A baby shower is a room full of near-identical gifts and one person opening them in sequence for forty minutes. Everything is small, soft and white. By the eighth babygrow the energy in the room has gone, and whoever brought something funny is about to do very well.
The best trick in this category is the prank gift box: a real present wrapped in a box printed with something horrifying, so the parents-to-be get a full second of genuine alarm before they open it. Beyond that, the bodysuits with jokes on and the parody books are the reliable picks. All under twenty dollars.
By the eighth babygrow the room has gone quiet. This is your moment.
The short list
- New Parent Decision-Making Coin · $7.99
- P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever · $8.99
- Prank-O "Crib Dribbler" Gift Box · $9.52
- "Child Chucker" Gag Gift Box · $9.99
- "Baby’s First Gambling Kit" Prank Box · $9.99
- Burrito Tortilla Swaddle Blanket · $9.99
- "Made in VaChina" Baby Bodysuit · $12.99
- ZIRI & ZANE Funny Baby Sock Gift Set · $15.95
- "Just Spent 9 Months on the Inside" Bodysuit · $15.99
- The Baby Owner’s Manual · $19.99
The best under $10
Where this list is strongest. Nothing here costs more than a sandwich and several of them are the funniest things on the page.
One
Under $10
New Parent Decision-Making Coin
A double-sided coin to decide who does the diaper, the night feed or the bath. Flip it, then argue anyway. Diplomacy for exhausted parents.
Buy on AmazonTwo
Books, under $10
P Is for Pterodactyl: The Worst Alphabet Book Ever
An alphabet book full of silent letters and strange spellings that will stump the grown-ups. Kids love it and parents laugh out loud. A brilliant shower gift for future bedtime stories.
Buy on Amazon UKThree
Prank boxes, under $10
Prank-O "Crib Dribbler" Gift Box
A fake product box for a baby drool basketball hoop. Put the real gift inside and watch the confusion unfold. As seen on Shark Tank.
Buy on Amazon UKFour
Prank boxes, under $10
"Child Chucker" Gag Gift Box
An empty prank box for a fake baby launcher, so you can wrap your real gift inside. The parents-to-be will do a double take. Peak baby shower comedy.
Buy on AmazonFive
Prank boxes, under $10
"Baby’s First Gambling Kit" Prank Box
A gag gift box that pretends to be a casino kit for babies. Hide your real gift inside for a big shower laugh. Snake eyes, baby!
Buy on AmazonSix
Under $10, baby essentials
Burrito Tortilla Swaddle Blanket
A tortilla-print swaddle blanket that turns any baby into an adorable little burrito. Soft, warm and very photogenic. Extra guac, no spice.
Buy on Amazon UK$10 to $15
The sweet spot: cheap enough to be a casual gift, solid enough not to look like one.
Seven
Baby clothes
"Made in VaChina" Baby Bodysuit
A punny onesie for the baby fresh from their mother’s factory. Crude, hilarious and an instant shower favorite. Grandma may need it explained.
Buy on Amazon UK$15 to $20
The top of the budget, where the objects start being things people keep.
Eight
Gift sets, under $20
ZIRI & ZANE Funny Baby Sock Gift Set
Seven pairs of cute, funny baby socks in a ready-to-give set. The perfect gift box for a baby shower. Tiny feet, big laughs.
Buy on Amazon UKNine
Baby clothes
"Just Spent 9 Months on the Inside" Bodysuit
A jailbird-style onesie for the newborn just released after a nine-month stretch. Perfect for coming-home photos. Free at last!
Buy on Amazon UKTen
Books, for parents-to-be
The Baby Owner’s Manual
A tongue-in-cheek "owner’s manual" for operating a baby, with troubleshooting tips and maintenance advice. Funny, illustrated and actually useful. The user guide every new parent needs.
Buy on Amazon UKHow to choose
Prank boxes are wrapping, not the gift. The ten-dollar prank boxes below are brilliant and empty. Put the real present inside — this is the one case where you need to buy two things to have one gift.
Buy for three months old, not newborn. Everyone buys newborn sizes and the baby is in them for about five minutes. The joke bodysuits are better value in three-to-six-month sizing, which is when the parents will have run out of clean clothes.
Check who is in the room before the rude ones. Some of the bodysuit jokes below are strong, and a baby shower often includes both grandmothers. If gifts are opened publicly, read the joke twice and decide whether to hand it over afterwards instead.
Questions people ask
What is a good funny baby shower gift under $20?
A Prank-O gift box with a real present inside, at around ten dollars for the box. If you want one thing rather than two, ‘The Baby Owner’s Manual’ at around twenty is a genuinely useful book written as comedy.
What are prank gift boxes and how do they work?
They are decoy boxes printed to look like an appalling product — a baby catapult, a gambling kit — that you put a real gift inside. The recipient reads the box, panics briefly, then opens it. Around ten dollars, and the reaction is the gift.
What should you not give at a baby shower?
Anything in newborn size only, anything that needs assembling in front of the room, and strongly scented products. Also avoid advice books presented sincerely — the comedy ones are read, the earnest ones are not.