Corporate Baby Gift Baskets

I work at a store that sells baby accessories like clothes, diapers, toys, and pretty much everything you'd need for a baby during their first year and maybe even after that. I love my job because I love babies -- they're so cute and harmless! I wanted to be a parent for a long time and working here has given me a lot of joy before I have my own kids. So imagine my excitement when the store I work at announced a corporate baby gift baskets competition!

Each employee that wanted to participate in the competition had to make a baby gift basket or a new baby congratulations gift. The employee that created the most unique gift basket would win the competition and get their own congratulations baby gift basket as a prize, along with a gift card. My cousin was getting ready to have her baby next month, and I really wanted to win the competition so I could gift her the basket. I signed up for the competition and noticed that a lot of other employees signed up too. I didn't think that many would, but it looks like my competition will be fierce!

I started my project that very night because I was so excited to get into it. I began brainstorming baby gifts for clients and baby gifts for employees, trying to find the best ideas for a corporate baby gift basket that a company might give to an employee that just had a new baby. I didn't want to take the easy route and just make a new baby gift box with bottles and diapers. I needed to be sure that I created something so unique that nobody else in the store would have the same idea. It took me all night, but I started to finally come up with something I thought would work.

The next morning, the store was already abuzz with talk about the gift box contest. Everyone was coming up with ideas for the best corporate baby gifts, but the silly thing was that they were sharing the ideas with each other! Didn't they know that someone might take their baby gift ideas and use them for their own basket to enter the competition with? I guess I'm just a competitive person, but I kept my ideas close to my chest. I didn't want my corporate baby gift basket to be like anyone else's in the contest, so I didn't talk to anyone about my baby gift ideas.

Other employees in the store kept asking me questions and I would just smile and say I wasn't going to talk about it. Even though my co-workers were my friends, this was a competition I wanted to win! My secret weapon -- luxury baby gifts. My gift basket was going to be themed around the most luxurious items you could find, with the best product ratings among actual parents. From bottles to keepsakes, my corporate baby gift basket was going to be extra over-the-top and in my opinion, hard to beat.

There weren't a lot of rules that store employees had to follow for the contest. Really the only thing that was a stipulation is that company-branded baby gifts must be included in the corporate baby gift basket. Naturally, this was because these ideas were for gifts from companies to employees who had just become new parents. In addition to thanking the parents for their hard work and giving them some essentials needed for their new baby's care, corporate maternity gifts and baby items also give the company a little bit of promotion. Branded employee gifts for new parents are essentially a win-win, and my store's employees were helping a large company get ideas for new baby gifts for their staff members who have or adopt a child.

A lot of my fellow co-workers were coming up with affordable baby gift baskets, but I knew that the company that hired us to come up with these ideas had plenty of money to spend on their employees. I wanted to make my idea as impressive as possible, so I decided to make my cornerstone items Tiffany baby gifts. Tiffany gifts are timeless, classic, and high-end, which were perfect for my theme.

The day had come for the baby gift idea contest and we all started setting up our unique baby gift baskets. Each of us had a table to set up on and the judges would come by and take notes while we explained why our gift box idea was the most appropriate for the company that had hired us. This was at the store while it was closed, which was a little creepy being there with the doors locked and only the emergency lights on, but I was excited anyway.

I saw fancy baby gift baskets that made my heart jump a little -- I thought I would have the best new baby gift basket for parents but the other employees at my store had really good ideas too. I started to get nervous because now I wasn't so sure that my basket would win the competition. Some of the baskets were really dressed up too, with lots of foil and ribbon. I thought it took away from the gifts inside, so mine didn't have as much extra stuff on the outside. Even though I was a bit scared, there was one more part of the competition to go -- the part where the baby gift baskets are delivered.

The last part of the competition was planning the best new baby gift basket delivery. It wasn't just the new baby gift basket for parents from each employee that was being judged, it was also their ideas for the new baby gift delivery. How the new parents got their gift box was an important part of the contest and looked like it was going to become the deciding factor since so many of the actual baskets were so good.

When the judges came to my table, I showed them what I had designed -- a welcome home baby girl gift basket. It featured delicate, luxury baby items along with some necessities, so parents could have the best of both worlds. I didn't want to include just keepsakes or just useful things, so I decided on a little bit of both. I felt like my idea for a congratulations baby gift delivery to the hospital was great -- along with the gift box would be a bottle of champagne and two keepsake glasses. Perfect for celebrating in the hospital and making special, once-in-a-lifetime moments together. The judges seemed to really like my idea and I was hopeful as they continued around to the other tables.

As the competition got underway and everyone was showing off their fancy baby gift baskets to the judges, it looked like trendy baby gift baskets were pulling ahead. I was glad there would be a winner declared in each category -- baby girl gift baskets, baby boy gift baskets, and gender-neutral gift baskets. It looked like one of the hottest trends on the store floor was personalized baby gift baskets, with the child's name and date of birth inscribed on keepsake items. I didn't include any of these in my new baby gift basket for parents, so I was extra worried I wouldn't win. I had to hope that my idea for having the best baby gift baskets delivered -- with celebratory champagne and champagne glasses -- would impress the judges enough to edge out the competition.

After the judges went around to every table and made their observations and notes, we all got to take a meal break. It was much needed after the stress of the competition, and everyone seemed friendly with each other despite the fact that only a few of us were going to win. In just a minute, they were going to announce, so I finished my meal quickly and got back out on the floor.

Finally, it was time to hear the judges' decisions. With so many fancy baby gift baskets, everyone was sweating. It seemed to take forever for the announcement to be made, but once I heard it, my heart leapt for joy. Luxury baby gifts was the category winner! The company that hired us specializes in luxury baby gifts in the UK and specifically wanted ideas for luxury baby girl gifts, which was exactly what my basket was!

After the category was announced, it was time to hear the winner of the entire contest. It would definitely be one of the baskets with luxury newborn baby gifts, but would it be mine? A few more seconds passed and the judges declared the winner -- it was me! My sophisticated baby gifts fit the company's niche perfectly and my delivery idea with the champagne was what pushed my baby gift basket idea to the top.

Now I have a gift card to spend on me and a luxury baby gift basket for my cousin, whose baby is due nearly any day now! The contest simply couldn't have gone better and I'm so glad I decided to participate. I can't wait until the next one!