The best baptism gifts are the ones still in the family decades later: a keepsake book with the child's name in it, a first Bible they grow into, or one well-made thing, a cross, a blanket, a keepsake box, chosen to be kept. Everything below passes that test, whether you're the godparent, the grandparent, or a guest.
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We make three keepsake books. Each one has the child's name on the cover and a dedication page at the front for the date of the baptism and a line from you.
Baptism presents divide cleanly into things that get outgrown and things that get handed down. One question sorts them: will this still mean something when the child is grown? Toys and outfits fail it. Three kinds of gifts pass it again and again.
A personalized keepsake says the gift was made for this child, not bought for any child. Names last; sizes don't.
The traditional godparent gift. Given at the baptism, read at a thousand bedtimes, kept long after.
A cross, a blanket, a keepsake box. Not five small things: one good thing, with the date on the card.
Little Prayers is the keepsake we make ourselves: ten gentle bedtime prayers, each paired with a Bible verse, with the child illustrated into every spread and their name on the cover.
You build the child in our customizer, skin tone, hair, pajamas, add a dedication for the baptism day, and we print the book on demand. It reads like a bedtime book, works like a baptism keepsake, and the dedication page holds the date forever.
It suits godparents especially well: the traditional gift of faith, made unmistakably from you to them.
A personalized Bible story book is book two, with ten stories and the child's name closing each one.
The second keepsake we print is your child's Bible Adventures: ten Bible stories written for ages three to six, the child painted on the cover, and their name in the line that closes every story. It has the same dedication page at the front, and the same prices, $56.99 hardcover or $46.99 softcover. See Bible Adventures →
If the godparents are giving the Bible, these are the three we recommend most from our book research: gentle for the earliest years, loved by families for decades between them.
Classic Bible stories retold in simple language with bright, engaging illustrations. Short stories perfect for winding down before sleep.
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A beautifully illustrated Bible storybook that presents every story as part of God's great rescue plan. Perfect for bedtime with its gentle, lyrical storytelling.
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A simple, beautiful board book that teaches children about God's love for all people. Perfect short read for bedtime.
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Choosing for a specific age? Our full children's Bible guide sorts the shelf from board books to independent readers.
Four categories that keep showing up in the keepsake boxes of families we know. We link each to a search rather than one product, so you can pick the style that fits the family.
A small wall cross is the classic christening gift for a reason: it hangs in the nursery, then follows them to their first big-kid room.
Find it on Amazon →Somewhere for the candle, the shell, the cards, and the tiny gown. Parents rarely think to buy one for themselves and always end up wanting one.
Find it on Amazon →An embroidered blanket gets used at the ceremony and for years of bedtimes after. Look for one with room to add the name and date.
Find it on Amazon →A beloved bedtime book about being wanted and loved, and one of the most-given baptism books in print. If the family may already own it, pair your card with a different keepsake from this list.
Find it on Amazon →Our full guide →Tradition gives the godparents the gift of faith: the first Bible, a cross, or a keepsake the child grows into. Whichever you choose, add the one thing only you can give.
Write the child a short letter, dated, sealed or tucked into the gift, about what you promised at their baptism and what you hope for them. A Bible with a letter inside it beats a more expensive gift without one. If you give a personalized book, the dedication page is made for exactly this.
And the quiet second half of the tradition: the gift is a beginning, not a conclusion. The godparents who are remembered are the ones who kept showing up, birthdays, first communions, ordinary Tuesdays, with the child's faith in mind.
For gifts at every age after the baptism, and for ways parents can ask or thank a godparent, see our godparent gift guide.
A godparent baptism gift is expected to last, and the ones that do are the ones with the child's name written somewhere on them. Our own keepsake is built that way: ten bedtime prayers, each paired with a verse, the child illustrated into every spread, and a dedication page at the front where you write the date and what you promised that morning. If you would rather give the traditional gift of faith, a first Bible is still the right answer; the three we recommend are above. Some godparents give both, the Bible for the years ahead and a small wall cross for the nursery tonight.
People ask about the two roles separately, so here is the plain answer: a baptism gift from a godmother and a baptism gift from a godfather are held to the same standard. Both are gifts of faith, meant to outlive the gown and the cake, and color schemes have very little to do with it. A personalized prayer book suits either one, because the name on the cover does the personalizing and the dedication page at the front carries your own words. If the family already has a first Bible on the shelf, a baptism keepsake box is the thing parents never buy for themselves. It holds the candle, the shell, and every card from the day.
Christening and baptism are the same sacrament in most traditions. The word changes by church and by country, so christening gift ideas and baptism gift ideas are one list, and nobody will think less of you for using either word on the card. A personalized christening gift is the simplest way to make a shared occasion feel like it belongs to one child: our prayer keepsake puts their name on the cover and leaves a dedication page at the front for the date and your blessing. If you want the traditional pairing, give a first Bible alongside it. And if the gown is being kept, an embroidered baptism blanket is the one that gets used again at bedtime.
If you want the child's name stamped on the cover of their Bible, these three can be imprinted. Christianbook lists each of them as imprintable: choose the imprint option on the product page before you check out. As a Christianbook affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases.
For the baptism year. The complete New International Version in pink leathersoft with silver page edges and a ribbon, plus a presentation page and twenty-four full-color pages for first-year memories and visitors. Sold in blue as well. A grown-up Bible the parents fill in now and the child reads later.
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For the year they start reading on their own. The whole Bible in the New International Reader's Version, written at about a third-grade reading level, in full color with short articles on Bible times, verses to memorize and simple activities. The publisher pitches it at six to ten, so a child grows into it rather than out of it.
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For a Catholic child's First Communion. The New Testament in the New American Bible Revised Edition, the translation used at Mass in the United States, in a small blue cover about six by four inches. A presentation page has room for the child's name and a message from you, and each book opens with a short introduction. New Testament only, so it fits a second grader's hands.
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Something made to be kept. The gifts families hold on to are a first Bible or storybook, a keepsake with the child's name on it, or one well-made object like a cross or a blanket. A card with a short blessing written in your own hand matters more than the price of what it comes with.
There is no required amount. As a rule of thumb, guests tend to keep it modest, while close family and godparents usually spend more on something made to last. A thoughtful, lasting gift at any price is better than an expensive one that gets outgrown.
Traditionally the godparents give the child's first Bible, a cross, or another gift of faith they can grow into. Many godparents now choose a personalized keepsake, so the child grows up with something that came from them by name.
Keep it short and speak to the child, not just the parents: welcome them, tell them they are loved, and add a verse or a one-line prayer. Something like: "We prayed for you before we met you, and we will keep praying for you every year after this one."
Not really. The lasting gifts, a Bible, a prayer book, a keepsake with their name, are the same for either. Personalization does the work color schemes are usually asked to do: the child's own name makes the gift theirs.
No. Christening and baptism are the same sacrament in most traditions, and the gift lists are identical. Use whichever word the family's church puts on the invitation, and choose the same way you would for either: something with the child's name on it, or something made well enough to keep.
The same things, and they carry the same weight. Godparents traditionally give the gift of faith: a first Bible, a cross, or a personalized keepsake with the child's name on it. Whichever you pick, write something in the front of it. The dedication page, or the flyleaf of a Bible, is the part the child reads back years later.
By Hannah Whitford, Childhood Bible Stories · Last updated August 2026
Everything else here is free: gentle Bible stories to read tonight, and printable coloring pages for the quiet afternoons after the big day.
