Plus, 5 books which are great neutral baby shower gift ideas

I think books make the best baby shower gift. This is not a secret.

Now, as you may know, I create gift baskets for small humans filled with books so I’m obviously a bit biased but there are some really good reasons why you should put books on the top of your list when it comes to looking at gift options for a baby shower.

So here are my top five reasons why books make the best baby shower gift, plus my list of the 5 best books to give as a gift next time you attend a baby shower:

1. Books are gender-neutral gifts

2. There’s a book gift to suit every budget

3. Giving books encourages a life-long love of reading

4. Books are gifts that last for years

5. Books are great baby shower gifts for multiples

Choosing baby shower gifts for twins or other multiples can be tricky and, let’s face it, expensive. Do you buy two or more of the same gift, the same cute outfits in different colours or choose completely different gifts for each baby? Some parents are very keen to dress their children alike and some know in advance that they absolutely don’t want to do this. Books are the solution! A gift basket filled with beautiful books is a great baby shower gift for twins or triplets or you can just choose a selection of books to suit your budget.

What do you write in a baby shower book?

You may have decided that giving books for a baby shower gift is an excellent idea and now you’re wondering what to write in a book for a baby shower. 

Or perhaps a fellow baby shower guest has bought a special book to give to the baby and is asking all the guests to write a message in it. 

Either way, there are lots of cute things to write in a baby shower book. You can write a quote about reading, a wish for the baby or simply a heartfelt message like you would write on a baby gift card.

Here are a few ideas you might like to use:

Kid, you’ll move mountains! – Dr Seuss

A lifetime of adventures begins with a story a day.

Wishing you many nights of bedtime stories and sweet dreams.

May every story you read inspire adventures of your own.

This book holds a special place in my heart … just like you!

We wish you a life filled with amazing stories and beautiful memories.

Below you can see the messages my son’s partner chose to write in the books she gave her niece. Aren’t they lovely?

The 5 best books to give as baby shower gifts

Any really good book makes a wonderful gift for a baby shower: a classic hardcover, a board book (or two) or a book you or your children really loved.

Thinking about the parents’ interests can also be helpful. Buying for a science-loving mum or dad? Physicist Chris Ferrie has written some beautiful board books for babies about scientific concepts which are great fun. You check a few of them out here.

Does mum or dad love to read? BabyLit publish some gorgeous first board books based on classics like Pride and Prejudice and The Jungle Book. You can see some of them here in our Little Classics Gift Basket.

Books which celebrate the arrival of a new little person in the world are especially lovely to give as baby shower gifts. They can be read to the baby from birth and may well become a treasured part of the little one’s bed-time routine. The five books on this page are my favourite books on this theme and are all perfect to give as baby shower gifts.

And if you’re stuck for a message to write on the gift card, you may like to have a look at the lovely messages my customers have written here. 

1. Welcome, child!

This is a new book which won’t actually be released for you to buy until 1 March 2021 but it’s a perfect book to welcome a new baby so I had to include it.
Sally Morgan is an Australian Aboriginal artist and author and this little book is a beautiful and heartfelt celebration of the love parents and family members feel for a new child. With its bright and colourful artwork filled with happy birds, dancing stars and hearts that shine, this book is a really sweet way to welcome a little one to the world and the gentle lilt of the text makes it a joy to read over and over again.

2. On the Night You Were Born

This lovely book is a beautiful tribute to the uniqueness of every child. In gentle, rhyming text the book tells the story about how there’s only one you in the world and how much you mean to the people who love them. It’s a lovely book to read aloud to a new baby and to keep reading as he or she grows.

3. Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

This book is a bit of a classic and is a fantastic book to give as a baby shower gift as parents prepare to embark on a wonderful new life with their child. Written in Dr Seuss’s trademark rhyming verse, the book describes the adventures life has in store for all of us, the ups and downs, the fun times and triumphs and the lurches and slumps and conveys the encouraging message that the difficult times can be overcome. It’s an uplifting, reassuring and inspiring story which is perfect for reading aloud to babies and to older children.

4. Guess How Much I Love You

Guess How Much I Love You has been a favourite book of mine for many years. It was first published in 1994, the year before my twin sons were born, and I read it to them, and then to their younger sister, when they were all small. Now that my children are all grown up, I give this book as a gift to new babies and as a baby shower gift and it’s included in both our Baby’s First Library Gift Basket and our Bedtime Gift Basket.

“Guess how much I love you” are the words Little Nutbrown Hare says to his father as he is getting ready for bed and the words prompt a lovely discussion between father and son about just how much they love one another. This is a gentle and very beautiful little story which celebrates the love between parent and child and is perfect for reading to babies from the day that they’re born. In fact, I know several families who’ve chosen to read this to their little one as the very first book they hear on the day they were born.

5. Here We Are

I love Oliver Jeffers’ books and use them a lot in the classroom. This one is a bit different, though, and its differences make it a lovely book to give as a baby shower gift. Subtitled Notes for Living on Planet Earth, this book is written as a guide for new babies to the joys and puzzles they will encounter as they navigate life on this planet that is their home. The illustrations are, of course, beautiful and the text is whimsical, reassuring and, ultimately, gently uplifting.

Over to you

Do you give books as baby shower gifts?

Do you have a favourite book you like to give?

I’d love to hear what you think so drop me a line in the comments.