Baby shower gift ideas

Buy for the first three months

Most shower gifts that fail are bought for the baby parents imagine, not the one they get. Newborns sleep, eat, need changing and need wrapping. Parents spend those months tired and short on hands. Gifts that help with those jobs get used. Gifts that need a free afternoon do not.

The safest categories are sleep and wrapping. A Kyte Baby sleep bag, a Love To Dream Swaddle Up or a pack of Lulujo swaddles will be used every day. Muslins sound dull and parents still never have enough of them. The Avery Row set, the Snuggle Hunny wrap and the Loulou Lollipop swaddle all do several jobs: burp cloth, pram shade, nursing cover, change mat.

Next come the small problem-solvers. The Haakaa nail files fix a job many parents dread. The Dualit bottle warmer saves time at night for families using bottles. The Sweet Dreamers luna helps with naps away from home.

Check the registry, then check the size

If there is a registry, use it. Parents pick bottles, sleep products and car gear for reasons you will not know: a bottle brand recommended by a lactation consultant, a swaddle style their first baby liked. Bottles in particular are personal. Babies refuse some shapes, so skip feeding gear unless it is listed.

For sleep bags and zip swaddles, size goes by weight or age. Buy the newborn or 0 to 6 month size only if the parents have not covered it. Many guests buy newborn sizes, so the next size up is often more useful. The Little Green Sheep sleeping bag comes in 0 to 6 and 6 to 18 months.

Tog ratings matter too. A 2.5 tog bag is for rooms around 16 to 20 degrees. A 1.0 TOG swaddle is lighter. If you do not know how warm their house runs, ask or include a gift receipt.

Budgets that work

Under $25 covers a lot: muslins, Kushies mittens, a DK board book, a Mushie teether. Bundle two or three small things with a card and it looks like a real gift.

Between $25 and $75 is where most single-guest gifts sit: the Kyte Baby sleep bag, the Lulujo three-pack, the Haakaa nail file, the OiOi change clutch.

Over $75 is group gift territory. Frida's big baby kit and The Little Green Sheep gift set both make sense when four or five people chip in. Coworkers often do this, and it saves the parents from five half-useful gifts.

What to skip

Newborn clothes in bulk. Parents get piles of them, and babies outgrow newborn sizes in weeks. If you want to buy clothing, go for six months and up.

Toys for later years. A first-year toy like the Tiger Tribe Roly Poly is fine, but anything meant for walking toddlers sits in a closet for a year.

Scented products for the baby, and anything that needs batteries the parents have to find.

Keepsake kits only make sense for parents who like that sort of thing. The Petit Artichaut set is lovely for a parent who scrapbooks and clutter for one who does not. If you are not sure, put the money into another sleep bag or a set of muslins and write a longer card instead. Parents do read those cards, usually at 4am.

Shipping and timing

Showers usually happen four to eight weeks before the due date, but babies arrive early. Order physical gifts at least two weeks before the shower. Many shops here sell in one country only: Lulujo, Kushies and Loulou Lollipop are Canadian, Avery Row and The Little Green Sheep are UK shops, and Snuggle Hunny, OiOi and Tiger Tribe are Australian. Buy from the parents' country if you are shipping to them.

If you are sending rather than attending, ship to the parents' home, not the venue, and add a short note so they know who it is from when the thank-you cards come around.

Questions people ask

How much should you spend on a baby shower gift?

Most guests spend between $25 and $75. Close family and best friends often spend more or join a group gift. A coworker or acquaintance can give something under $25, such as a set of muslins or a board book, without it looking cheap. If the parents have a registry, buying one item from it at any price is better than an expensive guess.

What do new parents actually need that nobody buys?

Things for the middle of the night. Extra sleep bags in the next size up, muslins for spit-up, newborn scratch mittens, a nail file that works while the baby sleeps, and a portable white noise machine all get used and rarely show up as gifts. Parents also run short on burp cloths and swaddles because they go through several a day.

Is it OK to buy off the registry for a baby shower?

Yes, but stick to categories that are hard to get wrong, like muslins, swaddles, books or a sleep bag in a larger size. Avoid bottles, pacifiers and car gear, since parents often choose those for specific reasons and babies can reject them. Include a gift receipt so they can swap sizes without asking you.

What is a good group baby shower gift?

Pick one bigger item instead of several small ones. A boxed set like The Little Green Sheep Little Luxuries set, Frida's big baby kit or a bottle-feeding kit covers many needs at once. For coworkers, ask the parent which large registry item is still open. One shared card with a note from each person goes over well.