Silver Spoons for Babies: A Keepsake Gift Guide
A silver spoon is one of the oldest and best-loved gifts for a new baby, given to mark a birth or a christening and kept long after the baby has grown. It is a gift that lasts, which is exactly why people still choose it. This guide explains why a silver spoon for a baby carries such meaning, how to decide between a silver spoon for baby feeding and a keepsake, what to look for when you buy, and which of our handmade Cypriot pieces suit a new baby’s arrival.
If you are choosing a gift and want to get it right, you are in the right place.
Why Give a Baby a Silver Spoon?
Giving a baby a silver spoon is a tradition that goes back centuries. Silver was long a symbol of comfort and security, so a silver spoon became a way of wishing a child a settled and happy life. That is the same idea behind the saying “born with a silver spoon”, and you can read the full story of where it comes from in the meaning behind the silver spoon. The custom has deep roots in christenings in particular, where godparents once gave silver spoons to mark the day.
What makes it such a good gift is not luck or symbolism alone. It is that a silver spoon endures. A soft toy is outgrown, and a card is put away, but a silver spoon can be used for a baby’s first meals, then kept, engraved, and passed on. Many families keep a christening spoon for a lifetime and hand it to the next generation. That sense of permanence is why a silver spoon still feels right when so many baby gifts do not.
Silver Spoon for Baby Feeding or Keepsake: Which to Give?
There are really two kinds of silver baby spoons, and knowing which one you want makes choosing easy.
A silver spoon for baby feeding is designed for use. It is small, light, and softly rounded, sized for a little mouth, and it is lovely for those first spoonfuls before being cleaned and kept. A keepsake or christening spoon is chosen to be treasured rather than used every day. It might be displayed, engraved with the baby’s name and date, and kept as a memento of the occasion.
Neither is better than the other. If you want the gift to be part of daily life for a while, choose a feeding spoon. If you want a pure keepsake for a christening or naming day, choose a spoon to be engraved and kept. Some people give one of each, one to use and one to keep. Our handmade Lattice feeding spoon is a good example of a piece that works both ways, gentle enough to use and fine enough to keep.
What to Look for in a Silver Baby Spoon
A few simple things separate a spoon worth keeping for a lifetime from one that will not last. When you are comparing baby silver spoons, look for:
- Real silver rather than silver plate. Silver-plated spoons wear over time, while real silver lasts and holds its value. Silver baby spoons are often sold as sterling silver, which means the metal is 92.5 percent silver. If a spoon carries marks, you can check what they are. Our short guide on how to tell if a silver spoon is real shows you how.
- A comfortable size and a smooth, rounded bowl. For a silver spoon for baby feeding, small size and gentle shape matter most, with no sharp edges. Around twelve centimetres is a natural size for a baby spoon.
- Weight and balance. A good spoon feels solid without being heavy, and sits well in the hand.
- Whether it can be engraved. A name, a date or a few words turn a spoon into a personal keepsake. Check that the piece has room for engraving if you want it.
- How it is presented. A gift box makes a silver spoon feel like the occasion it marks, which matters when it is a christening present.
Get those right and you have a gift that will still be treasured in twenty years.
Handmade Silver Feeding Spoons from Lefkara
Our feeding spoons are made by hand in Lefkara, a village in Cyprus known for its silver, and worked in filigree, the craft of shaping fine silver threads into open, lace-like patterns. That is what gives each spoon its detail, and why no two are quite the same.
The Lattice feeding spoon has an openwork filigree handle in a lattice pattern, small and light for a baby yet fine enough to keep as a memento. The Medallion feeding spoon carries a rounded filigree medallion at the top of the handle, a slightly more formal look for a christening gift.
Both are handmade silver, both can be engraved, and both are made to move from a baby’s first meals to a keepsake on a shelf. You can see them, and the rest of the range, in our handmade silver spoon collection.
A Christening or Naming-Day Keepsake
If you would rather give a spoon to be kept than used, a teaspoon or a coffee spoon makes a beautiful christening or naming-day keepsake. It is the right size to engrave and easy to display or tuck away safely.
Our Acanthus teaspoon is a classic choice, with a leaf-inspired handle worked in filigree, and it doubles happily as a keepsake and an everyday teaspoon later in life. For something smaller, the Lattice coffee spoon makes a delicate christening gift that the family can go on using with their coffee for years. Either can be engraved with the baby’s name and christening date, which is what turns a lovely spoon into a family keepsake.
Caring for a Baby’s Silver Spoon
Silver is easy to look after. Wash a baby’s silver spoon by hand in warm water with a little mild washing-up liquid, rinse it and dry it straight away with a soft cloth, and keep it out of the dishwasher. If it darkens over time, that is tarnish, which is normal and lifts with a soft polishing cloth.
Stored dry, a silver spoon stays bright with very little effort. There is a full, gentle method, including guidance on caring for filigree detail, in our guide to cleaning silver spoons. As with any feeding spoon, use it with the normal care you would give a baby at mealtimes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a Silver Spoon Safe for a Baby to Use?
Silver has been used for eating utensils for a very long time and is well suited to it. Choose a smooth, softly rounded feeding spoon of a suitable size, keep it clean and dry, and use it with the normal supervision you would give any baby at mealtimes.
What Size of Silver Spoon is Best for a Newborn?
A small feeding spoon of around twelve centimetres, with a gentle, rounded bowl and no sharp edges, suits a baby well. Larger teaspoons and coffee spoons are better as keepsakes to be engraved and kept than as feeding spoons.
Can You Engrave a Silver Baby Spoon?
Yes. A name, a date or a short message can usually be engraved on the handle or the back of the bowl, which is what turns a silver spoon into a personal keepsake. Many of our spoons can be engraved, so ask when you order.
What is the Difference Between a Feeding Spoon and a Christening Spoon?
A feeding spoon is made to be used for a baby’s first meals, small and softly shaped. A christening or keepsake spoon is chosen to be kept, displayed and engraved. Some people give one of each.
See the collection
If a silver spoon feels like the right gift for a new arrival, you can browse our handmade silver baby and christening spoons. Each one is made by hand in Lefkara, and many can be engraved with a name and date to make a keepsake the family will keep.
The custom of giving silver spoons at a christening has a long history, described in Wikipedia’s article on the apostle spoon, the traditional christening gift.