Top 5 Baby Shower Gift Ideas for New Parents

Gift ideas for new parents

A new family member is always a huge milestone. 🎉 Whether it’s the couple’s first baby or the third, whether they will give birth soon or they’re welcoming a new little one through adoption or surrogacy – it’s a major life event that deserves special recognition. It’s common to show our excitement about the new baby by giving gifts to new moms and dads at a baby shower. But what’s the best gift to give them? 🎁 From baby essentials to documenting their baby’s memories as keepsakes, this gift guide will spark some creative gift ideas for new parents.

Photo: Alejandra in Puerto Vallarta for Flytographer. Brenna and partner capture their babymoon together in Puerto Vallarta with a family photoshoot.

1. Check off first-year essentials

Sometimes the best gifts are the obvious ones. New parents often need basics, especially if they are first-time parents of a newborn baby. It’s not as though most people just have board books, pacifiers, baby bottles and burp cloths sitting around the house on the off chance that a baby might show up. 😝

Babies require a long list of special items in their first year, and the options are endless. Diaper bags range from basic tote bags to fancy systems that include fold-out changing tables, for example. Sometimes it’s hard for parents to pick the best option. Do you choose a stroller system that includes attachments for the infant car seat and other clever functions, or do you stick with a simpler model for older babies? Should you get an adorable night light that matches the nursery decor or a basic one? A silicone or cloth bib? Do you opt for the specialized baby food-making system or just use a normal blender? (OR – let’s be real – you can just BUY the baby food already made.) 😅

Don’t worry about the possibility of buying something that the new parent already has. It’s hard to know in advance what will work for each baby. Babies often have mysterious preferences, and they might sleep better in the particular onesie and swaddle you chose over all the others. One baby loves the comfy baby-wearing wrap, while another screams if you try to put them in anything but the backpack-style one. 🙃 Babies need lots of options! The essential items are always great gifts that will be appreciated. However, if shopping on Amazon, Etsy and Walmart is too overwhelming, next up we have perhaps a more memorable alternative.

Photo: Marie in Maui for Flytographer. Tanisha and partner capture a family trip together in Maui at Polo Beach with a family photoshoot.

2. Give the gift of memories with a photoshoot

If you’re looking for a special, thoughtful gift idea for new parents that will stand out and be remembered forever, a photoshoot gift card is the perfect go-to option for baby showers. New parents are often too busy to stop and think about documenting this special time in their lives, but the photos from a Flytographer shoot will live on forever. If they’re going on a “babymoon” trip before the baby arrives, it would be a fantastic opportunity to combine a maternity shoot with memories of their trip. 📷

Not that we would ever wait until the last second to find a gift (never! 😅), but we do love the fact that a gift card requires no advance planning! You can instantly send a gift card for a Flytographer shoot in any of our 350+ destinations around the world. For new parents, flexibility is so important. They will love the ability to schedule the photoshoot when it works best for them, and they will adore the resulting photos even more when they look back and realize just how quickly babies grow up.

Photo: Kelsey in Charleston for Flytographer. Ashleigh and partner celebrate their babymoon in Charleston at Hampton Park with a couple photoshoot.

3. Celebrate moments with a photo book

Baby books and journals are popular baby shower gifts, but a high-quality photo book is another idea for a keepsake that they will likely cherish and even display forever. 📕 Adding a Flytographer photo book to your gift card purchase is a great opportunity to print those memories and have them easily accessible for reminiscing.

Even those of us who prioritize high-quality photoshoots can forget to print those photos – but it’s so important. When our photos stay only in digital form, stored on a hard drive or somewhere on our social media accounts, we risk losing them or forgetting they exist. Plus, there’s just something special about holding a printed photo or album in your hands. Kids especially love looking through family photo albums (so… maybe also gift some baby wipes to make sure those little fingers are clean before touching the beautiful album? 😉). This gift is something they will enjoy over and over again for many years to come.

Photo: Natalie in Honolulu for Flytographer. Raymond and family capture their family trip together in Honolulu at Waikiki Beach with a family photoshoot.

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4. Gift a smart baby monitor

Just like our smartphones, baby monitors have come a long way in recent years. New parents can keep track of what’s going on in the nursery – from anywhere. These monitoring systems are incredible! Many of them, like the Nanit Pro, provide clear video even in the dark, and they can also function as a night light and white noise machine – all while monitoring the baby’s breathing. This can give parents peace of mind so that they can rest easier in those early months of parenting an infant. 💤 If you decide to gift them a baby monitor, make sure to include a gift receipt or an easy way to exchange it – just in case they receive more than one.

Photo: Maria in San Diego for Flytographer. Serena and family celebrate a trip together in San Diego at Balboa Park with a family photoshoot.

5. Inspire spending quality time together

New moms and dads are often so busy caring for their baby that they forget to take care of themselves, too! New babies are magical and wonderful but also… very time-consuming. Especially in the postpartum period, it’s hard to get enough rest or spend enough time with a partner. Unfortunately, you can’t gift them an uninterrupted 8 hours of sleep 😴, but a great gift that promotes self-care and togetherness can really make mom and dad’s lives easier.

Self-care could mean a night out: a gift of concert tickets, or a gift card to a nice restaurant might give them the nudge to get out and enjoy themselves. It can also mean a night in to pamper themselves: new moms and dads would love a gift set of comfortable slippers and cozy pajamas, a gift box of spa-quality skincare products, or a subscription to high-quality meal kits or a delivery service. At the end of a long day, sleep-deprived new parents will thank you when they remember they have a meal on the way or a restaurant gift card waiting for them to use. 🤗

Here’s another gift idea for new parents: encourage the parents to create time for the adventures they loved before they become parents. A flight voucher or hotel gift certificate might remind them that babies can actually be pretty good travel companions, too. ✈ Although kids might need more luggage than adults (from extra onesies and swaddles in the diaper bag to travel-friendly gear like strollers and baby carriers), it’s so worth it to bring them on adventures! Watching your little one explore a new place or adventure for the first time injects so much magic into the experience of parenthood. Traveling as a family can shift the parents’ focus away from the more challenging tasks like changing diapers and midnight wake-ups toward enjoyable ones like building shared family memories and encouraging growth, creativity and learning in both children and adults. As an added bonus, the baby’s first trip would be a great way for new parents to use a Flytographer gift card.

Photo: Hilary in Savannah for Flytographer. Sarah and partner capture a trip together in Savannah at Forsyth Park with a family photoshoot.

Giving the gift of memories

There are so many gift options: baby essentials, self-care, baby gadgets like monitors with fancy technology, and photo books. While there are endless products available for babies, we can’t think of a better way to honour new parents than by gifting them memories. 💙 The ease of sending a gift card combined with the timeless nature of photos makes a Flytographer gift card the perfect gift idea for new parents. They will treasure the photos of their little bundle of joy and be forever grateful that these moments were captured on camera.