Shopping for baby clothes is notoriously difficult, but with the right information, it can become a breeze. Whether you're shopping for personalized baby boy clothes as a baby shower gift or it's coming up on the baby's first holiday season, a little bit of knowledge can guide your way into finding gifts that are well-made, well-fitting, and loved by both the baby and his parents.
You might also find yourself buying personalized baby boy clothes for every gift-giving occasion in the first year as they grow—newborns who weigh seven pounds at birth might wear newborn sizes for six weeks, while babies with a birth weight of eight pounds might have only two weeks. Many babies go up a size every ten weeks. So if you can iron out your gift-buying strategy, you can buy the right size (and a style everyone loves) every time.
Start building that strategy with this helpful guide to buying personalized baby boy clothes. You'll learn what details you need to know to narrow down potential gift items to the perfect fit, a couple of options for when you want to buy clothes but are missing a few bits of information, and some handy alternatives to clothes gifts. By the end of this guide, you may have the perfect gift in mind—or even in your shopping cart.
Personalized Baby Boy Clothes: How to Select the Perfect Gift
Start your process of finding personalized baby boy clothes with a strategy that helps you avoid clothing items or gift sets that simply don't fit. Ask yourself the following four questions. If you can suss out the answers covertly (or by asking other friends and family members), you can surprise the parents with a great gift. You might even ask a few roundabout questions to get the details you need. Let's get started:
1. What's the Occasion?
This is an easy question, but it can give you more detail than you might think to guide your next gift purchase. For example, you can shop for the occasion by figuring out the likely size requirements, the formality, or the weather conditions. Consider these popular gift-giving occasions:
- For a baby shower: Already, you know you can shop in the newborn sizes—or if you want to make sure your gift stays helpful for longer, in the 0-3 month range. You might even opt for personalized hats, booties, or gloves that help protect newborns from their fingernails.
- For a christening: Many babies are christened between three and six months, but parents may choose an earlier or later date. For this occasion, you might chip in for the christening outfit as a thoughtful gift.
- For the holiday season: For this occasion, you might have to do a little math, especially if you're buying ahead. But if you know how old the baby boy will be in December and you have a good gauge for how quickly they're outgrowing their clothes, you can estimate the right size. Winter holidays also give you a bit of leeway because hats and stroller blankets can be personalized and provide cozy warmth throughout the cold months with minimal risk of picking the wrong size.
- For a birthday: You're in luck! Most baby boys grow slightly slower and less unpredictably at this stage. So you can buy shirts, pants, garden hats, and other cute outfits and know they'll be worn for longer periods of time.
2. What's the Season?
Because babies can grow out of their clothes so quickly, it's hard to buy ahead for future seasons. Instead, tailor the clothing to match the season and weather surrounding the gift-giving occasion. Winter baby showers mean snuggly clothing that can retain heat without becoming sweaty. But summer birthdays mean lighter linens and cottons that help block out sunlight without being too thick.
Related: Unique Baby Boy Gift Ideas
The season can also give you a lot of insight into styles and patterns, not just the weather readiness. During autumn, you might pick some oranges and darker colors with a festive jack o' lantern or harvest theme. The spring may invite boats, trees, and animals.
3. Name, Animal, or Theme: What's the Perfect Personalization?
Of course, the best way to make a gift go from good to great is to choose personalized baby boy clothes, and this slight twist is a perfect fit for any occasion. There are multiple different ways to personalize a gift and make it feel like the clothes were made with a specific baby in mind from the start. Consider these options:
Names and Initials
This is one of the most popular, and most meaningful, ways to personalize a gift. Adding a baby's name or initials to a clothing gift makes it theirs, and it makes it special. You can wow attendees and parents with monogrammed or embroidered features.
Keep in mind that it's also important to be cautious here. If the gift is for a baby shower, is the baby's name finalized? If it's for a holiday gift, are you 100% certain of the spelling? Do a bit of sleuthing to make sure any personalization is absolutely accurate so you can side-step any faux pas. It's worth the extra effort to give that personalized gift.
Also, personalized embroidery doesn't just mean you have to know a full name. You can also personalize your gift with the year or a last name (which is very cute—and very helpful for daycares).
Themes (Colors, Animals, and More)
Personalization doesn't just mean embroidery or monograms, either. You can also personalize the gift by focusing on a specific theme. Start by choosing a company that offers a variety of coordinating items for the prints and themes you might be looking for. Then ask yourself some questions to get the ideas flowing.
Is the nursery jungle themed? Then clothing with a cute elephant design is a must-have. Is it farm-themed? Horses, harvest patterns, and a green-based color palette can signify that you're paying attention and ensure the gift is treasured. Theme-based personalization works well for any occasion because you can:
- Pick clothing with the baby's favorite animal as they get older
- Make sure clothing matches the nursery or the existing toys and blankets
- Choose clothing items that align with a special outing or planned portrait session the parents were talking about
4. Do You Know the Size (Or Can You Find Out)?
This piece of information can be a bit tricky to get—even parents find it difficult to know the perfect size from week to week. If you're a family member or a close family friend, you might naturally hear the latest size in conversation or while on a joint shopping trip. But if you missed the detail or it doesn't come up, you might ask a few people within the same close social circle. Grandparents and godparents are a great source—they are likely to know the baby's current size, if they're about to grow out of it, and even what size you should buy if the occasion is farther in the future. Even better, you can confirm your gift idea without spoiling the surprise.
Related: Your Guide to the Best Unique Personalized Baby Gifts For 2023
But if all else fails, it's okay to ask. Parents will appreciate the effort and would much rather have adorable outfits that have embroidered details and last for weeks or months than clothing that's slightly too small.
You Don't Want to Guess Wrong, But You Still Want to Give Personalized Baby Boy Clothes—What Are Your Options?
Sometimes, getting all of those answers isn't possible. You may be pressed for time or want to give a surprise gift that still fits and looks picture-perfect. Instead of focusing on outfits that need to be pretty close in size to be comfortable and functional, here are three easy options that can give you peace of mind without sacrificing style.
Choose Clothing That Doesn't Need to Be Perfectly Sized
While onesies, shirts, and pants need to be the right size with just a small margin of error, that's not true for all personalizable clothing gifts. Wearable blankets or sleep bags, for example, can be a little loose and fit babies with either short or long legs. Snuggle jackets can be a couple of sizes too big and still be a perfect choice. Short-sleeved shirts with loose arms can also be a cute solution—as long as they're not too tight, they can be a little short.
Pick Options That Go With Anything
Wearables include more than just clothing. If you're worried about guessing wrong but still want to give something clothing-adjacent that can have their name embroidered along the edge, consider some accessories. Hats are a great idea, and they can be very forgiving on size. Whether it's chilly outside and he needs to stay warm or it's a sunny day and he needs some shade, hats can provide the protection and style the baby needs.
What About a Baby Blanket?
When you don't know the size and don't know who to ask, that's perfectly okay. You can give a beautifully personalized gift like a blanket. Babies can never have too many blankets, whether it's for their stroller, for tummy time on the floor, for being swaddled for an outing, or for an emergency burp cloth (it can happen!). With baby blankets, the pressure is off. Find a cute pattern or luxuriously soft knit, have their name or the date added to the corner, and you have a wonderful gift ready for the occasion.
Personalized Baby Boy Clothes Made Easy
At Elegant Baby, we offer a stylish collection of personalized baby boy clothes for every season and occasion. Shop our layette sets for newborns, comfy clothing options for babies as they grow, and adorable accessories. We also offer convenient and beautiful personalization options and eye-catching gift boxes for that extra wow factor. Shop online with us today.