Baby shower gifts for a coworker, at every budget

By GiftPicker ·

A coworker with a baby on the way is one of the happiest things an office gets to celebrate! Picking the gift takes a little more thought, though. New parents are about to be short on sleep, time, and free hands, so the best gifts are the ones they reach for again and again.

Here are gifts at every budget, from a sweet little something you can give on your own to a bigger gift the whole team can go in on, plus a few ideas for throwing the shower itself.

How much to spend

Check the registry first. The host can usually share the link, or you can search the parent's name on Babylist, Amazon, or Target. If you're shopping off the registry, $25 to $50 is plenty from you alone, $50 to $150 works for a few coworkers together, and $150 and up covers one of the bigger registry items from the whole team. If you're collecting, suggest an amount per person and let everyone know they can give whatever works for them.

Go in on one gift together

Small shower gifts have a way of doubling up. Between coworkers, friends, and family, new parents can end up with three copies of the same board book and a mountain of tiny outfits, while the carrier or the diaper subscription they registered for goes unbought. When eight or ten coworkers each chip in $15 or $20, the team can give one gift the parents will use every single day. Everyone still signs the card, and nobody has to guess what's already in the nursery.

Want to give something of your own too? A small gift from a work friend is always a sweet touch, and the picks under $50 below are easy to bring along.

Little gifts under $50

Start the baby's bookshelf early! The Hello, World! board books introduce birds, bugs, dinosaurs, and the solar system with bright art and simple first facts, and the Goodnight Little Me personalized book puts the baby's name right on the cover and all through a bedtime story. Just make sure the parents have shared the name, and leave a little time for printing. A picture book you loved as a kid, with a note inside about why, is a sweet choice too.

Sophie la Girafe's teether has been a first-toy favorite since 1961, and babies love that she squeaks. Crate & Kids' Monthly Milestone Mat sets the scene for the month-by-month photos most new parents love to take, and a Shoott gift card puts credit toward a family photo session with a local photographer once the little one arrives.

Everyday essentials from a few coworkers

With a few people chipping in ($50 to $150), you can cover the gear parents use every day. Solly Baby's Wrap Carrier keeps a newborn snuggled close while leaving the parent's hands free for a cup of coffee. Hatch's sound machine and night light plays white noise and glows softly for 3 a.m. feedings, then works as a time-to-rise clock in the toddler years. Savor's Baby Deluxe Keepsake Box gives every first card and hospital bracelet a labeled spot, from birth to age four, and Babo Botanicals' Sensitive Baby Care Essentials set covers bath time and diaper changes with four fragrance-free basics in a reusable pouch.

Cooking is usually the first thing to go once a newborn comes home, which makes meals one of the most welcome gifts there is. An Uber Eats gift card covers takeout on the nights nobody has time to cook, and an Instacart gift card brings the groceries to the door, often the same day. From a bigger group, Goldbelly's restaurant food box subscription sends a box of famous dishes from restaurants and bakeries around the country each month, like pizza, barbecue, or pie, with enough to feed four.

Big gifts from the whole team

When the whole office goes in together ($150 and up), you can give something that keeps on helping for months. Coterie's diaper and wipes gift subscription arrives every month for 2 to 12 months, and the parents pick the size when they redeem it, so it always fits. Upon a Box's Baby Book Library fills the nursery shelf with classic and bestselling board books for story time. Lovevery's Play Gym gives a newborn something to look at, bat at, and finally grab during tummy time, with new pieces for each stage of the first year, and Indi's diaper backpack looks like an everyday backpack while holding everything a parent needs to get out the door with a baby.

A little something for the parents

Parents need some looking after too! A ResortPass gift card books a pool day or a spa treatment at more than 2,700 hotels and spas, for whenever a new parent is ready for a few hours to themselves. A year of Calm brings sleep stories and short meditations for the nights when sleep is in short supply. And for after the baby arrives, if the team knows them well, RENPHO's shiatsu foot massager treats tired feet to a deep-kneading massage with heat, right from the couch.

And you really can't go wrong with cash or a gift card. A Target or Amazon card lets the parents fill in whatever is still missing from the registry, and a little cash from the whole team can go straight into the baby's savings account.

Office baby shower ideas

  • Ask the parent-to-be first. Some people would rather skip a party at work, and a card with a group gift is a lovely alternative.
  • Plan it a few weeks before their leave starts, when they still feel up for a celebration. Lunch or an afternoon break in a conference room works well.
  • Keep it short: half an hour with cake and a card is plenty.
  • Pass a card around, and invite remote teammates to sign a digital card or join by video.
  • Think ahead to after the baby arrives. A meal delivery gift card, or a meal train the team signs up for, is a big help in those first weeks at home.

Giving in the baby's honor

If the parents would rather not receive more things, the team can give back in the baby's honor (check with them first). A TisBest Charity Gift Card lets them choose from about 1.8 million US charities, including March of Dimes and Every Mother Counts, which work for healthy pregnancies and safe births. Send it with a card the whole team signs.

Shopping for a different coworker or occasion? Tell the quiz who it's for and your budget, and it will pick gifts from our catalog for you. Take the GiftPicker quiz.

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