What godparents keep, and what quietly disappears into a drawer
Godparents keep the gifts they can use, and the rest is in a drawer within a month. Between the christening candle, the engraved frame and the card from the ceremony, most godparents already own a small shelf of mementos from the day they were named. That shelf is full. What survives instead is the gift with a moment attached to it: a puzzle that stays on the coffee table, a gadget that comes out when the family visits, a game somebody asks for at the next birthday. That is the difference between a keepsake that gets admired once and a present for godparents that gets picked up on an ordinary Tuesday evening.
Gift ideas for godparents who would rather laugh than dust
The safest original gift for godparents is the one that makes the room laugh the first time it comes out of the box. Godparents sit in an odd spot at family gatherings: close enough to count as family, not so close that a serious present feels right. A funny gift solves that problem. A voice changer that turns an uncle into a robot halfway through dinner, trick golf balls that swerve off the tee, a Magic 8 Ball on the desk for decisions nobody wants to make: these get handed around the table instead of being unwrapped and set aside. Funny godmother gifts work for the same reason a good toast does, because everybody in the room gets something out of it.
A gift for a godmother and a gift for a godfather
Choose a gift for a godmother by what sits on her desk, and a gift for a godfather by what he does in the garden or at the barbecue. That beats guessing at taste. A godmother who keeps photos on the fridge has an obvious present waiting in a magnetic photo chain, and one who travels gets a scratch world map for the wall; a necklace or another piece of jewellery is the classic route, with a hanging ornament as the Christmas version of it. For a godfather the equivalent is a BBQ branding iron that burns his initials into the steak, or a beer holster he wears at the next barbecue. Most people looking for a present for godmother or godfather want a small personal object rather than a grand gesture, and that instinct is right.
The gifts for godparents that leave here most often
Our range runs from a small gift you hand over at the door to a box that takes a whole evening to get through. Both ends work. The cheap ones go into the bag as an extra alongside something else, and the bigger ones are the ones a couple opens together at the table. These are the gifts godparents receive most often at CoolGift:
- 3D Pin Art for the desk, because everyone who walks past presses a hand into it
- Brain String, the brainteaser a godfather refuses to put down until it is solved
- Magnetic Photo Chain, for a godmother who already covers the fridge with photos
- Scratch World Map, the one gift on this list that turns into lasting wall decoration
- Frozen Beer Glass and the Nice Ice wine cooler, for godparents who host
- Drinkopoly, when the present is really meant for the whole family evening
- Sweeping Slippers, the joke that keeps getting worn
The moments when godparents get a present
Godparents get a gift at four moments: the ceremony itself, a birthday, Christmas, and Mother's Day. The ceremony is the one people get backwards. A baptism gift from godparents goes to the child, while the thank-you from the parents goes the other way on the same day, and christening gifts from godparents are traditionally the keepsake kind. A Christmas gift for godparents can be a size bigger than the rest, because it is opened in company and gets used the same week; in Belgium and the Netherlands Saint Nicholas adds a round in early December. Mother's Day is the one that gets skipped. Plenty of people search for godmother mothers day gifts, and a godmother who helped raise a child likes being counted more than she will admit.
Milestone birthdays and older godparents
For a 40th, 50th or 60th birthday, pick the gift that gets a reaction in front of the other guests. Milestone birthdays are public. Whatever gets unwrapped is passed down the table, so a special gift that only makes sense to the two of you falls flat there, and something cool and unusual carries the whole room. For an 18th or a 30th birthday, a game or a gadget lands better than anything that hints at settling down. Older godparents are the exception: after seventy, the useful present beats the funny one almost every time, and a photo gift wins over a puzzle.
Personalized gifts for godparents with a name or a photo
Add the name, and a standard item becomes the gift that stays. Personalization is what separates a present for godparents from a present anyone could have given: a mug that says godmother gets used every morning, while the plain one moves to the back of the cupboard. You upload a photo or type the name, you see the result on screen before you order, and it is printed on the item itself rather than stuck on afterwards. Allow a few extra days on top of the usual delivery time, because it is made after you order it. Our personalized gifts with a name or photo run from mugs and cushions to prints and glassware.
What to spend on a gift for godparents
Most people spend between 15 and 30 euro on a gift for godparents, and that band buys something good here. Under 10 euro you are in small gift territory: a gadget for the desk, a puzzle, something to hand over with a card. Between 10 and 25 euro sits the widest part of the range, and it is the safest place to look for a godmother you see a few times a year. Above 50 euro the choice narrows quickly. A godmother gift box with two or three small items usually reads as more thought-out than one item at the same price, and our novelty gifts with a big laugh for a small price are the place to put one together.
Questions about gifts for godparents
How much do you spend on a present for godparents?
Between 15 and 30 euro is the normal range for a birthday or Christmas, and 10 euro is enough for a small gift you bring along to a family dinner. Spend more only when the present is for a couple who will open it together. A cheap gift that gets used beats an expensive one that gets stored.
Which gifts for godparents fall flat?
The gifts that only have to be displayed fall flat. A second engraved frame, a scented candle, a decorative plaque with a quote about godmothers: they arrive on a shelf that already holds the ones from the christening. The gift that survives is the one with a use attached, so pick the object that gets handled rather than dusted.
Funny or personal: which way do you go for a godmother?
Go funny when other people are watching her open it, and personal when she opens it alone with you. A birthday party rewards the gift that gets a laugh from the table. A quiet coffee afternoon rewards the photo or the name. If you cannot pick, a funny item with her name printed on it does both.
How long does a personalized gift take to arrive?
Reckon on a few days longer than for a standard item, because a personalized gift is produced after you place the order. Order a week ahead for a birthday and two weeks ahead in December, when everything runs slower. Need inspiration in a hurry? Our Christmas gift ideas and Saint Nicholas gifts for the shoe and the sack are sorted by moment.