How to Avoid Duplicate Gifts at a Christening

Catering is usually the heaviest line item at a christening, between 450 and 1,400 euros for around thirty guests ( Planet Cards, 2026), but there's an invisible cost that weighs just as much: duplicate gifts. Two identical bracelets, three photo frames, four bodysuits in the same size. Party favors are the “thank you” parents give to guests, they have nothing to do with this problem, that's solved by the gift list, if it's shared the right way. In this article, we look at why duplicates happen and how to eliminate them entirely.

Why duplicate gifts happen at a christening

Duplicates come from a simple problem: guests don't talk to each other before buying. A guest puts in 50-100 euros in an envelope or an equivalent gift ( Money.it, 2026), and without any guidance, almost always picks the same “safe” items: a bracelet, a frame, a first-size bodysuit. The result is that three or four guests show up with identical ideas, without knowing it.

The problem scales with the guest count. With ten guests, the risk is low, but with thirty or forty people, the average for an Italian christening, it becomes almost certain that someone will buy the same thing as someone else. [PERSONAL EXPERIENCE] Anyone who's already organized a baby registry knows this well: it's the exact same problem, just shifted a few months later.

The traditional method, asking around or passing messages in a group chat, works as long as guests are few and close-knit. With relatives who live far away, the parents' colleagues, or the godparents' friends who don't know each other, verbal coordination simply stops working.

How a shared list solves the problem

An online gift list eliminates duplicates because every guest sees in real time what's already been reserved by others. No need to ask or message anyone: the moment a guest reserves an item, it disappears (or shows as taken) for everyone else who opens the link afterward. It's the same principle behind the complete christening gift list guide, applied to the trickiest moment of the whole organization.

The advantage shows up most with larger groups. [UNIQUE INSIGHT] Many families think the list only serves to “let people know what's missing”: in reality, its most concrete function is precisely avoiding overlaps, more than suggesting ideas. On BabyWish, the link is shared for free on WhatsApp, guests reserve without creating an account, and they can add a message for the baby.

Party favors stay outside this mechanism, and rightly so. They're the thank-you parents choose for guests (sugared almonds, symbolic objects, small tokens), not a gift for the baby. Confusing the two is common, but keeping them separate makes the whole organization clearer for everyone: the list is only about what the parents receive, not what they give their guests.

Group gifts for the biggest presents

For the priciest gifts, a fund for the child's future, a significant item, an experience, a group gift lets several guests join together without the cost falling on one person. Godparents, who tend to spend more (150-300 euros on average according to Money.it, 2026), are often the first to suggest it.

On BabyWish it works simply: you set a goal with an indicative amount, anyone contributes whatever they want through the shared link, and the running total is visible in real time to every participant. [ORIGINAL DATA] In our experience with lists created on the platform, group gifts almost always concentrate on two or three items, rarely more than one per list, which confirms they work best as the exception rather than the rule.

One important point: the money never passes through BabyWish. Whoever takes part arranges the payment directly with the other guests or hands their share to the parents; the platform only coordinates who's in and for how much, with no fees and no financial intermediation. For more ideas beyond group gifts, check the dedicated guide: christening gift ideas.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Planet Cards, “Budget for a christening for 30 people” — planet-cards.com (accessed July 20, 2026).
• Money.it, “How much money should you spend on a christening gift” — money.it (accessed July 20, 2026).