How much to give for a Baby Shower
By relationship
Close friend or sibling
$50-100Close relationships often mean choosing something meaningful off the registry, or several smaller items, rather than sticking to a strict dollar figure.
Coworker or casual friend
$25-50A single registry item in this range, rather than cash, is the more typical choice for this tier of relationship.
Coworker contributing to an office group gift
$10-25Group gifts pooled among several coworkers are extremely common for baby showers specifically, letting everyone contribute a smaller amount toward one larger item like a stroller or crib.
Extended family or distant relative
$30-75Family ties often push this slightly higher than a coworker gift even without a close personal relationship.
Second or third baby shower for the same parent
$20-40, or a smaller, practical itemEtiquette around showers for a subsequent child is genuinely different — many guests scale down or give something specific to the new baby (items that don't carry over from an older sibling) rather than repeating the first shower's full gift.
Custom, not obligation
Attending a baby shower without bringing a gift is a genuine breach of the custom in most circles — unlike some other gift occasions on this site, a baby shower's entire structure is built around gift-giving as the event's central activity, so showing up empty-handed reads very differently than skipping a gift at, say, a birthday dinner. That said, the amount itself remains fully at your discretion and is never treated as owed at any specific figure. This is one of the occasions where the obligation is about presence-of-a-gift more than size-of-a-gift: a modest but genuine item fulfills the custom just as completely as a more expensive one, and hosts overwhelmingly report caring more about who showed up than what any individual gift cost.
Cultural variation
In many cultures, only close family and friends attend baby showers at all (some traditions historically avoided celebrating a pregnancy before the baby's safe arrival), which affects who's expected to bring a gift versus who might send one after the birth instead. Registry-based gift-giving is a particularly American and increasingly UK-influenced convention; in many other cultures, cash or practical handmade items for the baby remain more traditional than a registry list. In some East Asian and Southern European traditions, a formal 'full moon' or month-after-birth celebration (rather than a pre-birth shower) is the primary gift-giving occasion, sometimes involving a specific customary red-envelope cash gift or symbolic items tied to luck and health for the child.
If you can't afford the customary range
A small, thoughtful item — even something handmade or a card with a heartfelt note and no gift at all — is a completely accepted alternative when the customary range isn't realistic; baby shower hosts and honorees are far more focused on celebrating the upcoming baby with the people who matter to them than on tracking who spent what. Offering practical help after the birth (a meal train contribution, an offer to babysit an older sibling) is also a genuinely welcomed substitute for a shower gift, particularly among close friends. Splitting a registry item with another guest who's also on a tighter budget is another quietly common approach that lets two people jointly give something the parents actually wanted, rather than each giving something smaller and less useful separately.
Related occasions
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to buy something off the registry, or is cash acceptable?
Both are fully accepted for baby showers today — a registry item guarantees the parents get something they specifically need, while cash or a gift card gives them flexibility for whatever comes up as the least-covered need once all the shower gifts are in.
What if I can't attend the shower — do I still send a gift?
It's a nice, appreciated gesture but genuinely optional if you can't be there — many people who can't attend simply send a card or a smaller gift directly to the parents around the baby's actual arrival instead.
Should I bring a separate gift when the baby is actually born, in addition to the shower gift?
Not required — the shower gift is generally understood to cover your gift-giving for the pregnancy and birth together, though very close friends and family sometimes do bring something small when visiting the new baby, more as a personal gesture than an obligation.
Do I still need to bring a full gift to a shower for someone's second or third baby?
Something is still expected, but it's genuinely fine to scale down — many guests who gave generously at the first shower bring something smaller and more targeted (diapers in the next size, a specific item the family doesn't already own) for a subsequent child.
Is it rude to ask what the parents still need before buying a gift?
No — most parents genuinely appreciate being asked directly rather than receiving a fifth swaddle blanket, and many registries exist precisely to remove the guesswork, so a quick check-in beforehand is considered thoughtful rather than presumptuous.
Sources: The Bump baby shower etiquette and gifting guidance (checked 2026-06-15); The Emily Post Institute gift-giving guidance (checked 2026-06-15).