The Best Gifts For New Dads To Celebrate Their First Milestone

New dads get a card and a blue balloon while the baby receives eleven outfits. The first year is exhausting for both parents, and almost nothing arrives aimed at him.

The good gifts split three ways: things that survive the first six weeks, things he will keep forever, and food. Mostly food.

Honest note: we make cards, pin badges, prints and party decorations in the UK. Journals and kit are recommendations from elsewhere.

Keepsakes worth starting now

• A life story journal for him to fill in while the baby is small - who he was before, what he hopes for, what his own dad was like. Done at eight months in, it is far better than done at sixty.
• A print for the nursery with the birth details - Shop the range
• A new dad pin badge, daft and small - Shop the range
• A card to the new dad specifically, not the baby - Shop the range
• A photo of the two of them from the first week, printed rather than left on a phone.

Practical for the first six weeks

• Food. A delivered meal, a batch of frozen dinners, or a supermarket voucher beats every object here.
• Good coffee and a mug that keeps it hot, since no hot drink is finished in this house.
• A one-handed water bottle and snacks by the feeding chair.
• A decent changing bag that does not look like a nappy bag.
• A carrier or sling, so he can get out of the house and the baby sleeps.

For later in the first year

• A hip carrier or a running buggy, if that is him.
• A voucher for a haircut and an hour to himself.
• A book that is honest about the first year rather than cheerful about it.
• A pub afternoon with his friends, organised by someone else.
• A first Father's Day card from the baby - Read the guide

What actually helps

• Turn up, do a job, and leave. Washing up beats holding the baby.
• Text, don't ring. Everyone is asleep or trying to be.
• Ask how he is, not just how the baby and mum are. Almost nobody does.
• Don't give advice unless asked twice.
• Bring food you can leave on the doorstep.

Shop new baby cards

How to write it so it lands

• Food beats objects in the first six weeks.
• Address the card to him, not the baby.
• Text, don't ring.

Where to shop next

• Greetings cards
• Birthday cards
• Pin badges
• Wall art and prints
• Candles
• Sentimental 60th birthday gifts for dad
• The Dad Life Story Journal, explained
• Retirement gifts for dad
• Father of the groom gifts
• Questions to ask your dad about his life
• Gifts for dads who want nothing
• Funny 60th birthday gifts for dad
• Funny retirement gifts for dad
• Man cave wall art ideas
• Wellness gifts for men
• Best birthday cards for dad
• Father's Day gift ideas
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Funny Father's Day cards
• New baby cards
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the best gifts for new dads in the UK?

Food and coffee for the first six weeks, a carrier or sling, a decent changing bag, a card addressed to him rather than the baby, and a keepsake such as a life story journal he can start now.

What do you buy a man who has just become a father?

Something aimed at him rather than the baby. Everything else arriving that month is tiny and covered in ducks.

Is a journal a good gift for a new dad?

Yes - starting it while the baby is small captures what he was thinking at the time, which nobody remembers accurately later.

What should you not buy new parents?

More newborn clothes, noisy toys, and anything needing assembly that week. Most families are already drowning in 0-3 month outfits.

How can you actually help a new dad?

Bring food, do a household job without being asked, text rather than ring, and ask how he is rather than only asking about the baby.

Do you make the life story journal yourselves?

No. We design and print greetings cards, enamel pin badges, prints and party decorations in the UK. Journals and books are recommendations from elsewhere - the only things linked to our own shop are ours.