The baby registry items guests actually like buying

Send a baby registry out and watch what happens. The muslin cloths, the hooded towel and the sleepsuits in 6 to 9 months are reserved within two days. The nappy bin is still there on the morning of the shower. Guests have quite predictable tastes, and if you know them the list fills up in the right order.

Guests trust the basics

Plain cotton bodysuits, swaddle blankets and muslins get picked early because the buyer knows you will use them on day one. Nobody has to wonder whether a muslin is the right choice. The big items go too: car seat, pram, monitor. Relatives like knowing their money went towards keeping the baby safe, and a group of them can contribute to one item together.

Two things help here. List clothes in several sizes, because everyone reaches for newborn and the baby is out of it in three weeks; 6 month and 12 month sizes give guests a way to stand out. And for anything over 100 euros, name the exact model. "Car seat" makes a guest nervous. "Maxi-Cosi Pebble 360, black" makes them click buy.

The small soft things go first

Receiving blankets, a gentle baby lotion, a small cuddly rabbit. These are the first entries to disappear at every shower. They are cheap, they are easy to picture in use, and they feel like a baby gift, where a nappy bin feels like a trip to the hardware shop.

Bath items work the same way: a hooded towel, a mild shampoo, a pack of soft flannels. Keepsakes do surprisingly well too. A photo album, a clay handprint kit, a blanket with the baby's name stitched into it. The guest gets to imagine it on a shelf in ten years, which is a nicer thought than a packet of wipes.

Feeding kit, whichever way you go

Bibs, muslins and a bottle brush are safe choices however the baby is fed, so guests pick them without worrying. If you are breastfeeding, a feeding pillow, breast pads and a couple of nursing tops are recognised as useful by anyone who has done it. If you plan to pump, list the pump accessories and the milk storage bags by name.

Add the later stages too. A high chair, sippy cups, a set of soft-tipped spoons. It gives guests with different budgets more to choose from, and it saves you buying it all yourself at six months.

Gifts for the parents get remembered longest

The best-received gifts at a shower often have nothing to do with the baby. A month of nappies delivered to the door. A voucher for meals in the first fortnight. A cleaner for two visits. These say the giver knows what week three looks like, and the parents talk about them for a year.

Storage gets used constantly and guests understand that. A nappy caddy for the living room, a changing-table organiser, a set of nursery baskets. A sling or carrier is popular with buyers for the same reason: they can picture the parent making a cup of tea with the baby asleep on their chest.

Spread the prices from 5 euros to 500

Dummies and socks at one end, the cot and the changing table at the other. Your friend from university and your grandmother should both be able to find something in their range without feeling either stingy or ridiculous.

Group things that belong together. If the bottle warmer is on the list, put the bottles and the brush next to it, so a guest sees the set and may buy two of the three. And update the list as the weeks go by. Once your mother has bought the pram, take it off, or you will get two.

Set it up a month before the shower so the early birds have something to reserve. You can create a baby registry in an evening, and guests can reserve items so nobody buys the same rabbit twice.