Looking for funny gifts for new parents? Start with something that makes them feel understood, rather than something else telling them how to parent. They may already have a drawer full of muslins and several conflicting opinions about bedtime. A gift that acknowledges the ridiculous bits can be a welcome change.
The trick is knowing your audience. For the friend who enjoys dry humour, rolls their eyes at unsolicited advice and can find something funny in a spectacularly unsuccessful trip out of the house, an irreverent gift can feel much more personal than another vaguely inspirational slogan.
What makes a good funny gift for a new parent?
The best choice feels like a shared joke, not a judgement. Think less “you’re doing it wrong” and more “yes, this is absolutely ridiculous, and you’re not the only one”.
Look for humour that matches the person you’re buying for. Some parents love sentimental keepsakes. Others would rather laugh at the administrative operation involved in leaving the house with a small human. Neither is wrong. They just require very different presents.
A funny parenting book that isn’t another instruction manual
Parenting Bollocks is The Kelly Machine’s illustrated field manual for the chaos of raising children. It covers sleep deprivation, tantrums, soft play, school WhatsApp groups, family holidays and the unsolicited advice that somehow arrives without anyone ordering it.
Rather than offering another system to follow, it turns familiar parenting situations into incident reports, flowcharts, licences, risk assessments, checklists and official-looking forms. Because apparently keeping a small human broadly operational wasn’t quite enough paperwork.
The humour is dry, irreverent and a little bit inappropriate. That makes it a good fit for the mate who will enjoy the title, not the relative who will spend the entire baby shower pretending they haven’t seen it.
Choose a gift for the parent, not just the baby
Baby presents have their place. But if you’re buying for a new mum or dad, it’s worth choosing something that recognises them as a person too, with their own taste, personality and sense of humour.
A funny book can be paired with something straightforward: their favourite snacks, a coffee, or an offer to bring dinner. Keep the message simple. “Thought this might make you laugh” usually does more work than a paragraph about cherishing every moment.
Is a funny parenting book suitable for a baby shower?
It can be, if you know the recipient’s sense of humour. Parenting Bollocks is intended for readers who enjoy a less wholesome take on parenthood, and its topics stretch beyond the newborn stage into toddler negotiations, birthday parties and school life.
That makes it an option for first-time parents as well as people already familiar with the strange negotiations involved in getting shoes onto a child. If you’re unsure about swearing or the setting, save it for a birthday or give it privately.
For the parent who questions every family saying
If your recipient is more interested in weird facts and pub trivia than parenting humour, consider Old Wives’ Bollocks.
This illustrated myth-busting book investigates familiar claims about health, food, bodies, babies, weather and household remedies. Think “carrots help you see in the dark”, warnings about wet hair and the supposedly seven-year residency of swallowed chewing gum.
Each myth receives an explanation and a verdict, from TRUE to BOLLOCKS, with a few shades of uncertainty in between. It’s built around absurd diagrams, evidence exhibits, scientific charts and vintage-style visual nonsense. A useful alternative for someone who would enjoy discussing family folklore more than reading another word about bedtime.
Which book should you choose?
Choose Parenting Bollocks for the parent who enjoys laughing at the everyday chaos of family life. Choose Old Wives’ Bollocks for the curious reader who loves strange facts, familiar sayings and asking, “Hang on, is that actually true?”
Both books are A5, black wiro-bound and illustrated in full colour, designed and published by The Kelly Machine.
A good funny gift doesn’t need to solve parenthood. That would be an unreasonable expectation of a book. Making someone feel seen, and giving them something to laugh at, is a perfectly respectable start.