Few life experiences compare to the arrival of a new baby. Whether you’re a soon-to-be parent who wants to give their child a special gift to celebrate their first years of life, or you’re a friend or family member who wants to help new parents mark this happy occasion, you may wonder what type of keepsake gift you should give.
Jump ahead to these sections:
- Keepsakes Gift Ideas for a Baby Shower
- Keepsake Ideas for a Newborn Baby
- DIY Baby Keepsake Ideas
- Baby Keepsake Ideas for Parents and Grandparents
- Baby Book Keepsake Ideas
- Personalized Baby Keepsake Ideas
The right gift depends on the situation. Some keepsakes are perfect for baby showers. Others are ideal for newborns. Of course, grandparents would like keepsakes too.
This list will help you make the right choice. If you’re expecting a new baby to show up soon, keep the following keepsake gift ideas in mind.
Tip: If one of the baby's family members, like a grandparent, recently passed away, a unique keepsake gift could be part of that person's ashes. You can turn cremation ashes into solidified stones with Parting Stone, or transform them into a diamond with Eterneva. While the child won't understand the gift right away, they'll appreciate the keepsake later in life.
Keepsakes Gift Ideas for a Baby Shower
The excitement expecting parents may feel as their new baby approaches can often reach its peak at their baby shower. Cherish this excitement and this moment with these gifts.
1. Advice puzzle pieces
Parents-to-be often ask guests to fill out cards with advice for them or their child at a baby shower. They typically store these cards somewhere, returning to them as their baby grows.
Put a unique spin on this traditional keepsake by asking guests to write their messages on blank puzzle pieces instead of cards. You can frame the finished puzzle, or put it together in the future, making this common gift more interactive.
2. Your favorite book from childhood
Many simple gifts can still be special. Gifting a special edition of your favorite book from childhood at a baby shower lets you offer something practical while also incorporating your personality into the keepsake.
3. Baby prediction boxes
Baby shower guests and parents-to-be love making predictions at a baby shower. Which parent will the baby look more like? What time of day will they be born? What will their first word be?
With this keepsake, guests can jot down their predictions on cards and store them in a box so new parents can return to them later and find out which predictions came true.
4. Birthday prediction calendar
This twist on the prediction box gives baby shower guests something fun to do, and it gives both parents and their new baby a cherished keepsake.
Choose any calendar that appeals to you and ask guests to initial or sign the date when they think the baby will arrive. To make the activity even more fun, find a cute ink stamp in the shape of hearts, baby feet, or something similar, and ask guests to stamp the date above their initials.
If you're looking for more birthday ideas, read our guide on birthday keepsake gift ideas.
Keepsake Ideas for a Newborn Baby
Newborns deserve keepsakes as well. While they might not be able to appreciate all the gifts they receive at first, many keepsakes help children learn about their own early life experiences later. Ideas to consider include:
5. Baby time capsule
Newborn baby keepsake gifts often give a baby a chance to learn about their first year of life in the future.
That’s why you should consider giving a baby time capsule to new parents. Or, if you are a new parent, buy one for yourself and your child. Just about any sort of container can serve this purpose, from a traditional wooden box with the newborn’s name engraved on it to a more decorative vase.
New parents can use this time capsule to store mementos from the first year of their child’s life. Once it’s full, they’ll seal it, opening it up again with their child on a future date of their choosing.
6. Customized baby piggy bank
Help a newborn learn the power of saving during their first few years of life with a piggy bank. Even better, give a customized one, with their name and date of birth printed on it.
Over the years, they and their parents can deposit coins into the bank, opening it up (and probably buying a treat with the contents) when it’s full.
7. Personalized baby blocks
Babies love playing with blocks. New parents love personalized gifts. Combine the two by ordering personalized baby blocks with letters that spell out the child’s name, along with their date of birth and related details. Many sellers on Etsy and similar platforms will make these for you.
8. Personalized plush toy
This customized gift is another option to consider. Like baby blocks, you can order a custom stuffed animal with a baby’s name printed on it, adding a personal spin to a classic gift.
DIY Baby Keepsake Ideas
Do you want to show someone you truly care by giving a baby keepsake gift you made yourself? If so, keep these ideas in mind.
9. Photo ornament
Consider this gift if you want to go the DIY approach, but don’t fully trust your own crafting skills. Just about anyone can easily make a photo ornament. All you need to do is buy a basic transparent ball-shaped ornament and insert a special picture of your loved one’s new baby inside.
10. Foot cast
Newborns grow fast. Before a new baby gets bigger, you might want to make a foot cast. With a quick search, you’ll find plenty of kits that let you cast the unique imprint of a baby’s foot in clay. Of course, you could also make your own if you know what type of materials to use.
11. Fingerprint flower pot
Keep this DIY gift idea in mind if you want to give a baby the chance to help make their own gift. With (baby safe!) paint or ink, they can decorate a flower pot with their fingerprints and handprints (read this article on handprint keepsakes for more.) The result will continue to capture the baby’s frantic creativity and energy for years to come.
12. DIY picture frame
If you have basic woodworking skills, make a picture frame for a baby keepsake. While a basic frame will certainly make for an ideal gift, if you want to get more creative, you can make a larger frame or something similar to a memorial collage, with smaller individual sections to hold multiple pictures from a baby’s early years.
If you're looking for more DIY baby keepsake ideas, read our guide on baby memory box items.
Baby Keepsake Ideas for Parents and Grandparents
Whether you’re trying to come up with gift ideas for parents or gifts for older people, consider these baby keepsakes. They’ll make a baby’s first few years even more memorable than they already are.
13. First year tracking chart
Quite a bit tends to happen over the course of a baby’s first year of life. They’ll start crawling. In some cases, they’ll take their first steps. Their first teeth will show up.
These moments naturally thrill new parents. Help them document this momentous year with a tracking chart with blank spaces (and accompanying illustrations or graphics) where they can enter the dates when these moments first occur.
You can find numerous options online (Google “baby first year tracking chart” or “baby first year infographic”), or make your own if you have graphic design skills.
14. Newborn baby journal
A chart like the one described above gives new parents the opportunity to track major developments in the life of a newborn. However, they might also appreciate a gift that lets them record their own thoughts, feelings, and experiences during their first year raising a new child.
That’s what makes a newborn baby journal a fantastic gift. Gift shops often carry these. Give one to new parents, and they’ll always have a collection of recorded memories they can turn back to as their child grows.
15. Grandparent memory book
New parents aren’t the only ones who want to keep track of their memories over the course of a baby’s first year. Grandparents also savor these experiences.
A memory book for a grandparent lets them do so. This is another gift that comes in many styles. Some shops sell memory journals designed specifically for new grandparents. You can also buy a generic journal and customize it if you prefer.
However, unlike the newborn baby journal, new grandparents themselves won’t fill out this book. Instead, a baby’s parents will fill it out with messages from their baby describing beloved experiences they had with their grandparents during their first year.
Entries might include “I loved it when Grandma sang me my first song” or “Thank you for making my first birthday so special.” Once the book is all filled out, new parents will give it back to the grandparents, letting them look back on this happy time.
16. Birthstone pendant jewelry
One grandchild may not always satisfy all grandparents. The odds are good that a new baby’s siblings may arrive someday in the future.
If you expect that to be the case, consider this gift idea. Get a bracelet or necklace that you can add multiple pendants to, and every time a new grandchild arrives, give the grandparents a birthstone pendant with the baby’s name or initials engraved on the back. They’ll love seeing the bracelet or necklace transform as their family grows.
Baby Book Keepsake Ideas
Books of various types can make for ideal baby keepsakes. Consider the following ideas:
17. First year book
A first year book is a common keepsake gift that new parents tend to receive. It’s simply a book that allows parents to chart the first year of a newborn baby’s life. They can do so by inserting pictures, adding descriptions of memories, and even including drawings if they wish.
This is an ideal gift for both parents and children. When a child grows older, they can look through the book and learn more about a year during which they weren’t likely to form many memories.
These books come in many styles. Some, you can buy via baby keepsake shops. They may already be set up to serve as first year memory books. However, if you’d prefer to go the DIY route, you can make such a book yourself by purchasing a notebook and decorating the cover. You could even use a graphic design program to design the interior pages yourself if you have very specific ideas for how they should appear.
18. Baby art book
This is a perfect gift for a baby who may already be demonstrating their creativity at a young age. It can simply be a relatively large book in which they can leave drawings, finger-paintings, and similar types of art.
The book should be large because it needs to have enough pages for it to illustrate (no pun intended!) a baby’s developing artistic skills. Naturally, the artwork on the first few pages will be rudimentary. As the book progresses, the artwork should reflect a baby’s growing understanding of shapes, colors, and artistic techniques in general.
19. Nine months keepsake book
A nine months, or pregnancy, keepsake book is a twist on the baby’s first year memory book. It might serve as a wonderful gift for a soon-to-be parent expecting their first baby. Like a baby’s first year book, they can use it to document their various experiences as they prepare to give birth.
If you’re considering giving this baby keepsake book as a gift, you might also want to give a baby’s first year book along with it. The two books can complement each other when they are finished.
A child might also want to browse the book when they’re old enough to do so. Many develop a curiosity about the unique time when they were nearing their birth.
20. Baby keepsake comic book
This is a DIY baby keepsake book that you might want to give if you have strong artistic skills. If you believe parents you know would appreciate a gift of this nature, you could draw a comic book of sorts documenting early memories of a child’s life.
The comic book can be a literal depiction of actual memories, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. For example, you could depict the baby as a type of superhero. The memories you write and draw about could be exaggerations that would fit the superhero theme.
An example would be a comic book depiction of a child overcoming various challenges that children face early in life (such as conquering their fear of the family dog or learning how to walk) in a superheroic manner.
That’s just one idea. Let your own creativity and instincts guide you when writing the book!
Personalized Baby Keepsake Ideas
Some of the most meaningful baby keepsakes are those which have a personal touch. Ideas worth keeping in mind include the following:
21. Star poster
This custom star map is a type of personalized baby keepsake that’s been growing in popularity in recent years. It consists of a poster featuring a picture of the night sky on the day of a child’s birth. Usually, it will also feature the date of the image, along with some text, such as “Under this sky [baby’s name] was born.”
22. Engraved brushes
Many of the best personalized baby keepsakes are sometimes the simplest. For example, it’s fairly common for people to purchase or give engraved brushes with a baby’s name as a keepsake.
A brush is just one example. It’s a common gift because it has both practical and sentimental value. However, there are other options to consider, such as a pen with a baby’s name and their birthday. It’s not a gift a baby will be able to use right away, but that’s not really the main purpose of a keepsake gift. An ideal baby keepsake is a reminder of their birth and early years.
This type of baby keepsake also tends to consist of a fairly premium material. For instance, the handle of an engraved baby keepsake comb may be silver or even gold.
This will make such a gift somewhat expensive. That said, it’s a gift you may still consider giving if you can justify the cost of doing so.
23. Door pillow
A door pillow is a cute little decoration that may serve as an affordable alternative to the above idea. Many online baby keepsake shops sell tiny “pillows” with loops that allow them to hang from door handles. Often, it’s possible to order personalized versions of such items.
They may feature a baby’s full name along with the date of their birth, or they can simply feature a baby’s initials. You can even sew or print your own message on a pillow if you have the skills to do so!
A pillow is merely one example of a gift of this nature. Some people opt for other soft items that may appeal more to a child, such as teddy bears and other stuffed animals. Consider whether you want to give a gift a child can play with or one that serves solely as a keepsake.
24. Monogrammed clothing
True, this may not be a “traditional” baby keepsake gift, but it’s one some might appreciate receiving as a gift. Along with being a cute reminder of a baby’s early years, a piece of monogrammed clothing will also serve a practical purpose. A child may outgrow it quickly, but in the meantime, it will at the very least make for some cute photographs.
Celebrating a Baby’s Life with Keepsakes
Keepsakes don’t just serve as simple gifts to give on special occasions. Like in memory of gifts, those who receive them often treasure them forever.
Choose an idea from this list for new parents, newborns, or new grandparents, and they’re sure to cherish it throughout their lives.