We took any and everything that people were willing to give. Being the last among our friends to have kids, we made out like bandits on this. Free crib, bassinet, clothing, stroller, bikes, you name it. We still get hand me downs for both of our kids, and we're happy to pass them along when we're done.
We had to buy cloth diapers because no one we knew used them, but we bought used off of eBay. I can't remember anything we bought new, although I'm sure there were some things. I didn't want a shower at all, but lost that battle. I remember people getting us books and sleepers, etc.