Black Friday lands on 27 November 2026, with Cyber Monday following on 30 November, and for expecting parents it’s tempting to hold off on everything until then. Sometimes that works. Sometimes it leaves you without a cot in week 38. This guide by Babymore shows you how to build a nursery budget, which items are worth buying now, which are better to wait for, and how to tell a genuine saving from a headline discount, without compromising on sleep safety.
Buy safety-critical and time-sensitive items now: the cot or cot bed (if baby is due before the new year), a new correctly fitting cot mattress and a car seat. Wait for the sales on big-ticket and nice-to-have furniture: nursery furniture sets, chest changers, wardrobes, nursing chairs and storage. Work out your budget first, note today’s prices so you can spot a genuine saving, and never trade safety for a discount: don’t buy a second-hand cot mattress or car seat, and check every cot meets UK safety standards.
Black Friday falls on Friday 27 November 2026, and many retailers start their offers earlier in the month. It’s worth going in with a healthy dose of scepticism. Which? has found that deals are often not as good as they look: in its 2025 investigation, every deal it examined was available at the same price or cheaper at another time in the six months either side of the sale. Its advice is that great prices on great products are usually repeated fairly soon after.
That doesn’t mean sales are pointless. It means a sale is only worth using if you already know what you need, what it normally costs and when you need it delivered. That’s what the rest of this guide helps you work out.
Before you look at a single offer, decide what you’re spending in total and divide it into three tiers.
Tier 1: Essentials (non-negotiable). A safe place to sleep (cot or cot bed, plus a new mattress), a car seat and basic bedding. Protect this part of your budget first.
Tier 2: Core furniture. A changing solution (cot top changer or chest changer), storage (wardrobe, drawers) and somewhere comfortable to feed (nursing chair). These make daily life easier but can usually be bought in stages.
Tier 3: Nice-to-haves. Decor, rugs, lighting, extra storage and styling pieces. These are the best candidates for sales, and the easiest to postpone.
Babymore’s nursery checklist and nursery furniture checklist are useful for making your list before you start budgeting, and our small nursery ideas will help you avoid paying for furniture you don’t have space for.
Timing matters more than any discount. As a rule of thumb:
Babymore’s guides on when to buy nursery furniture and when to order your nursery furniture suggest that the second trimester is the best window for ordering, which leaves time for delivery and assembly before the third trimester, when energy is lower.
These are the items where waiting offers little upside and carries real risk.
A safe sleep space is the one thing you must have ready. If your baby is due before the new year, buy now and enjoy any offers that happen to be running, rather than hoping for a better price at the end of November. Browse Babymore’s cots and cot beds. If you’re not sure which size or type suits you, our guide to the suitable age for a cot bed explains how long each lasts.
Buy this new, and make sure it fits the cot snugly. Which? advises against second-hand cot mattresses from outside the family, because research links them with a higher risk of SIDS, and says to look for a firm, flat mattress that springs back when pressed and carries the British Standard label (BS 1877-10). Take a look at Babymore’s baby mattresses and cot mattresses.
You’ll need one to bring your baby home from hospital, and it’s another item to buy new. Which? advises against second-hand car seats, since hidden damage can’t be seen. Our guide on whether it’s safe to buy a second-hand car seat explains why, and our guide to choosing a car seat will help you decide. Browse Babymore’s car seats and baby travel systems.
Fitted sheets, a few sleepsuits and a room thermometer are cheap, quick to arrive and needed from day one. Aim to keep the nursery between 16 and 20°C.
These are the big-ticket and flexible items where a sale can make a real difference, and where waiting rarely hurts.
You can cut costs without cutting corners, as long as you know where the lines are.
Safe ways to save:
Where not to compromise:
If your baby is due in early spring:
A good nursery budget is built on priorities, not discounts. Secure the safe sleep space, the car seat and the basics first, then use the sales for the big furniture pieces you can afford to time. Record prices, check delivery dates, and skip anything that isn’t on your list.
Ready to start planning? Browse Babymore’s nursery furniture sets, cots and cot beds, baby mattresses and nursing chairs, or see the full nursery furniture collection.
