5 Best Meal Registry Websites
5 Best Meal Registry Websites
5 minute read
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I used to avoid meal registry websites when a friend or family member was expecting a baby as I felt that it took the 'down home', neighborly gesture to a 'cold and technology-driven' place void of warmth and fuzz.
I've since changed my mind and realize that it's so nice and convenient for both new parents and friends and family who want to find ways to help to create a meal and help registry for new parents.
Here are the 5 best meal registry websites to create a meal train for new parents to enjoy while they get to know their little angel.
How Do Meal Registry Websites Work
An easy and fun way to introduce a meal registry for new parents is to create a little card to hand out at mom-to-be's baby shower. Or gather email addresses from invited guests and send out a link to join the meal registry site for new parents.
Creating a meal registry for new parents is as easy as creating an account, adding some emails of recipients and clicking send. The hard part comes when deciding what delectable meal you'll prepare for the new parents.
How to Create a Meal Registry for New Parents
1. Create a free registry for yourself or the new parents.
2. Set dates of when you want the registry to run. Consider creating a registry for a week before baby is due to arrive and up to one to two months after baby arrives.
3. Outline any delivery requests (i.e. time of day, etc) dietary restrictions or preferences and delivery address in your account.
4. Add email addresses of people you would like to invite to participate in the Meal Registry.
5. Click to Create!
Invited friends will receive an email where they click a link to add their preferred dates to participate and update days if necessary.
Most meal registry sites will send a friendly reminder via email to alter you to when you're meal train time has arrived. There are Google Calendar adds for these services.
Best Meal Registry Sites for Baby Showers
Take Them A Meal
Take Them A Meal is the grandmommy of them all when it comes to meal registry websites to create for new parents. They boast over a million meals coordinated per year using their system and with that many happy customers and fully tummies they're doing something right!
Take Them A Meal blog is moderated by five lovely women who share lots of great ideas from time with new baby to advice on which food containers to use when you take new parents a meal.
Perfect Potluck
Take Them A Meal is also home to Perfect Potluck to coordinate your next backyard barbecue or family gathering or for little baby's first birthday!
Meal Baby
Meal Baby is a cute site with basic sign up requirements and an easy to use tool to create your own registry for new parents.
Meal Train
Meal Train is a very user friendly meal registry site that has the look and feel of a brand new technology company that's serving a very traditional, basic need to build community.
Meal Train has a great user interface and is intuitive to use and set up for friends and family of new parents.
Care Calendar
Care Calendar is a nice system for creating a meal registry and a host of other ways to help families with a new baby or other event such as an illness or surgery recovery.
You can even send a real card via snail mail through their system. That's old school meets new!
Best Tips When Planning a Meal Train for New Parents
- Review our best freezer meals for new parents blog post for recipe ideas.
- Prepare a healthy, balanced meal for new parents
- Review any dietary or allergy considerations for the families including such things as dairy, gluten or nut allergy. Preferences such as no spicy food postpartum or low sugar for any gestational diabetes concerns.
- Prepare your meal in a dish or container that can be baked in the oven or cooked in the microwave.
- Include cooking instructions on a sticky note or with a sharpie pen on aluminum foil for parents to properly reheat meals.
- Call or text ahead of time to ask if it's okay to drop your meal to new parents. If it's not a good time, honor the request and reschedule. Also, suggest a quick drop with no greeting if that's appropriate.
- If you are invited to stay and meet the new baby, make sure you wash your hands, don't bring kids and only stay for 15 minutes.
- Drop the meal with a text message that it's waiting at the door to be brought in to refrigerate or freeze.
- Use common sense when visiting new parents who may be especially sensitive to germs and more.
What NOT to do when planning a meal registry for new parents
- Do not drop in on new parents unannounced.
- Do not overstay your welcome when delivering your meal(s).
- Do not deliver meal when you have a cold.
- Do not bring kids into the home unless invited to by the new parents.
- Do not hesitate to show all your love and support for the new parents in your life!
Chef's Choice
If you're up for cooking up some freezer meals for your new parents, try these recipes and tips that make freezer meals tasty and easy. Try my Best Freezer Meals for New Parents.
Once you have your Meal Registry created, check out our favorite meals to treat mom and dad.
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