First Communion gifts they'll still have at twenty.
Three First Communion gifts survive the day: a first Bible or New Testament, a keepsake with the child's name printed in it, and one well-made object, a rosary, a missal, a cross, chosen to be kept. Everything below is one of those three, whether you are the godparent, the grandparent, or the family friend who was handed an invitation last week.
We are a broadly Christian family site, not a Catholic publisher: the editions here are the ones parish gift shops and Catholic bookstores stock most often for this day, and the descriptions are our own. As an Amazon Associate and a Christianbook affiliate we earn from qualifying purchases. Our keepsake books are our own.
What First Holy Communion is, and what the day is like
First Holy Communion is the first time a Catholic child receives the Eucharist at Mass. Most parishes prepare children in second grade, at seven or eight, the age the Church calls the age of reason. Preparation runs the length of a school year, and First Confession normally comes a few months ahead of it.
The day itself is a Mass, usually on a spring morning in April or May, often with a whole class of communicants together. Girls commonly wear a white dress and a veil, boys a suit or a shirt and tie, and many parishes ask for something white because white is the color of baptism. There are photographs on the church steps, a certificate, and then a party at home where the gifts are opened.
At the Last Supper Jesus said of the bread, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.” (Luke 22:19). Catholic and Protestant churches read that verse differently and we are not going to settle it here, but it is the sentence behind the day, and it is a good one to write in the front of whatever you give.
An invitation covers a sacrament and then a family party. Dress as you would for church, arrive early enough to be seated before the procession, and hand your gift over at the party rather than in the pew.
The three gifts that get kept
First Communion 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?
1. Their first Bible or New Testament
The traditional gift, and the one with a presentation page waiting for your handwriting.
2. Something with their name on it
A personalized keepsake says the gift was made for this child rather than bought for any child.
3. One well-made object
A rosary, a missal, a cross for the bedroom wall. One good thing with the date on the card.
A prayer book with their name in it
The gift kept longest is usually the one with the child's name printed inside it.
Little Prayers is the keepsake we make ourselves: ten gentle bedtime prayers, each paired with a Bible verse, the child illustrated into every spread, their name on the cover, and a dedication page at the front where you write the date and a line of your own.
Be clear about what it is. It is a bedtime prayer keepsake, not a Catholic devotional and not a preparation book. It does not follow the parish program, it will not teach a child the order of the Mass, and it reads young: at seven it works as a keepsake and a bedtime book rather than something to study. What it does do is carry a date, a name and somebody's handwriting into the years afterwards. Families who want a Catholic devotional as well pair it with one of the boxed sets below.
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 reads younger still, so it suits a communicant's little brother or sister better than the seven-year-old of the day. See Bible Adventures →
A first Bible or New Testament for a 7-year-old
A seven-year-old sits right at the edge of reading a real Bible alone, so there are two honest choices: an illustrated story Bible they can read this year, or a full text with a presentation page they grow into. Both are below, described by translation, format and what is actually inside.
The whole New Testament in the New American Bible Revised Edition, the translation read at Mass in the United States, bound in white soft leather-look. Inside: a presentation page for the name, the date and a message, short introductions to each book, cross references at the foot of the page, the Lord's Prayer and a satin ribbon. No Old Testament, which is the trade you make for something a second grader can hold open and navigate.
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The full Catholic Bible in the New Catholic Bible translation, personal size at about 5.5 by 8 inches, with the words of Christ in red, footnotes written in a pastoral rather than an academic tone, a First Communion certificate, a section of essential prayers and teachings, and the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross printed in color. This is the grown-into gift: more book than a second grader will read through, and the one still on the shelf at confirmation.
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Identical to the girls' edition above in translation, certificate, prayer sections and trim size. Worth saying plainly because shoppers ask: the two differ in the binding, not the text.
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The small white padded Bible with gold page edges that turns up in most parish gift shops, from Regina Press. It has a Communion certificate page inside the front and it arrives gift boxed, which matters when you are handing it across a table at a party. This is a child's illustrated Bible rather than the full text, so let it be the keepsake and let something else be the reading Bible.
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Regina Press's boys' edition: same padded white binding, gilt edges, certificate leaf and gift box. Choose on the artwork alone.
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More than ninety stories retold in full color, creation through the naming of Peter, with a short dictionary and maps at the back. Donaghy's publisher marks it ages eight and up, which suits a newly-communicant reader who will still reach for it at ten. A story Bible, not the full text.
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Forty-odd stories, one full-color illustration apiece, told in short declarative sentences. Pitched younger than Donaghy's volume above, so it suits a household where younger siblings will be read to from it, or a reader still building stamina.
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If you would rather give the well-made object than the book, the boxed missal sets do both. A First Mass Book is the one thing on this list the child uses inside the Mass itself, and the sets arrive already wrapped for handing over at a party.
A set rather than a single book: a glossy hardcover My First Mass Book with a presentation page, a white chain rosary in an illustrated twist case, a keepsake pouch holding a scapular and a First Communion pin, a taper candle and a bookmark, laid in a faux-velvet tray and boxed. One purchase covering both the liturgy and the mantelpiece.
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The boys' counterpart, plainer: a Good Shepherd Edition First Mass Book, a laminated scapular, a chain rosary and an enamel pin in a vinyl rosary case. The missal is what actually gets handled, and a child who can follow the liturgy in a volume of their own tends to keep following it.
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Gifts from godparents
Godparents are usually expected to give the largest gift of the day and the one most likely to be kept. In most families that means the Bible or the boxed set, handed over with something written in the front of it.
If you stood up at the baptism, you have something nobody else at the party has: you were there the first time. Write it down. A few lines about the day they were baptized, dated and signed inside the cover of the Bible you are giving, is the part they read back at twenty, long after they have forgotten what was in any envelope. Our baptism and christening gift guide covers the same ground for the day they were baptized.
Godparents travelling in often split the gift: the Bible or the boxed set at the party, money in a card for whichever account the parents are saving into. Nobody thinks less of you for either half.
Gifts from grandparents
Grandparents tend to give the thing with the family in it. A cross for the bedroom wall, a rosary that belonged to someone, a Bible with three generations of names written on the presentation page.
If there is an heirloom in the house, this is the day for it. A grandmother's rosary, with a note saying whose it was and when she carried it, outlasts anything ordered this week. Lacking one, a personalized keepsake does the same work from a standing start.
Money from grandparents is common and welcome, often paid into a savings or education account instead of handed over. Still bring something small to open at the table. Seven-year-olds are not moved by a deposit slip.
From a friend or classmate's family
If your child was invited to a classmate's First Communion, the etiquette is simple: a card and a modest gift. Anything lavish is awkward for everyone.
Good choices here: a small cross, a rosary, a children's Bible, a bookstore gift card, or cash in a card. Cannot attend? A card timed to arrive near the date is entirely acceptable, and in most families remembered.
One practical note. A child often comes home from this day with three rosaries and two Bibles. A gift card, or a keepsake with their own name on it, avoids the pile.
How much to give
There is no set amount and no parish publishes one. What people commonly report in the United States, in family threads and etiquette columns rather than in any official guidance, falls roughly like this.
- Classmates, neighbors, coworkers and friends of the family: about $20 to $30.
- Aunts, uncles, cousins and close family friends: about $25 to $50.
- Godparents and grandparents: about $50 to $100 and sometimes more, often alongside the Bible rather than instead of it.
Treat those as the midpoint of a wide range. Local cost of living shifts them; family custom shifts them further; plenty of households exchange no money whatever. Ask the parents what the rest of the relatives are doing. It is not a rude question.
If you do give money, put it in a card and write to the child, not to the parents. A check that gets deposited is a transaction. A card that gets read is a gift.
First Communion gift questions, answered plainly
How much money do you give for a First Communion gift?
There is no required amount. In the United States people commonly report about $20 to $30 from classmates and friends of the family, $25 to $50 from aunts, uncles and cousins, and $50 to $100 or more from godparents and grandparents. Those are common practice rather than a rule, and family custom matters more than the numbers. Put it in a card written to the child.
Do you bring a gift for First Communion?
If you are invited to the Mass and the party afterwards, yes, a gift or a card with money in it is customary. It is not an obligation and nobody keeps a list, but arriving with a card is the ordinary thing. If you cannot attend, mailing a card to arrive near the date is entirely acceptable.
What gift do you give for first holy communion?
Something made to be kept. The three that last are a first Bible or New Testament, a keepsake with the child's name printed in it, and one well-made object such as a rosary, a missal or a cross. A gift that is outgrown in a year is the one that will not be there at twenty.
What are some good gifts for first holy communion?
A New Testament or a full Catholic Bible with a presentation page, an illustrated children's Bible, a First Mass Book or boxed missal set, a rosary, a wall cross for the bedroom, a personalized keepsake book, or a bookstore gift card. Ask the parents whether the child already has a Bible, because most children receive more than one on the day.
How do you explain First Communion to a child?
Plainly, and in terms of what will happen. They will walk up with their class and receive Communion from the priest for the first time, and from then on they receive it with everyone else instead of waiting in the pew. Tell them their parish has been getting them ready all year, that people will take photographs, and that what they are joining goes back to the meal Jesus shared with his friends the night before he died.
What do godparents give for First Communion?
Traditionally the gift of faith, and usually the largest gift of the day: a Bible, a missal or boxed Mass set, or a rosary. Many godparents now add or choose a personalized keepsake so the gift is unmistakably from them. Whatever you pick, write in the front of it and date it.
What is a good First Communion gift for a goddaughter or godson?
The same list, and personalizing is what sets it apart. A Bible with their name and the date written on the presentation page, or a keepsake with their name printed on the cover, reads as coming from you in a way an unmarked gift does not. If you were their godparent at the baptism, write a line about that day inside it.
Is a personalized gift appropriate for First Communion?
Yes, and it is one of the most common choices. Personalized Bibles, engraved crosses and rosaries, and name-printed keepsake books are all standard for this day. If you are giving a Bible, the presentation page is there for exactly this, so fill it in rather than leaving it blank.
What age is First Communion?
Usually seven or eight, in second grade, which the Catholic Church describes as the age of reason. Some parishes and some countries do it later, and children who come into the Church older receive it whenever they are prepared. If you are unsure, the invitation or the parents will say.
Do you give a gift if you cannot attend the Mass?
A card, sent to arrive close to the date, is enough and is genuinely appreciated. If you want to send a gift as well, have it delivered to the family's home rather than the church. Write to the child in the card, because that is the part that gets kept.
By Hannah Whitford, Childhood Bible Stories · Last updated September 2026
Whatever you give, write in it
That is the whole trick, and it costs nothing. If you want the gift itself to carry the name, both titles in our keepsake collection are printed with the child in them. Everything else here is free: the bedtime prayers the book grew out of, and every Bible story on the site.
The gift gets opened once. The habit is what stays.
Gentle Bible stories to read tonight, and printable coloring pages for the quiet afternoons after the big day. All free.