Baby shower gifts from the whole office.

When a coworker is expecting, the office usually wants to do something. Then the questions start. Is a shower at work too much? Do we buy from the registry or is that boring? Should everyone get their own thing, or should we put money together? And what does a person who has never held a baby buy for one?

This guide answers those questions. It covers registry etiquette, small gifts one person can give, bigger presents the team can pool for, gifts for the parent and not just the baby, and how to time it all around their leave. There are 20 ideas along the way, with notes on who they suit and what to watch out for.

Ask before you plan anything

Not everyone wants a baby shower at work. Some people are private about pregnancy, some have had a hard road getting here, and some just hate being the center of attention in a meeting room. Before you book the cake, ask them, or ask someone close to them, whether they’d like a small celebration, a card and gift with no event, or nothing at all.

The same goes for adoptive parents, partners of the person giving birth and anyone becoming a parent through surrogacy. They’re all welcome to a shower, and they’re often left out because nobody thought to ask.

Registry etiquette for coworkers

If there’s a registry, use it. It isn’t lazy or impersonal. Parents make registries because they’ve researched car seats, bottles and strollers for hours and don’t want three of the wrong one. Ask for the link politely, once, through the person organizing or a close teammate.

A few unwritten rules help.

• Big safety items like car seats, cribs and strollers should only come off the registry, never as a surprise. Parents choose these carefully, and there are good reasons not to buy them secondhand.
• A team can pool for one larger registry item instead of everyone buying the cheapest thing on the list. That usually helps the parents more.
• Going off the registry is fine for small, personal extras, like a book with a note inside. It’s less fine for anything that needs space, batteries or a decision.
• If you buy clothes, go for six to twelve months or bigger. Parents get heaps of newborn outfits, and babies outgrow them fast.

If there’s no registry, the ideas below are safe choices that almost every new parent can use.

Small gifts from one person

These are for a coworker buying on their own, or a couple of people splitting something small. Most of them cost under $25 and fit in a gift bag.

1. A classic board book with a note. Goodnight Moon has been a bedtime book for generations, and the board book version survives being chewed. Write a short note inside the cover with your name and the date. Years from now, the parent will read it to the kid and remember who gave it.
2. A teether that’s been around for decades. Sophie la girafe is made of natural rubber and is easy for small hands to grab. It’s a good gift from someone who wants to give a toy but doesn’t know which one. A tip worth passing on is to wipe it clean instead of dunking it, so water doesn’t get inside.
3. Muslin swaddles. Parents go through these at an alarming rate. A pack of muslin swaddle blankets gets used as a swaddle, a burp cloth, a changing mat in a pinch and a blanket for tummy time. You can’t really give too many.
4. A hooded baby towel. Babies get cold fast after a bath, and a regular towel slips off. A bamboo hooded baby towel stays put and is soft on new skin. It’s one of those things parents don’t think to buy and use every night.
5. The small grooming kit. The Frida Baby Basics kit gathers the little things nobody puts on a registry until 2 a.m., like a nose aspirator and baby nail tools. It’s a practical gift from the coworker who already has kids and knows.
6. An outfit in a bigger size. Pick something for the season they’ll be wearing it, not the season it is now. A warm sleepsuit in the six to twelve month size is a good bet for a baby born in spring.

Group gifts the team can pool for

When the whole team chips in, you can cover something most parents would love and wouldn’t buy for themselves. Check the registry first, since one of these may already be on it.

7. A sound machine and night light. The Hatch Rest+ sound machine plays white noise, works as a soft night light for feeds, and can be set up from a phone so nobody has to creep into the nursery to change it. Families tend to keep using it for years, which makes it a good team gift.
8. A diaper bag that doesn’t look like one. A Skip Hop Forma diaper backpack has room for everything a baby needs on an outing and looks like a normal backpack, so either parent will happily carry it. It also works as a work bag once they’re back.
9. The big registry item. If the registry has a stroller, a high chair or a baby carrier nobody has claimed, pooling for it is often the most useful thing a team can do. Ask the organizer to check it off so nobody else buys it.
10. Meals for the first weeks. Food delivery credit, a meal kit subscription or a sign-up sheet where teammates who live nearby drop off a frozen dinner. Parents of newborns rarely have time to cook, and this is one of the most appreciated gifts you can give.
11. A cleaning service. A few visits from a cleaner in the first couple of months is the gift a lot of parents say they wanted most and would never have asked for.
12. A diaper fund. It sounds unromantic, but babies use a lot of them. A team contribution to a big stock of diapers in a few sizes, or a gift card for wherever they buy them, saves them real money in the first year.

Gifts for the parent, too

Showers are all about the baby, but the person who needs looking after is often the one about to go a long time without sleep. A small gift just for them is a kind touch, and a lot of people say it’s the one they remember.

13. A night feed basket. A big water bottle, one-handed snacks, lip balm and something to read on their phone. Night feeds are long and thirsty, and this keeps everything within reach.
14. Coffee, delivered. A gift card for a coffee shop near their home, not near the office. They won’t be coming in for a while.
15. Something comfortable to wear. A soft robe or slippers for the weeks at home. Ask a close teammate about sizes before you buy.
16. A promise to leave them alone. Write in the card that nobody expects replies to messages and that work questions can wait. Some people worry about their inbox all through leave, so hearing it from the team helps.

Keepsakes from the team

These are for a team that’s close and wants to give something that lasts beyond the baby stage.

17. A baby memory book. A keepsake baby memory book gives the parents a place for first smiles, first foods and first words. Most new parents mean to keep one and few buy it themselves. Leave a note from the team on the inside cover.
18. A book shower. Instead of one gift, ask everyone to bring a favorite children’s book with a short note inside. The baby ends up with a small library, and each book carries a message from someone at work.
19. A handmade blanket. If someone on the team knits or quilts and offers to make something, take them up on it and have everyone else cover the materials. Handmade blankets often get passed down.
20. A savings account deposit. Some teams put money into a savings account or fund for the child’s future. It’s a nice option for a team that wants to give something but knows the nursery is already full.

Timing the shower around their leave

Leave plans change, and babies don’t follow calendars. Most office showers happen four to eight weeks before the due date, while the parent is still working and still comfortable at an hour-long event. Don’t leave it until their last scheduled week, because leave can start early for all sorts of reasons.

Have a plan B in case it does. If the baby arrives before the shower, send the gift and card to their home and save the celebration for when they visit the office with the baby, if they want to. Get their address from a close teammate, their partner or HR, and never share it around.

For remote coworkers or teams spread across offices, ship the gift straight to their home and run the shower on a short video call. Keep it to half an hour. Nobody needs a long call in their third trimester.

A few things to avoid

Skip crib bumpers, pillows, sleep positioners and anything else meant for the crib. Safe sleep guidance from pediatric groups says the crib should stay bare, and parents may feel awkward about a gift they can’t use. Avoid perfumed products for the baby, too. Don’t guess at names or genders in decorations unless the parents have shared them. And keep the jokes about sleepless nights to a minimum, because they’ve heard them all already.

Collecting money for a group gift

Pooling works best when one person collects and everyone else just pays and signs. Suggest a modest amount and say clearly that chipping in is optional, since some coworkers will be saving for their own families. Keep the collection in a chat the parent-to-be can’t see, and set the deadline a week before the shower so you have time to order. Our guide on how to organize a group gift covers reminders, budgets and what to do if you come up short.

Pair the gift with a group card

Swaddles get spit up on and the sound machine eventually gets put away. The card is what gets tucked into the baby book. A card with messages from the whole team, given with the gift, means a lot to someone who’s about to disappear from work for a while.

Mention the gift in the card so the two go together, and give people a nudge to write more than “Congrats!”

Maya, the Hatch is from all of us, and we hope it buys you a few extra hours of sleep. We’re so happy for you and Sam. Please don’t think about the quarterly report even once. We’ve got it, and we can’t wait to meet the little one when you’re ready to bring them by.

You can make a new baby card on LittleSurprise and share one link with the team, including people who work remotely or can’t make the shower. Everyone adds a message, photo or GIF without making an account, and the parent opens them one by one. If people need ideas for what to write, our new baby card messages have plenty to borrow from. Start the card a week or two before the shower so everyone has time to sign.