25+ adorable holiday gifts for newborns

Your littlest love can't create their own holiday wish list—so we did it for them.
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When it comes to giving gifts for newborn babies, it can be tough to find the perfect present. After all, your littlest love can’t create their own wish list. Some of the best gifts for newborns, in fact, are actually gifts for parents of newborns—whether it’s a swoon-worthy sweater set they’d never have bought themselves or something to make life with a little one a smidge easier.
What are the best Christmas gifts for newborns? Well it depends.
Babies change so much over the first year. In the first few months, it seems as though they just eat, sleep, poop, repeat. But as they begin to gain their strength, tummy time is all the rage. Eye-catching toys, black-and-white cards and playmats make great gifts for babies under three months.
Related: Your guide to baby milestones
As they get a bit older and start to tune into the world around them, exploration and engagement is the name of the game. Look for musical toys and teethers with texture that delight all their senses. It’s also a fantastic time to start building their library of books you’ll read a eleventy billion times over the next few years. (So, um, choose wisely, ok?)
We’ve hand-selected some of our personal favorites along with tried-and-true gifts that babies have loved for ages. From the softest booties that are sure to become instant heirlooms to developmentally appropriate graphic flashcards they’ll play with for hours, these are the best holiday gifts for babies!
Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of our holiday gift guides!
The best Christmas gifts for newborns
A version of this story was published December 2, 2021. It has been updated.