Maybe you’re a first-time mom wondering what items you should put on your gift registry ahead of the baby shower. Or perhaps you’ve never been to a baby shower before and feel nervous about bringing a boring gift. But, on the other hand, maybe you know the new parents very well, and you have the inside scoop on unique gifts they would like but did not want to put on the public registry.
Of course, as a baby shower guest, you should look at the registry for the event if the new parents have one. You can usually find the link to the registry on the party invite. This gives you a solid starting point for gift buying because you know the parents want these items–plus, the registry helps prevent multiple guests from giving the new mom five of the same thing!
But sometimes, you get to the baby shower registry late, and other guests have already bought all the good gifts. And sometimes, your budget doesn’t stretch as big as your heart, and you can’t afford the items on the official registry.
No matter the reason, you can find all the unique, one-of-a-kind baby shower gifts you could ever need in this handy list!
How Much Should You Spend On a Unique Baby Shower Gift?
The average amount spent on baby shower gifts ranges from $25 to $200, depending on who you ask. The general rule of thumb is that you gift a less expensive item to people you know more distantly and spend more on a pricier gift for close family members or dear friends.
- In many cases, you can get a cute, small item priced under $20 or even under $10 for a coworker or distant cousin.
- If you want a gift for a cousin, aunt, or old college roommate, you probably want to look at the under $50 price range. Then, you can focus on fun or unique items because you may not know the new mom well enough to zero in on the basic items she still needs.
- You want to stretch for the $100 price range if you can afford it for your sister, daughter, granddaughter, or best friend. New parents often depend on their inner circle of family and friends to get them started with the items they need, like strollers and car seats.
This does depend on your personal finances too, though. If you can’t afford to spend $100 on a baby gift, check out suggestions for DIY items later in this article! You can find plenty of ways to show your love and support for the new mom, even if you don’t have extra cash at the moment.
If you’re a new mom planning your registry, consider your guest’s finances and list items at various price points. Remember that while $100 may seem like pennies to some people, a $25 gift can represent two hours of work at a minimum-wage job for other guests.
Finally, think about gifts for the new baby and the new mom/new parents! Parenting an infant is exhausting and stressful, so the new mom will appreciate any items that support her mental or physical health just as much as she will love cute items like baby onesies.
Unique Baby Shower Gifts Under $10
A limited budget doesn’t mean you have to buy a boring baby shower gift! These five items, under ten dollars, will 100% delight a new mom.
- You can find many adorable baby board books like this one, perfect for mommy and baby to read while snuggling together, for under ten dollars. In fact, you can often track down these baby books for under $5, meaning you could get a whole set as a thoughtful starter library for the new family!
- If you want to keep the mood light at a baby shower, gift the parents this funny set of mom/dad’s turn to make a decision coins to flip. Sometimes new parents disagree about who should change the diaper or whether or not the baby needs another bath. Instead of having a stressful discussion, they can just flip this coin to find out who gets to make the call!
- A set of teething toys in fun shapes, like this set shaped like tools, will make the new parents laugh but also come in handy when the baby starts teething.
- If you want a silly-but-serious gift for mom, give you these hilarious “rub my feet if you can read this” socks! If you have ever been pregnant, you definitely remember how much your feet hurt after walking around carrying that extra weight all day.
- You can’t go wrong with a gender-neutral, adorable item like this elephant security blankie. Cute items like this make great gifts even if you don’t know the new parents well.
Unique Baby Shower Gifts Under $25
Believe it or not, you can find some pretty awesome baby shower gifts for around $25. You can look for useful items like a stroller organizer or sweet ideas like a memorabilia kit to help the new parents record precious memories.
- In a rush to get all the essential supplies they need, new parents may not think to ask for special extras like this keepsake kit. Years later, they will still think of you when they see the pretty frame with baby pics and a mold of their baby’s tiny footprint!
- If you know the new mom really well, you may feel comfortable giving a gift she really wants but might feel embarrassed to ask for, like a breastfeeding starter kit like this one from Lansinoh.
- You need so much stuff every time you leave the house with a baby! So help the new mom maintain her sanity with this handy stroller organizer. It has a pocket for wipes, an excellent slot for a phone, and even a long shoulder strap to quickly transform into a diaper bag in a pinch.
- A diaper table organizer will help the frantic new parents feel more in control. There is nothing worse than scrambling all over the nursery looking for wipes with a wailing infant in your arms! This one comes with six perfectly sized pockets for stashing wipes, a good stack of diapers, and extras like a pacifier or diaper cream. Plus, it has handles, so you can throw it in the car on your way out the door!
- Whether the new momma is expecting her first precious little one or her fourth, she will appreciate a thoughtful gift like this skin-recovery set. Sometimes in all the excitement for the arrival of a new little one, everyone around the new mom forgets how hard it is to recover after giving birth. So show how much her well-being means to you with this gift!
Unique Baby Shower Gifts Under $50
If you have a close relationship with the new mom or new parents, you probably have a pretty good idea what kind of unique items they would really appreciate, and hopefully, you set aside close to $50 for the gift. This can be a good reason to skip the registry and get something you happen to know they will like even better!
- Giving items like a nursing bra can feel awkward, even if the new mom puts the item on her registry! To get around that awkwardness, why not give a gift card to popular bra brands like ThirdLove or Bravado? Bras have a hefty price tag these days, so a $50 gift card may just buy one item for the mom–but having even one high-quality nursing bra can make a huge difference in the first months.
- As a close family friend, you may know the name the parents picked out for the baby before they make an official announcement. In this case, you can preorder a special personalized item for the baby, like this customizable keepsake wooden rocking horse.
- Have you ever heard of a wipe warmer? This delightful item doesn’t just pamper the new baby’s butt–it can also make the changing process a happier experience for mom and dad!
- Mom-to-be will need to recover after the baby is born. Having a postpartum kit with the supplies, she will need, will help her not stress as much and focus on healing with the right products.
- Maybe you don’t know the new mom super well, but you and the new dad are best friends. In that case, why not give a fun personalized gift aimed at the dad and the baby, like this set of matching outfits?
Unique Baby Shower Gifts Under $100
If you need a special baby shower present for your sister or best friend, you probably want to spend close to $100 on the item you pick.
- You can’t get much more unique than this fuzzy, fun flamingo rocker! This pretty little bird will provide hours of fun once the baby grows up a bit, but it will also highlight a special nursery theme. If the flamingo seems too girly, you can also find other rocker characters like a dappled deer, a unicorn, or a rabbit.
- Maybe someone already bought a car seat and a stroller off the registry, but did the new parents think to include a portable high chair seat for the baby? This one can easily snap in place at a restaurant or friend’s house, giving the baby somewhere to sit, so mom and dad don’t have to hold the little one while trying to eat.
- Another really practical gift you can give new parents is an audio/video baby monitoring kit like this one. This gives the new mom so much peace of mind while she takes a few minutes for herself in the shower or even just scarfs a quick snack in the kitchen while the baby naps.
- Do you want to know for sure that you gave the biggest gift at the shower? At least, the biggest physically! Then why not give the gift of this enormous, perfectly shaped pregnancy pillow to help an uncomfortable mom sleep before the due date?
- Do you know that the new family likes to travel? Or maybe the new parents live far away from family and have to road trip out to visit for holidays. In this case, a gift like this enclosed baby travel tent will help the little one sleep in all kinds of strange environments.
Unique DIY Baby Shower Gifts
If you don’t have extra money for a shower gift or you want to give a more personal gift, you can find so many ideas for DIY baby shower gifts, too!
- If you don’t have money, consider giving your time instead! Hand-write a fun babysitting coupon for the new mom, and then make sure you actually show up to give her a break for an hour here and there.
- Whip up a batch of these lactation cookies to help a new mom during breastfeeding.
- You can also check out this tutorial from Peekaboo Patterns to learn how to sew fleece booties for a baby.
- Add a few extra groceries to your cart next time you go shopping, and put together a stack of freezer meals for the new parents. This gives them something to rely on when they feel too tired to cook or go out. For a twist on this classic, you could also make cookie dough, freeze it in balls on a sheet, and seal the cookie dough balls inside a Ziploc for a perfect long-lasting treat.
- Finally, if you love to sew, you could consider making a memory quilt for the new mom that highlights fabrics from her childhood clothes or from a beloved family member who has passed on.
Unique Baby Shower Gifts to Group Give
In the age of social media, it’s super easy to coordinate group baby shower gifts, where several people pitch in to get a big-ticket item for the new parents. Group gifts work really well if you want to surprise the new mom with something she really wants but can’t afford, like a jogging stroller so she can continue her favorite hobby of running after she has a baby. They can also work well in tight times when many of the guests can’t splurge like they want to.
Do make sure you check in with the new parents before buying a big item like this, though! You want to ensure the group buys something the new parents will truly need and value.
- Find a meal plan or meal delivery service and set up a month, six-month, or even year-long subscription for the new parents. Keeping the fridge and freezer stocked for the new mom takes a huge burden off her shoulders and lets her focus on feeding the baby.
- Another service you can pitch in to buy for the new mom is a cleaning service. Whether the family lives in a condo or a five-bedroom house, chances are good vacuuming and washing windows will fall to the bottom of the new parent’s to-do list pretty quickly after the baby arrives!
- If the new mom plans to breastfeed, consider pitching in together to get her a streaming service or audiobook service to keep her entertained. It takes a lot of time to breastfeed, and it’s hard to do anything like scrolling through your phone when your arms are busy holding a baby.
- Find out if the new parents want a special big-ticket item like a jogging stroller or a rocking recliner for the nursery.
- If the baby faces special medical challenges, the new parents may need a unique item like this baby’s oxygen and heart rate monitor.
Unique Ways to Wrap Baby Shower Gifts
Another way to make your baby shower gift special is to find a unique way to wrap your gift.
- Use a baby blanket as the wrapping paper and follow this tutorial from Charmed by Ashley to knot it in an elegant pattern around the gift.
- Make a cute gift topper by placing three or four cupcake wrappers inside each other, and shoving a push pin through the middle to make a flower.
- Turn a gift into something else, like making a diaper cake or washcloth flowers.
- Make any gift elegant by wrapping it in plain brown paper, adding several loops of twine around it, and using a small wooden clothespin to attach a paper cutout of a baby-related item, like a onesie, a bottle, a diaper, or a rubber duck.
Should you hand-deliver a wrapped gift or have it shipped straight to the new mom when you order it? Most of the time, bringing a gift to the shower shows more thought and care. Besides, the shower host often plans to have time to open gifts as part of the event.
That said, you may want to have the gift delivered under special circumstances, like a virtual baby shower or a shower for new parents who had to fly in to attend.
Conclusion
The best unique baby shower gifts can include necessities for the baby, like high chairs or strollers, or thoughtful gifts for the new mom, like nursing tools or keepsake kits. You can find the perfect, one-of-a-kind baby shower gift at any price point, starting at just $10 and ranging up to group gifts costing over $200.
Finally, you can make your gift even more special by wrapping it in a fun or unique way, like turning a pack of diapers into a diaper cake or decorating a gift box with onesie cutouts.