They had bibs embroidered with the baby's name, they had blankets with not only the name, but the birth date, weight and height at birth. That sounded real good. Of course each of these special baby gifts would need to be special ordered, and would take a week to ten days. They even had diapers that were personalized with the baby's name. We liked the uniqueness of these special baby gifts, but I think you can see the problem. The shower was being held prior to the child's birth, and again our crystal ball was in the repair shop so we had no way of knowing the child's birthday, weight etc. Another good idea down the tubes.

That is until we found a small store filled with special baby gifts. They had many of the same items that the department store did, but they had a seamstress that would complete the personalization within a day. And to make matters better, we could buy the items, and they would include a card with the store name and phone number. That way when the baby finally did arrive, the couple could call the store and have the embroidery and engraving completed once the baby was named. They charged a flat fee for the embroidery and engraving, which we paid for when the items were purchased. The couple would not have to pay a thing.

We were happy to purchase several special baby gifts. Among them, a baby blanket to be embroidered and a picture frame with a space for both the birth certificate and a photo. The frame of course, would be engraved.

Needless to say, the couple was delighted. They knew where the shop was, but had never gone in. They even asked us to go with them after the child was born to have the special baby gifts finished off.