When a baby is born, there’s nothing better than returning from the hospital with your baby safely wrapped in a lovely blanket. You may receive many gifts from friends and family, but one of the most useful items is a baby blanket. Blankets can be used in the car seat, pushchair, cot or just for wrapping your bundle of joy up in your arms. Many first blankets are meant to be special and have a meaning. If you’re lucky enough to know someone who can knit, suggest to them that a baby blanket is the perfect item to start with, because of its easy shape. Having said that, not all of us have such creative friends of family members and we reply on receiving one as a gift or buying one ourselves.

There are all sorts of fabrics that can be used to make a baby blanket, a soft material is probably best, as it will be near to the baby’s skin. Fleece is a good fabric to use, as it’s durable and keeps the warmth in. The weight of the fabric is also important, as you can get heavy fabrics which have their benefits, in comparison to light blankets for spring and summer. There are many colours and patterns of fabric that are in fashion. Bright colours, spots and stripes tend to be most popular, as they match the buggies and car seats that are on the market at the moment. They are great gifts and these kind of gifts can be kept for a long time, until the baby has grown up. They are so easy to wash and can be tumble dried at a low temperature. For most parents this is a god sent, as babies have a habit of soiling such blankets and to be able to quickly clean and dry them is essential.

Baby blankets can be bought from many retailers and supermarkets costing from £5 going up to £50 and more! A lot of people tend to use snow suits and other puffer jackets to keep their babies warm during the winter and when going outside, however a baby blanket is the best thing to use, as it has a multi purpose and can be used for inside and outside the house. They can be bought in many different weights, for example, light weight can be used for people who do a lot of walking and have their baby in a sling or baby carrier. Thicker blankets can be used for travelling in buggies lot, so if you’re someone that does a lot of walking to the shops, in the countryside or with the dog, this would be the best choice.

Image…at your baby shower, when you open your gifts, you discover a wonderful, colourful, soft baby blanket. Knowing that within a few months your precious bundle of joy will be wrapped up all snuggled and hopefully sound asleep!!!