A new baby is cause for celebration in every culture, but especially so among the Chinese for whom family plays such an important role in the social fabric. Here in the United States, new Chinese American parents, along with their relatives and friends, face the unique challenge of choosing which Chinese traditions to preserve while living in this country.

A great Chinese baby gift combines the contemporary with the traditional, the practical with the aspirational. Diapers, board books and swaddle blankets meet tiger shoes, pieces of jade and red envelopes. This is the great opportunity for gift givers — to beautifully balance the Chinese and the American in a gift’s design, materials or sensibility.

Here are our best Chinese baby gift ideas, along with etiquette tips for navigating the most common baby gift giving situations.

Red Envelopes

Lucky money in a Chinese red envelope is the easiest, most traditional gift when meeting a baby for the first time, whether at home or at a red egg and ginger party. Pick a design below that conveys the sentiment you wish to send.

Nursery Essentials

All parents need baby gear from swaddling blankets to bibs, table utensils to nursery decorations. Choosing the right items can add a distinctly Chinese touch to the baby’s nursery.

Baby Clothing

Baby clothing can be dressed up in a Chinese style by choosing designs incorporating the color red for good luck, tigers for protection from harm and zodiac animals for their mythical powers. You can choose clothes in the traditional Chinese style or common Western baby clothes like onesies, shirts and pajamas.

Toys & Games

These toys help kids build Chinese culture into playtime in fun and engaging ways. From bilingual building blocks to Chinese cooking sets, you can help the parents naturally and positively incorporate Chinese culture into their child’s everyday routines.

Children’s Books

This wonderful collection of children’s picture books is perfect for Chinese American kids. They feature universal storytelling that anyone can access, meaningful themes that will resonate with parents and children and inspiring characters. Include a note about story times to come and you have a terrific gift.

Silver, Gold and Jade Jewelry

Silver, gold and jade jewelry, typically in the form of bracelets or pendants are a popular gift from immediate family or close friends. The jewelry commonly features good luck characters and charms that jingle pleasantly to keep bad spirits away.

Baby Shower Gifts for Moms

It’s believed that whatever the mother experiences during pregnancy is passed on directly to the child. As a result, it’s most appropriate to choose a baby shower gift that bestows good luck on the mother, rather than the baby. These baby shower gift ideas are meant to improve the mother’s surroundings and bring her good luck.

Gift Giving Etiquette Tips

Baby Shower Gifts

Traditionally, it would be considered bad luck to hold a shower before the baby’s birth, a natural response to high infant mortality rates in the past. These days, however, baby showers are increasingly common among contemporary mothers, so don’t be surprised if you find an invitation in your mailbox.

Bear in mind that a Chinese family’s focus during pregnancy is on caring for the mother, to ensure a healthy birth. While any of the baby essentials above are appropriate gifts, in the spirit of a Western baby shower, consider instead to choose a baby shower gift that bestows good luck on the mother, rather than the baby. Soothing music, comforting books or sweetly-scented candles would reflect this sensibility.

Red Egg and Ginger Party Gifts

According to custom, mother and baby spend the first month following birth at home to rest and recuperate. It’s after these 30 days are up that you may be invited to meet the new baby along with other family and friends at a traditional celebration called a red egg and ginger party.

Guests receive red eggs, representing luck and unity, and pickled ginger, which rebalances the body after childbirth. In return, the most appropriate gift to bring is a Chinese red envelope filled with lucky money that bestows prosperity on the new baby. Most guests combine a red envelope with a physical baby item to make their gift feel more fun and substantial.

Meet the Baby Gifts

You know this get together, right? Good friends invite you over to meet the 6 week old baby and the door opens to reveal two exhausted parents with tales of late night feedings and spit ups. This is “meeting the baby” in the era of harried dual income families and minimal parental leave.

As a gesture of support to the new parents, it’s still appropriate to bring a Chinese red envelope filled with lucky money, along with a physical baby gift. As is the custom here in the United States, a frozen casserole to save the couple from cooking is also welcome.

Your turn! Do you have a favorite baby gift? Please let me know in the comments section below!