Most baby shower gift ideas are for the baby. Onesies, muslins, a stack of nappies the size of a small car, all very welcome and all gone within a year.
A star map is one of the few baby shower gifts that is about the family. It is the real night sky over one place on one date that matters to the parents.
There is one catch, and it’s a big one: the baby hasn’t been born yet. Here are four honest ways around that, and how to choose between them.
Why a star map makes a good baby shower gift
A baby shower table fills up with practical things, and that is exactly how it should be. New parents need all of it.
But after the shower, most of those gifts get used up, grown out of, or given away. Very few of them are still around when the child is ten.
A star map is different. It hangs in the nursery at the start and moves with the child to a bigger room later, because it was never really a baby thing.
It also stands out on the gift table. In a sea of pastel tissue paper, a framed night sky is the one people ask about.
Four ways around the missing date
The most obvious night for a baby is the night they are born. At a baby shower, that night hasn’t happened yet.
So you have a choice. Each of these works, and they suit different parents.
1. The night it all started
Use a night from the parents’ own story: their wedding, their first date, or the night they moved into the home the baby will grow up in.
It is a lovely thing to hang in a nursery. The words can say it simply, like “Before you, there was us”.
This is the safest choice if you want to hand over a finished, framed gift at the shower itself.
2. The night they found out
Some parents remember the exact evening they saw the test, or the night they told their families. If you know that date, it is a very personal choice.
Be careful with this one, though. Only use it if the parents have talked about that night openly and happily.
3. The birth night, promised
This is the one most people want: the sky over the night the baby actually arrives. You just can’t make it yet.
So bring a card to the shower instead, saying the map of their birth night is on its way. Then make it once the baby is here.
It’s easier than it sounds. The files arrive by email in about ten minutes, so you can send them the day the news comes in.
You will need the date, the town or hospital, and ideally the time of birth. Most parents are happy to share all three in the first proud message anyway.
4. The due date
A star map can show the sky for any date, including one in the future, so the due date is technically possible.
The honest problem is that very few babies arrive on their due date. If you go this way, word it as “The night we were all waiting for” so it stays true whatever the baby decides.
Baby shower gift ideas for different givers
The map works for any guest. What changes is the date you pick and how you give it.
From a grandparent-to-be
Grandparents often want the birth night, and they are usually the first to hear the news. That makes the promised version easy for them.
A nice touch is a second map later on: the sky over the grandparents’ own wedding, to hang next to the baby’s. Two generations, same kind of sky.
From a best friend
A best friend knows the parents’ story well enough to pick the night it all started. The first date, the proposal, or that holiday everyone still talks about.
That is also one of the better baby shower gift ideas for mom specifically. It reminds her she is still a person with a story, not just a due date.
From the office or a group
Group baby shower gifts tend to be a big basket of practical things. That is useful, but a group can also go for one larger framed print.
If the group can’t agree on a date, the promised birth-night version is the easy answer. Nobody has to guess anything about the parents’ history.
From someone who can't be there
If you live far away and are sending a gift, a file-based present is easy. There is nothing to post and nothing to break in the mail.
Send the files to the parents, or to a friend who is going, and ask them to have it printed and framed locally. It arrives looking like you were in the room.
For a second or third baby
By the third baby, the family already owns every piece of baby equipment ever made. A personalised gift is often more welcome than another bouncer.
If the older siblings have their own birth-night maps, the new one completes the set. That is one of the nicest reasons to choose the promised version.
The practical bits
What to write on it
The date and the place are fixed. The two lines of words are where you set the tone.
- “Before you, there was us” for the parents’ own night
- “The night we were all waiting for” for a due-date map
- The baby’s full name and weight, for the birth-night map
- “Hello, world” with the birth date underneath
- “Where your story starts” for a nursery
You can put in the place and the date and see the real sky with your own words before you pay anything. It’s a quick way to test a wording before the shower.
Colours for a nursery
Warm white paper with a soft dark sky suits most nurseries. It is gentle, and it doesn’t assume anything about the baby.
Darker navy designs work well if the room is already moody or the parents like deep colours. You don’t need pink or blue at all.
How to present it at the shower
If you are giving the finished map, frame it and wrap it flat. Frames are easy to spot on a gift table, so a plain brown paper wrap keeps a bit of surprise.
If you are giving the promise, put the card inside something small and soft, like a muslin or a tiny hat. That way it gets opened and read out with everything else.
Either way, a short note on how you chose the night goes a long way. People love hearing why a date was picked.
What you actually get
One purchase gives you twelve files of the same sky, which is handy when the family wants copies.
- Four print files, from 8×10 up to 24×36, at full print quality
- Six phone, tablet and desktop wallpapers
- Two square and story-shaped versions for sharing
The square version is perfect for the birth announcement. The parents can post the sky over the night their baby arrived, which almost nobody else does.
You print the poster yourself, at home or at any print shop, and it usually takes a day. A simple frame is all it needs.
A gift for the start of the story
The best baby shower gifts are the ones still around years later. A star map records a real night, which is why it lasts.
The stars on it are exactly where they were over that place on that evening, worked out from real astronomical data. We explain how in are star maps accurate.
If you are new to the idea, start with what is a star map. For the birth-night version in more detail, see our guide to birth star maps for the nursery.
One day the child will ask what the picture on their wall is. The answer will be a good story.
FAQ
What is a creative baby shower gift that isn't for the baby?
Something for the parents that also suits the nursery. A star map of the night they met or married, with “Before you, there was us” underneath, is personal and lasts long after the baby clothes are outgrown.
Can I give a birth star map at a baby shower if the baby isn't born yet?
Yes, as a promise. Bring a card saying the map is coming, then make it once the baby arrives, since the files arrive by email in about ten minutes.
Can a star map show the sky on the due date?
Yes, because the sky can be worked out for any date, including a future one. Just word it so it stays true if the baby arrives early or late.
Is a star map a good baby shower gift for a second baby?
Often a better one than for the first. The family already has the equipment, and a birth-night map can match the ones the older siblings have.
