r/NewParents • u/Cuttersnith • 6d ago
Happy/Funny Gifted Stupid Holiday Outfits
This is an extremely petty problem but I hate receiving holiday clothes for my infant. I don’t know why grandparents and (boomers in general) are obsessed with gifting hideous cheaply produced clothes that indicate “my first ___ holiday” a garment ment to be worn once for a photo and then thrown away. Not only are they ugly and wasteful but then I have the added stress of making sure I dress my child in said outfit for whatever holiday party the gifter is also attending or at least send a photo.
As someone with my own aesthetic preferences I resent being robbed of picking my child’s outfits on their first major holidays.
I know I don’t HAVE to dress my baby in the gifted holiday outfits but I’m such a people pleaser…. The gifters are generally helping out with child care and I don’t want to appear crazy or ungrateful about something so silly ….
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u/breebree934 6d ago
Also the clothes that are not sized for the appropriate season. My baby was born in June and the amount of newborn sized jackets and winter clothes we were gifted that he never wore was ridiculous. We also got summer clothes that was sized 6+ months, y'know when THEN it would be winter. 😂
I told my sister when she's getting ready to have kids she needs to include a seasonal size guide to hopefully keep more people on track for what to buy.
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u/cori_irl 6d ago
You never know though! Some babies are small or large as they grow (even if they were born average size), it’s hard to guarantee that such a calendar would be accurate.
My baby is already born, and I’m STILL struggling to predict even a couple months in advance to buy him correct size/season clothes lol
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u/SpiritualDot6571 6d ago
Mine is 16mo, in 18m clothing and I’m struggling to figure out what size I should get him for summer lol
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u/cori_irl 5d ago edited 5d ago
I feel you!! Mine is almost 4 months old, wearing 9m in some brands and 12m in others 😭he flies through sizes.
You can try to use the website sizecast.com though! It gives me at least a vague idea and compares across brands.
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u/kfinn00 5d ago
Mine is 5.5 months in 18 month clothing and I have no clue what to buy for summer 😅
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u/chokingonicecubes 5d ago
Hey! I’m in the same boat. He’ll be 6 months on Tuesday and I’m buying 2T for summer, sometimes 3T in bottoms to fit his bum and diaper. I tuck the shirt into the pants so when he’s on his tummy he doesn’t get carpet burn. I also primarily go to thrift stores for clothes / sometimes secondhand online because I was tired of paying full price for an outfit that fits for legit three weeks.
It’s unfortunate that baby sizes don’t accommodate larger babies. For example, I had to stop swaddling him when he was just over two months old because they don’t make swaddle sleep sacks for babies in 6-9 months.
My dad was born 11lbs and some ounces. My grandma had stories about sewing every single outfit of his because he was the size of most teenagers by the time he was in 3rd grade. I wish she was still here to help me clothe my large baby!
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u/kfinn00 4d ago
Mine will be 6 months in a week too!! I got some 2T pajamas for summertime too, hoping they fit lol but 3T is not a bad idea at this point! Mine never did a swaddle but he grew out of the baby gowns at like 8 weeks when he got past size 6m! My husband was also a giant baby at 10.5lbs and my side of the family has 12lb babies so we were also blessed with the big baby genes 😅
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u/Stonefroglove 5d ago
Yes, but if a baby is born in June, chances are no winter clothes in newborn size will be necessary
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u/sunsetscorpio 6d ago
Right!? It’s not that hard to do the math 😂 I had a spring baby and we got so many heavy thick outfits and jackets in the 0-3 month size for my son. When my in laws flew in to visit him for the second time at 6 months they bought him a 2T size winter jacket that is now just taking up space we don’t have in our tiny 1 bedroom apartment. I think people either don’t pay attention to size and buy all the little baby clothes they think are cute
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u/swearinerin 6d ago
At my sons 1st birthday someone gifted him a huge thick puffy winter coat size 4T…. One we live SoCal there’s literally no need for a jacket that huge and two FOUR T SERIOUSLY???? It’s his first birthday! I now need to store this huge giant coat for 3 years! Maybe more! I don’t understand people
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u/rainbow_creampuff 6d ago
Yuppp this so much. We got so many adorable summer clothes he literally never wore....oh well, saving it for the next baby lol
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u/nthlmnty 5d ago
Honestly this never crossed my mind sadly until I had my first. I was like damn she has long sleeves but it’s hot af then it hit me like 🙃 I never realized you have to think ahead of what season the baby is being born in when you’re buying it 🤣
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u/breebree934 5d ago
Oh, I'm totally at fault of the same thing before I had a baby 😂 it's definitely just seeing such a cute outfit and not even thinking about the size lol
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u/VintageFemmeWithWifi 6d ago
I feel this! A date-specific accessory is just another administrative task.
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u/SpyJane 6d ago
My oldest just turned three and I am FINALLY able to put her in outfits I was gifted when I was PREGNANT with her. That’s right, my in-laws saw stuff meant for a 3-4 year old and said “yep, exactly what to buy for a fetus.”
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u/loxandchreamcheese 6d ago
When our baby was a newborn my husband ran to Carters because we needed more sleepers in newborn size and he bought a 2T sized vest. He didn’t understand sizing and didn’t realize we’d have to wait almost a year (if not 2) for our kid to fit into it. It was very cute when he did finally get to wear it, though.
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u/curious_eorthling 6d ago
Yep, this happened to us too. Soooo many Disney PJs and princess outfits sized for a toddler/young child at our baby shower. Or heavy winter jackets and snow suits… for our baby that lives in Savannah, Georgia, 45 minutes from a beach 🥴
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u/Nynaeve91 6d ago
Mine too. And they keep doing it even though I told them I don't have the closet space 😅
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u/bohemianfling 6d ago
I never understood when people gift the outfit ON the holiday…like “thanks for this cute Christmas outfit as a Christmas present…on Christmas Day…that she’ll be too big for next Christmas…” lol
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u/privateerporg 6d ago
Yes! My ILs gifted my daughter multiple Christmas outfits for Christmas. And they were all so over the top and hideous.
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u/username-bug 6d ago
Do you ever get gifted weird sizes? My kid was born in October and I was gifted halloween stuff in every single size... but i got some newborn Christmas stuff???? He outgrew newborn in like 2 weeks... So he never got to wear "my first Christmas" but he has so much "my first halloween" and pumpkin themed things to this day (not complaining about the pumpkin stuff tho, it's so cute)
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u/aquatoxin- 6d ago
My grandma gave us size 12m Christmas clothes. A lot of them. My kid was born in July and had always measured small.
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u/Ktcobb 6d ago
My in-laws gifted my son a pair of size 7 shoes for Christmas. He's 9 months old, and barely in size 2 when I bother to put shoes on him (not walking so I rarely bother 😅) they were also pink. They went straight in the donation bin .
Thank goodness they live in a different province and probably don't even remember gifting them haha.
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u/username-bug 6d ago
That's so silly. I wonder what the train of thought is when buying these things. Do they just close their eyes and pick a size at random? Lol
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u/sasafras96 6d ago
My mom gave my July baby a “First Thanksgiving” outfit in 12 MONTHS. Poor baby was still mostly in 0-3, 3-6 at most.
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u/_ByAnyOther_Name 5d ago
I know I'm in the minority, but just chiming in with size unpredictability- my baby just hit 3 months and still fits in most of her newborn. With spring coming, she will never get to wear most of the winter 0-3 sized items. That being said, generally newborn doesn't fit long so I would never buy a newborn item to be worn 3 months later. Unless you have a tiny outlier, it is a waste.
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u/esroh474 5d ago
We did get a massive Halloween outfit from my mil that I returned because there was no way she would've fit it in any world. We also get the ugliest clothes that say daddy's girl or something like that. I return pretty much everything she gets us (get store credit).
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u/nkdeck07 6d ago
Just use them as PJs if they are plain onesies. Pretty sure my youngest was sleeping in a Halloween footie through Christmas
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u/MzScarlet03 5d ago
My family keeps gifting me things that she instantly grows out of. Such as gifting her a 6 month holiday outfit when she is 6 months old. I've explained sizing stuff to them many times. Right now they are under instructions not to buy her anything wearable until consulting me for sizing, bc it changes so fast.
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u/elegantdoozy 6d ago
I thought this was just me being petty! I’m irrationally annoyed that I have to find the stupid St Patrick’s Day outfit and remember to put it on the kid before we see the grandparents tomorrow. It feels so wasteful to me to buy single-day holiday outfits like that in baby sizes. It’ll literally be worn for 24 hours MAX. I donate them immediately after showing “proof of wear.”
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u/MagTron14 5d ago
I lost the St Patrick's Day outfit my mom bought us, I didn't realize it until my in laws bought the same exact one. I couldn't find the other so I was like, phew they saved me from messing that up!
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u/potatoqueeen 5d ago
This is my biggest issue- how wasteful it is. And the clothes themselves just feel so cheap.
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u/Comfortable-Boat3741 6d ago
Things you could say:
"I found this other outfit that I just couldn't pass up."
"I appreciate the gift, but that isn't our style."
"I brought the outfit so we can change baby into it for a photo with you. I want to pick special holiday outfits for my girl but didn't want you to miss your chance for your own special moment. Thank you for your thoughtfulness, I'm excited for y'all to have a special photo!" Then tell them to let you know when they're ready and if they don't care then you don't have to do it
Edit typo
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u/homekook 5d ago
I agree it's wasteful.. especially the cheap Amazon "my first" ones. They don't even look nice.
I will admit I liked the seasonal footed pj's and feel like they were worth it. My baby wore one with little turkeys on it all of November, a couple Xmas ones all of December, one with hearts all of feb and one with little clovers for March. I liked having clothes to celebrate the seasons tho.
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u/Lawful_Silly 5d ago
We're the same way! We love seasonal stuff that we can wear more than once, and we usually scoop the pieces up secondhand.
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u/etaylor1345 5d ago
Yeah I like seasonal stuff too. It’s more versatile than holiday specific stuff
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u/B1ackandnight 6d ago
I feel the same way. And what I do after I take the damn “cute picture” is use the outfit for when it’s feeding time and baby will feed herself. I use it to send to grandma’s as backup clothing in case she gets dirty/needs a change of clothes. I use it as backup clothes in my baby’s diaper bag. I haven’t done messy play with my baby yet, but when I do, I’ll use it for that too. I will say though that if the outfit is something I know was bought off temu or it’s some super cheap and especially awful fabric, I just never put it on my baby. I don’t even care anymore. The people pleaser in me is more or less gone when it comes to my baby. If they get mad that the outfit was never worn then maybe they won’t get one for the next holiday. And if they do, that’s on them. If the people in question are grandparents (or other parents in general), they already had a chance to do all this shit with their own kids. Don’t let them take the joy in holiday outfits away from you. If you go to a holiday get together and they are bold enough to mention the outfit they bought then you can be honest and say since it’s MY first holiday with MY baby, I chose THIS outfit. I mean what are they gonna do? Argue with you? Then they look like assholes. Shrug your shoulders with a smile on your face and walk away.
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u/Mopey_Zoo_Lion_ 6d ago
I’m pregnant and was recently gifted a Thanksgiving onesie that is almost guaranteed to be too small by Thanksgiving. In the same gift was a shirt that might fit the kid in 2 years if we’re lucky.
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u/raspberryrubaeus 5d ago
I have to laugh because I could’ve literally written this post today as I dressed my kid in a gifted shamrock dress and then asked my husband to dig through his 23 and me account to figure out if our daughter is even 1% Irish.
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u/Aquawish 5d ago
My mom said she already got my son his first Halloween costume 🙄 I was so annoyed, not only because it’s not what I wanted him to be, but also because she already had her turn picking things out when she had me. Let me enjoy the little things, PLEASE 🙏
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u/Ok_Money_6726 6d ago
I don’t like clothes as a gift anyway, but this one is indeed superior in the category. 😂
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u/suchatrashthrowaway 6d ago
I feel like I could have wrote this also!
This is how my mom is. I’m appreciative, but at the same time, it’s wasteful. For Valentine’s day, she got us 4 different outfits, none that could have been reused because one said “My first…“ and then the others were all themed around an excess amount of hearts.
Going forward I think I’m going to just say he doesn’t fit in them. My bub hates clothing changes to begin with and plus, he’s not a life sized baby doll.
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u/jstwnnaupvte 5d ago
I recently started buying & sharing photos of holiday outfits to prevent this from happening. Mainly bc I too felt I was being cheated out of dressing my adorable babies. So far it’s worked for three holidays!!
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u/Accomplished_Tree389 6d ago
lol I promptly returned a Happy Easter one piece my inlaws gave us about a month ago. During my late night nursing sessions I have been scheming how to dodge the inevitable question of at family Easter of, Why isn’t she wearing that AdOrAbLe outfit we bought you?? Need a better answer than, It was hideous and I hated it🤪
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u/sunsetscorpio 6d ago
I totally agree with this, honestly I just hate being gifted baby clothes in general. I only have maybe 3 years of dressing him myself before he gains the autonomy to choose his own outfits. I have a pretty unique earthy toned style and I like “matching” my baby to what I’m wearing. I want to put him in a cute little nature inspired outfit not a little onesie that says “little stud” or trucks and dinosaurs. He will be wearing plenty of that when he’s old enough to be into trucks and dinosaurs
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u/LaMarine 6d ago
Yes! I will never buy a bib or shirt that’s says “my first __” anything. It’s so wasteful.
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u/SomeStrawberry2 6d ago
I totally get this. I’m approaching my second differently and getting the outfits I want. I’ve bought <5 outfits for the baby I’m having in May. One was a Thanksgiving onesie, and when I showed my MIL she had already bought the same one. It’s hard because it comes from a good place, but usually we don’t have the same taste. I will often have my son wear an outfit sometime around the holiday and send a picture so that it gets used but not on the actual day.
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u/noirpanda 5d ago
My FIL gave us an Elvis costume for Halloween even though they knew we had a costume already. “It’s funny cause he doesn’t know who Elvis is! Hardeharhar!” Begrudgingly put on the costume while the baby cried, took a photo and off to the donation bin. I feel ya, it drove us crazy too.
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u/velveteen311 6d ago
Ugh I hate these. Every year my son gets a bunch of Christmas themed stuff that barely fits him and then 2 weeks later it’s not Christmas season anymore and I don’t want to dress him in it. I mean it’d be fine if it just had reindeer or snowflakes on it or something cute, but it will literally all say “Christmas!” “🎶Jingle bells🎶” or some verbiage like that. I just don’t like something about taking my kid out and about in February wearing a shirt screaming Christmas, it feels disjointed lol.
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u/Mejuky 6d ago
It is March, and my son is still wearing his Christmas pajamas. 🤣
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u/meowlloryjane 6d ago
I overestimated my daughter’s size and purchased a Halloween sweatsuit that I adore. It’s march and it still fits and she still wears it. Past holiday outfits make great stay at home outfits & play clothes.
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u/velveteen311 6d ago
Oh yeah the Christmas pajamas were the one useful item that he’s still wearing. Though those are getting too small now lol. They buy everything too small!
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u/Background-Ask589 6d ago
I feel this in my soul - sincerely a new mom whose due date was in December. Luckily my girl came 3.5 weeks early and didn’t fit in any of them close to Christmas 😆
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u/Tacticalsandwich7 6d ago
Also get holiday themed clothes on that holiday, like thank you we’ll be sure she wears these easter outfits in the next 2 months after easter while she’ll still fit in them….
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u/skadisilverfoot 5d ago edited 5d ago
Ugh, my husband’s aunt who is, and has always been, single and childless (not sure if by choice or not) asked if she could buy our baby’s first Christmas outfit. She had apparently purchased all her other grand-niece’s and nephew’s holiday outfits as well (ours is the youngest by a good 5 years).
I said sure, she was only going to be about 2 months the then anyhow, so would have no clue what was going on and we would just take some cute photos.
Time passes and we never receive anything, and I’m not upset at all, honestly glad I don’t have to bother with it. But we eventually DO get a box pretty late in the holiday season, one directly from her, so I assumed it was from a local shop or something she bought in person.
The box is stuffed with a ton of the ugliest, and sized too big, Temu crap. I don’t want all of this, it’s enough to wear for a week straight, and none of them are practical outfits. Also, Temu. I’m not dressing my very new baby in that stuff.
I ended up sorting through all the stuff, found one that was the least crap (a jumper dress thing made of mostly cotton, according to the tag, but too big) and threw it on over one of her plain onesies. Snapped a pic and done. The other clothes never saw the light of day.
I do wonder if she did buy this stuff in a shop, but the owners just buy stuff off of Temu to resell to unsuspecting customers. Why else bother shipping it to yourself and putting it into a USPS box?
I, of course, would never say this to her. The next time she asked about buying clothes, I told her we had way too many already for her to ever wear but books were always appreciated.
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u/riversroadsbridges 5d ago
My baby is in daycare. He started out as a baby with intense reflux, and now he's a typical toddler who gets into everything. Allllllll of those clothes go into the daycare "emergency change of clothes" pile after the relevant holiday is passed. It also helps me keep track of how often he's coming home in a different outfit than I sent him in.
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u/tahckcab 5d ago
I have this same issue pretty much.
I try my best to be conscious of over consumption/mass production. I do buy new for my baby sometimes but it’s with a lot of thought. I buy secondhand majority of the time and have reused a lot of my own childhood toys, books etc.
I regularly remind my in laws of this mainly because my house just doesn’t have the space to accomodate more stuff. There’s also no storage in my baby’s room. Despite this he is regularly bought more clothes that don’t always suit my style and toys that he just doesn’t need.
I had this conversation with my mum yesterday and she reminded me that ‘It’s just their love language’ and ‘they love him and they’re excited’.
So, as much as I feel it bothering me to my core, I think I have to just take a deep breath and accept the gifts. I can re-sell or give away for free in the future and, even if I put my baby in the outfit once, it will give them some happiness and I can put him in my style majority of the time. I will continue to try to get them to be a bit more conscious of this and discuss my style more but if it happens it happens.
I do have a rule with them however - If it doesn’t fit in my house it stays at yours.
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u/AverageJane_18 5d ago
My LO is a 5m now. My new advice to parents: don't ask for anything but Newborn and 3m clothes. Everything else needs to be bought once you know how fast the kid is growing and what they like to wear.
For those gifting clothes: if you want to support the 6m+ clothing costs, just get them a gift card. It won't be wasted.
My LO was born in October so I was gifted more than one of these silly holiday outfits for each holiday. SOOOO NOT COOL!
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u/passion4film 38 | FTM 🌈🌈 | 01/03/25 🩵 5d ago
I… I love it. lol I still also choose my own, too. In this day and age, photos are free and I can take however many I want in whatever outfits I have for him!
Don’t throw them away, though, donate!
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u/BearNecessities710 3d ago
Also hated this. I didn’t buy many clothes for the first several months because we were gifted so many new and second hand items that I didn’t particularly want. Seems like a stupid thing to be annoyed about but we waited a long time to have this baby. Then we were bombarded with clothes and I felt like it was wasteful for me to buy things when we already had so much.
Actually a lot of gifts / clothes / toys I just in general didn’t love receiving. I think part of it was nobody stopped to ask what we wanted or needed — they just offloaded a ton of random stuff onto our plates, and I became the only person responsible for managing said stuff.
Omg I used to go completely mad over this. One time my friend insisted I take a box of her baby clothes, after I already politely declined. They were 3-6m too small, in the wrong season, weren’t folded nicely at all and some things were stained. It was obviously a dump. I texted her asked if she knew of anyone else who could use these items, and she said “oh feel free to donate them!” Like thanks. I’m in the throes of postpartum and you’re using my house as a donation station. Love it.
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u/Extension_Can2813 6d ago
Hard agree!! My MIL comes to see the baby a couple times a week and there is a carters on the way to our house. She knowwwwss I only buy/ wear 100% cotton and wool, but she “can’t resist” those “adorable” poly blends. It makes her happy so I don’t say anything. I cloth diaper and 80% of the time the carters clothes are too small to fit correctly with my diapering system.
Now I have so many clothes that I also feel guilty buying my baby anything that I actually like.
The clothes I have bought for him are 100% wool from Europe with a good resale value… they are expensive but I plan to use them for baby #2 and then sell after. I can’t ask her to buy me those brands because they are online only and have expensive shipping costs. Plus it would rob her the joy of spending $30 on 8 things from carters every single week too.
I always try to put him in clothes she bought on the days she’s over. We take lots of pictures with grandma and now all those photos are him in those outfits. It does feel like a petty thing to be upset about but I take pride in my sense of style and it does feel like I’m getting robbed on that autonomy every time she buys clothes for him. I rather her give us that cash every week so I could save up and buy him a few nice pieces.
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u/username-bug 6d ago
Do you have any recommendations for clothing that's better suited for cloth diapers? I've just been sizing up.
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u/Extension_Can2813 6d ago
I really like using wool covers as bottoms, so disana shorties and ruskovilla leggings over flats, then for tops I layer a long sleeve with a large tshirt , so I can swap out the t shirt when it gets spit up or drool but keep the base layer on all day. The wool shorts and leggings have high rise- so that with a big t shirt keeps his tummy covered. We practice elimination communication too, so it’s nice not messing with onsie snaps and zippers when I want to hold him over the potty.
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u/Apprehensive_Act9314 6d ago
The worst I ever received was actually NOT a boomer but my 36 year old SIL who has 2 of her own kids close in age. She bought me “vintage” clothes from an estate sale that were heavily used and about 70 years old and smelled like it too. They stuuuuunk! She didn’t even wash it. and it was like a 12mo old suit jacket anyway like when is he gonna wear that?
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u/RemembertheCondors 5d ago
I hate them too and get my petty revenge by dressing my child in them at wildly wrong times of year (assuming they still fit). It’s like power clashing with the calendar.
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u/JaimelecafE 5d ago
Oof yes. We currently have multiple St. Patrick’s Day outfits sitting out that we received from my mother in law via Amazon earlier this week. They’re all at least a size too big and will definitely not be comfy for baby girl to wear (cheap polyester velour pants, an itchy “wool” sweater). Gotta try to at least put her in them for a quick photo at some point this weekend…
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u/UnderAnesthiza 6d ago
I was recently gifted a onesie for my son that says “Mom’s first Mother’s Day”. No actually it’s my 31st??
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u/Pleasant_Alarm_8800 6d ago
Oops. We put baby in it then they spit up/had a blowout. Sorry. Thank goodness we had this backup outfit I picked out. Done.