Baby Keepsake Ideas

Your little one is finally here! All of the planning and excitement over the nine months of your pregnancy has resulted in a wondering new baby, and you can’t stop yourself from marvelling at their precious fingers, toes, and chubby cheeks. But countless parents will tell you that the years fly by. That’s why it is so crucial that you create keepsakes that will help you remember these days for the rest of your life.

Your wee baby will be a toddler in the blink of an eye, then attending nursery, before cycling away on their first ‘big kid’ bike. Then comes primary school, secondary, and sixth form, their first broken heart and their last tuck-in goodnight. Before you know it, you’ll be attending your child’s university graduation and wondering where all the time went.

It’s hard to believe as you gaze at your sweet little infant, but it’s true! The best way to combat the speed of time is to start documenting your little one’s big moments and milestones. Some parents do this by creating scrapbooks or memory boxes; others quilt meaningful blankets from their outgrown baby clothes, still others create baby fingerprint jewellery that they can treasure forever.

No matter what you choose to do to mark the passage of time, you’ll thank yourself in twenty or thirty years when you can look back and remember this special time. Your children will be eternally grateful that you created such a meaningful tribute to their childhoods. If you have older children at home, get them involved as well – they’ll be delighted to help with drawing and crafting, and it will make the end result so much more meaningful.

12 Brilliant Baby Keepsake Ideas

Here is a list of the 12 timeless baby keepsakes that we absolutely love. Use these ideas to create your own perfect keepsake to cherish for the rest of your life. You can also gift them to your child at the special milestones in their life.

1. Create a shadow box filled with their ‘firsts’ – We love the idea of creating a new baby shadow box filled with some of the most special items from your pregnancy and their first few months. Consider adding your baby’s first scan photo, their teensy little Hospital ID band, and ink prints of their bitsy hands and feet. You can also add their wee knitted cap, a pair of booties, a rattle, a pacifier, and even a swath of their first baby blanket. Add their name in a unique script, along with some key dates, a nickname, or a special sentiment.
2. Frame their first baby blanket – While you can add a small piece of their first blanket to their baby book, scrapbook, or quilt, some people choose to frame their sweet baby’s blanket in its entirety. The more worn and unravelled, the more meaningful this framed wall hanging will be. Hang it on their childhood bedroom wall, or keep it stored for the future when you can present it to them upon the birth of their first child. You could also frame their first formal outfit, first Christmas dress/suit, or their christening gown. The frame will prevent moth holes, water damage, and mildew over the years.
3. Bronze their first pair of shoes – While this might sound like a bit of a retro suggestion, bronzed baby shoes are making a comeback. Many engraving shops still offer this service, allowing you to preserve your baby’s tiny little feet. When they’re in their teens, you’ll marvel at how small they once were! They make an adorable knickknack on your shelf.
4. Create a customised scrapbook just for them – Over the past few decades, people have become increasingly creative with their baby scrapbooking ideas. More than just a way to preserve photos, scrapbooking allows you to incorporate documents, tickets, hospital bracelets, and other 2D mementoes. Doll your scrapbook up with stickers, picture corners, and so much more. You’ll find the more you scrapbook, the more creative you become!
5. Fill in a baby book – You’ll find many different baby books available online. These differ from blank scrapbooks in that they include specific pages for various milestones in your baby’s life. You’ll be prompted to add photos, locks of hair, written notes, and a lot more. Some baby books transition into childhood, their teenaged years, and even through to university. They will be eternally grateful that you took the time to present them with this special gift.
6. ‘Baby book’ websites – These days, nearly everything is online, so it makes sense that some parents are choosing to document their child’s lives on their very own digital baby book. You can start your own website and only give the password to friends and family, or you can use one of many online platforms designed for just this purpose. The benefit to an online baby book is that it can never get lost, it can never get damaged, and it can be shared with friends and family around the world.
7. Baby handprint kit – Nothing is cuter than a baby’s ickle hands and feet! Why not put them in a mould so that you can create a keepsake that will remind you of this special time forever. These kits include non-toxic clay and a three-window frame that allow you to display the prints alongside photos. These also make a perfect gift for grandparents, godparents, aunts, and uncles. It is such a unique idea.
8. Customise baby fingerprint jewellery – As mentioned above, there is something so sweet about your little one’s tiny hands and feet. If you want to keep them close to your heart forever, order a piece of baby fingerprint jewellery to wear around your neck. Grandmas, Godmothers, Aunties, and best friends will also love a necklace featuring your little one’s fingerprint.
9. Have a Patchwork Memory Bear made – Are Patchwork memory bears are one of the cutest baby keepsakes imaginable? We think so! You send the company a number of your baby’s most meaningful garments, and they transform them into a sweet stuffed teddy that you can keep forever. Use it as a memento on the shelf or let your little one snuggle with it as they grow throughout their childhood.
10. Create a baby time capsule – This is a great one for getting the whole family involved. Ask your older children to help you collect their favourite outgrown baby bits, and ceremonially have them help add them to the time capsule. Your baby can get involved in their own time capsule as they get older, or you can keep it as a surprise to give them on their graduation or wedding day.
11. Quilt a special keepsake blanket – Gather up your favourite baby clothing, worn-out stuffies, baby blankets, and booties, and snip out scraps. Once you have a sizeable basket of fabric scraps, you can begin the quilting process, and then stuff it with batting. If you aren’t an avid sewer, you can find plenty of companies online who will make the perfect keepsake quilt for you. You can even transfer a few photos onto white fabric and have those squares added into the pattern.
12. Make a ‘one-second video’ throughout their childhood – We love this fun social media trend so much that we had to include it in our list. Mums and dads around the world are taking a quick one or two second video of their baby every day (or once a week), and then editing them together for an animation effect. The resulting video is charming, fun, and astonishing – you’ll be able to watch your little baby grow from a newborn to a toddler, and then onto a kiddo! If you have video editing chops, you can do this yourself, but there are plenty of online apps and websites that make it easy.

Baby keepsakes make great gifts for new parents, who might not have the time, energy, or wherewithal to think about much of anything other than sleep. By creating a meaningful keepsake for their new baby, you will be taking a massive weight off of their shoulders.

These baby keepsake ideas will fill your heart with joy years from now when you look back at the first few months and years of your baby’s life. Whether you choose to keep them yourself or pass them onto your child when they are grown, there is nothing more meaningful.