Free Baby Stuff & How To Get It
Welcoming a new baby into the world is an exciting and joyous time for any parent to be, but it can also be incredibly daunting too when it comes to adapting your finances.
This guide will show you how you can take advantage of the free stuff available to you so you can worry less and enjoy more quality time with your new, delightful bundle of joy.
Free baby stuff - why do brands & companies give away baby freebies?
Photo credit: Extreme Couponing UK
Companies would like you and your baby to try their products for free and offer you support during the early months to introduce you to their brand and their products. Of course, their goal is to make you a loyal customer.
There is so much competition out there and new baby brands emerging every day and by giving away baby freebies, they are drawing attention to their brand in the hope you’ll chose them over the competition when it comes to buying your next jar of baby food or pack of nappies.
Where can I get free baby stuff?
Nearly all baby brands and supermarkets have their own Baby Clubs that offer freebies and websites providing support. You can also find independent sites such as Emma’s Diary, Mumsnet and so on, who have lots of coupons, free giveaways and more featured on their website.
Psst... If you sign up to the Magic Freebies UK newsletter, you can access all the latest baby freebies or you can check out free baby and kids stuff now.
Most of these sites will require you to sign up for an account to reap the benefits or rewards, but that's ok because they're 100% free to sign up to! Many will send you a starter pack with a selection of free baby stuff to help you during your new found role as mum.
Each site will work slightly differently, e.g. Mumsnet is a forum, so it's best to follow threads with mums posting about baby freebies and look for competitions and testing opportunities.
Usually, Mumsnet host these but you can also find other parent's posts about competitions from other sites.
Your Baby Club and lots of other baby websites will find all the baby deals for you and put them together in one place.
It's worth signing up to all of these on our list below because there's so much free baby stuff you can claim from different websites.
How to claim free baby stuff, samples, coupons & vouchers
Photo credit: Raising the Rings
So like we mentioned before, there are loads of places that offer baby freebies, competitions and expert advice. Here is a breakdown of the most popular baby clubs and what you get with each:
- Amazon Prime - Prime members who create or currently have an Amazon Baby Wish List can claim a free Baby Box (with a minimum purchase of £20 of eligible baby products)
- Aptaclub - free how-to guides, checklists, 24/7 support and personalised emails - so helpful!
- Babies R Us Mother and Baby Club - free money-off vouchers, personal shopping services, exclusive discounts
- Beaming Baby - free eco nappies, organic baby wipes and baby bath sachets and advice on washable vs disposable nappies
- Boots Parenting Club - free gifts for you and your little one when joining, free magazine, personalised offers and 10 points for every £1 with your Advantage Card - winning!
- Bounty - free Mum-to-be pack or Newborn pack, free 'try-before-you-buy' products and samples, newborn nappies 24-pack, extra sensitive wipes, money-off vouchers, George at Asda Bodysuit and lots more
- Cow & Gate Baby Club - free cuddly cow toy (adorable!) and pregnancy diary, weekly emails with personal advice, access to C&G Careline and Friend Finder Tool
- Emma's Diary - free Johnson's Baby and Pampers Newborn Essentials Pack, free Bonusprint photobook voucher, £200 of Argos money-off vouchers and more
- Heinz Baby Club - free money-off coupons, exclusive competitions and product trials, nutritional guides and recipes
- HiPP Baby Club - free photo prints from Snapfish, personalised baby calendar, exclusive offers and competitions and an exclusive Facebook page to chat to other mums
- Johnson & Johnson Caring Everyday - Free printable coupons and offers when you sign up
- Johnson's Baby Club - free advice and exclusive rewards when you collect points from Johnson's baby products
- My Mothercare - free £100 worth of vouchers, 20% off maternity clothing, GP and medical advice with babylon 24/7 and exclusive member only access to sales
- Nestlé Start Well Stay Well - a baby club where you can track your baby's growth and development, get free nutritional advice and free Nestlé CERELAC baby goodies
- SMA Baby Club - free welcome pack, development emails at every stage and free treats to celebrate your baby's milestones
- Tesco Baby & Toddler Club - free life insurance with Tesco Bank with Parent Life Cover, tailored offers, free competitions and giveaways and expert baby advice
What are you waiting for? Sign up today to start claiming your freebies!
Free cash for parents
Cashback websites are amazing for claiming free money while you shop. Yes, it's not a scam, you really can earn free cash! Cashback sites have hundreds of retailers on there and are perfect for shopping online.
Sign up to sites like TopCashback and Quidco to start earning cash on your next purchase today.
If you're looking for something a little more specific for your little ones, try KidStart. This cashback website has been specifically designed to help you boost your child's savings.
You can earn money while you shop like the other websites, but this goes into a savings account, so you can watch your kid's savings grow for free while you earn free cash when you shop online.
Free baby food & drink on supermarket cashback apps
Sign up to free supermarket apps like CheckoutSmart, Shopmium and Quidco ClickSnap to get freebies and discounts on your next weekly shop. It's so easy to use:
- Download the free apps and check out what freebies are on there for your baby
- Head to your nearest participating supermarket store and pick up your item
- Scan your receipt and earn 100% cashback, making it free!
So simple and you can get so many free baby food jars, snacks and more. It's not just supermarkets either, you can also pick up some items from Boots or Superdrug, just make sure you read the T&Cs on each freebie.
Free pregnancy & baby books
Reading is an essential part of your child's growth and development, so Bookstart by the BookTrust is giving away a free Bookstart pack at 0-12 months and 3-4 years for every child. Find out more about how you can get your packs and enjoy amazing pages for the whole family.
You can even find interactive storybooks, activities and much more. Turn your little one into a giggling, reading, singing and rhyming genius with this baby freebie!
Some even say reading to your baby while they're in the womb helps a child's development even more so it's never too early to get started.
Free baby furniture
Join sites like Gumtree, Freecycle and local Facebook selling groups and keep an eye on listings to find free furniture and lots of other useful bits and bobs for your baby.
If you're on a budget, you'll definitely want to look into this - it will save you so much money!
Some people are desperate to get rid of their baby stuff once their child is grown up, so much so they will give it away for free.
Sign up to these sites today and make sure you switch on your email alerts so you can get in there early and swipe the best baby freebies.
Keep in mind that you'll need to collect these yourself so make sure you have suitable transportation and always measure up first if you're buying bigger furniture pieces to see if it will fit in your room.
Free parent testing websites
Like giving your opinion? Why not join testing panels and exchange a review for a popular or emerging baby product that's new on the market. All you have to do is sign up and apply for baby-related campaigns, it only takes minutes.
Here are some of my favourite websites to get you started:
- The Insiders
- Toluna
- Bzzagent
- Trybe
- Come Round
Sign up and see what freebies you can get!
Free fruit, vegetables & baby formula on the NHS - am I eligible?
Did you know you could be eligible to get free essentials for your baby on the NHS? The Healthy Start scheme from the NHS provides families with free weekly vouchers to spend on milk and formula, fresh fruit and vegetables and vitamins for your little ones.
Here is how to tell if you are eligible to receive free stuff for your baby:
- You are a family earning less than £16,190 (including those receiving the benefits listed below)
- You claim income support
- You claim income-related jobseeker's allowance
- You claim income-related employment and support allowance
- You claim child tax credit
- You are a young mum under the age of 18
You'll get £3.10 a week if you're more than 10 weeks pregnant, £6.20 a week if your baby is under one year old, and £3.10 a week for each child aged over one and under four.
Apply on their website now or get a form from your midwife or health visitor to find out more.
Free prescriptions & dental care for new mums
If you're pregnant or have had your baby in the last twelve months, did you know you don't have to pay for prescriptions and NHS dental treatment? That's right, it's free!
All you need to do is ask your midwife for an FW8 application form, which they will need to sign.
Then you'll get your maternity exemption certificate, which will cover you for up to 12 months after your due date.
If your baby is born later than their due date, you can always apply for an extension to cover their full 12 months, great news for all new mums.
How to win free baby stuff with competitions & giveaways
If you find you've got any spare time between all the chaos of maternity and a newborn, then why not enter some giveaways and competitions? It can be a great way to score free baby stuff for your newborn!
Parents can win an amazing amount of goodies, including a free pram, free baby hampers stuffed with baby essentials, toys and more.
Entering competitions can seem very daunting for a lot of people, so it's all about what you're comfortable with.
For example, you can always Retweet a tweet and Follow a brand on Twitter and they'll follow you back and direct message you if you're a winner.
If you don't use social media, then you can always fill in a simple form with just your email and skip over competitions that ask for your phone number up front if you feel uneasy giving out this information.
Here are some great comping sites to get you started:
- The Prize Finder
- Competition Database
- The Super Lucky Blog
These sites feature a complete list of up-to-date competitions that you can enter online and are a great place to get started if you want to apply for loads during your spare time.
If this is too overwhelming for you then you can always look on your favourite publication, supermarket and retailer websites and email newsletters for competitions to enter their competitions.
Comping tips:
- Set up a separate email account as you'll get a lot of emails
- Apply for competitions that has had low engagement on a blog you read or one that requires you complete a creative task to increase your chances of winning (not many people have the patience for these so it will increase your chance of winning)
- Always check the T&Cs
Good luck!
Where are my nearest free antenatal & mum-to-be parenting classes?
Photo credit: Raising the Rings
There is a wealth of free advice now available for parents, but also free baby classes and events you can attend to learn about the birth of your baby and meet new parents also experiencing the same things.
Free NHS antenatal classes
The NHS is a great place to get advice and support for your lovely new arrival. They offer classes all over the UK, free of charge and these are open to everyone.
Lots of topics are covered and you'll receive lots of great tips to help with your pregnancy, including a healthy diet, exercises to keep you fit and active during your pregnancy, what happens during labour and so much more.
Find your nearest antenatal classes now and book yours in.
Free mothercare expectant parent events
mothercare run these fabulous expectant parent events all across the UK in selected stores, all year round for expectant parents.
This exclusive parenting event offers you the chance to learn more about key parenting topics, including:
- Car safety and car seat fitting advice
- Free baby and child first aid
- Nursery furniture, cot mattresses and the latest sleep safety advice
- Pushchair and pram choices
- Breast pumps and sterilising
- Suitable baby toys for the first 12 months
You might even get some nice freebies for you and your baby. Previous goody bags have included baby food, stretch cream, milk storage, nappy cream and more.
Find your nearest mothercare expectant parent event
mamas and papas free parents to be events
The lovely folks over at mamas and papas have created these wonderful free parents to be classes, which help you prepare for your baby in a nice calm, relaxing environment.
Similar to mothercare, you'll get lots of friendly advice on first aid, car seat safety demonstrations, nutrition, midwives and so much more.
We've heard you even get a free goody bag, drinks and nibbles and exclusive offers - sign us up please!
Find your nearest mamas and papas parents to be event today
Secret baby sales & discounts - where can I find them?
Brands are super aware that parents and babies are now a prime target audience, so lots of High Street and online retailers will host 'baby event' sales, where you can load up on all sorts, including:
- Baby food & drink
- Baby furniture
- Baby clothes
And loads more! Here are some of our favourites:
- Aldi Baby & Toddler SpecialBuys - Throughout the year, Aldi host multiple 'baby and toddler SpecialBuys' on Sundays and Thursdays, where you can load up on anything from adorable baby clothes, snuggly blankets and more at a fraction of the price
- B&M Baby & Toddler Sale - Everyone loves a good B&M bargain, especially when prices start from just 50p on top baby brand names, including Tomee Tippee and Silent Night, the last one was September so keep an eye out for this one!
- Tesco Baby & Toddler Event - Get all the savings on baby and toddler essentials, plus savings on larger items like buggies and car seats - the last one was in October but sign up to Tesco Baby Club now for updates on the next one
- Argos Baby Event - Argos Baby Event offers savings of up to 25% on big brands like Joie, Angelcare, Maxi-Cosi and more. You can also score deals on Argos' brand new baby range, Cuggle
- Boots Baby Event - Enjoy major discounts on toys, clothes, skincare, nappies and food as well as baby monitors, strollers and more from your favourite brands, including Joie, Chicco, Silver Cross and Mam, not one to be missed!
- Babies R US Baby & Toddler Event - Another great one! Find Baby R Us Promotions across a wide range of baby products and even get amazing deals, like a free Silver Cross Simplicity car seat when you purchase the Silver Cross Pioneer in Graphite
- Sainsbury's Baby Event - Huge discounts and deals on brand favourites like Pampers, Huggies, Ella's Kitchen and loads more. They have small deals online throughout the year but their big Baby Events are the ones to look out for
- ASDA Baby & Toddler Event - ASDA's 'Lots for Little Tots' Baby Event is huge! You can get big brands at big discounts, including mamas & papas, Tommee Tippee and ASDA's own brands - Angels and George
- mothercare Baby & Toddler Event - mothercare host their own fantastic Big Baby Event a few times a year, where you can scoop up loads of baby bargains on prams and pushchairs from top brands such as Joie, Nuna, Maxi-Cosi, BeSafe and more
- Morrisons Baby & Toddler Event - Morrisons have hundreds of discounts on baby basics from nappies to bath time essentials, to feeding products and them some in their Baby & Toddler Event! This one only happens a few times a year so make sure you keep your eyes peeled
As well as these Baby & Toddler events, brands always have some form of sale and deal running throughout the year for great discounts on your baby treats and essentials, but if you're looking for some mega slashed prices on something you've got your eye on,
here are some other places you can follow to get in there quick and swipe your bargains:
- Facebook groups - join mum groups from all over the country, as well as searching for groups with keywords like 'bargain' 'coupon' and similar terms to get the best deals first
- Secret Sales - sites like Secret Sales are free to join and if you sign up to their exclusive club, you'll receive notifications when popular baby products go on sale
Sounds amazing! So then, just to recap, here are the best ways to swipe freebies and discounts:
- Join baby clubs, Facebook groups and forums to receive the latest freebies and deals available near you
- Sign up to your favourite brand newsletters for exclusive discount codes and secret sales
- Check if you're entitled to any benefits like free fruit, vegetables and milk
- Attend free events to get loads of helpful advice and free goody bags!
- Try your luck at competitions to score yourself some baby freebies
Let me know what baby freebies you manage to score!
Collette xx