Helpful Baby Shower Planning – How To Throw Your Own Baby Shower
What comes to mind after hearing the four magical words, “We’re having a baby?” A baby shower, of course. Planning a baby shower or taking part in organizing a party with the expectant parents’ closest friends and family members is the perfect way of expressing “Congratulations,” or “We’re happy for you,” or “Best wishes.”
Aimed at further boosting the parents-to-be excitement for the future member of their family, the baby shower is usually hosted by a close friend or relative, at any time during the last months of the pregnancy.
Just like any other party, planning a baby shower requires careful planning to ensure that it will go as smoothly as possible, and be memorable for everyone. Although there are no rules cast in stone in preparing for a baby shower, there are some helpful baby shower tips to follow to help the host organize every aspect of the event.
Panning a baby shower is a lot of fun, especially for pregnant mom-to-be. Baby showers are fun ways to celebrate and get ready for the arrival of a new baby. Whether you are throwing a shower for yourself or for someone else, a well-planned baby shower is sure to be an unforgettable event.
Before you throw a baby shower for someone there are a few things you should do to prepare. The first thing is to figure out if this will be a surprise shower or not.
There are benefits to both, the first one being if she knows she can help you with a list of people that she would like to be there. However, if it is a surprise she’ll be touched that you cared enough to throw her a baby shower, but be careful you don’t want to give her too much of surprise and put her in labor.
Baby Shower Planning Ideas: Decide on the location
Most baby showers are held at the parents-to-be house since the expectant mother’s health needs to be considered. It is recommended for small, intimate parties, with only the closest friends and family members. Guests also tend to be more comfortable if the party’s setting is at home.
If the expectant parents love the outdoors, a barbecue party in their garden or a local park may also be an option. Naturally, the weather must be considered – baby shower does not literally mean soaking the guests in the rain.
For fewer complications, the host may reserve a secluded area in a restaurant or bar. It may be more costly, but at least the decoration, food, and drinks, as well as the post-party cleanup, will already be taken care of.
Baby Shower Themes: Choose the party’s theme
For easier decoration ideas, a theme may be decided upon. Consider the expectant parents’ favorite movies or hangouts. Another option is to decorate the party site by re-creating the place where they had their honeymoon, such as a cruise ship, or Paris-inspired café.
Since the party will also be a celebration of the future baby, a childish atmosphere may also be considered. Choose cartoon characters, bright colors, and other designs depending on the baby’s gender.
Baby Shower Menu
The party’s menu will depend upon the time of the event. In most baby showers, the host serves finger food, pastries and other baked goods for convenience. However, if the event will be held during lunch or dinner time, heavier meals will naturally be served. Alcoholic drinks may also be prepared, depending on the guests’ preference.
Baby Shower Games: Design a fun program
Contrary to what most people believe, a baby shower is not only limited to mingling around, gift giving, eating and drinking. Fun games may also be included, such as charades, or those which will bring back the guests’ childhood memories. Remember that the main point is to make sure everyone will have a good time, and various games will surely liven up the event.
Baby shower games can truly make a shower memorable and fun. If you are worried about materials or ideas you can ask your guests via your baby shower invitations to bring materials or to call you with ideas. Remember that using materials for your games that can go home with the mother-to-be as keepsakes are often the best ideas of all.
Planning games for a shower can be a bit difficult when you have so many fun games and have a few gifts to pass out as prizes. Baby shower games are a lot of fun, here is a quick list:
Guess the tummy size – Each guest should measure out and cut a string that they think will fit perfectly around the mom-to-be pregnant stomach. Whoever is the closest wins a prize!
Guess the nursery rhyme – Give each guest a sheet of nursery rhymes and have them guess the nursery rhyme or finish it. This will help everyone remember them and see who reads those bedtime stories.
Never say baby – Each guest wears a necklace of string or yarn with 3-4 pins on the necklace. This game is played throughout the shower. Every time someone says “Baby” and someone catches them they must give up one of their pins. At the end of the party, the guest with the most pins wins a prize.
Memory – Using a plastic tin of some sort place a bunch of baby items in it such as bib, thermometer, baby spoon, diaper rash crème, etc. Anything you’d use on a baby. Let each guest get a chance to look in the bin for a few seconds and take it away. Once everyone is finished have them write down everything that was in the box. The person with the most correct answers wins.
Baby Food Tasting – Have a variety of baby food in jars, take off the outside wrapper and place a number at the bottom of the jar, on a separate piece of paper write the name of each jar. Each guest is dished out a spoonful of baby food to try. Have them write down what they think each one is. The one with the most correct answers wins a prize.
Name as Many baby things as you can – Each guest should write down as many baby items as they can think of within five minutes. The one with the most items gets a prize!
Baby Shower Invitations: Create the guest list and send out invitations
When it comes to making the guest list things can get a little tricky. Find out if there is anyone that would be upset if they weren’t invited. Never leave out close family or friends, at least give them the option of showing up.
Prepare a list of the expectant parents’ closest friends and family members. Make sure to seek their approval before sending out invitations, to avoid any embarrassing mistakes later. Bear in mind that it’s the parents’ event, and not the host’s, so their choice of people should matter the most.
Ready-made baby shower invitations are readily available in gift shops and craft stores. However, homemade invitations may also be used to provide the host’s personal touch.
Send out invitations out two to four weeks before the party to give time for the guests to fix their schedule. Baby shower invitations follow the same format as any other invitation — it indicates the date, time, place, attire preferred, gift registry, if any, the host’s contact numbers for RSVP. Just to be organized, prepare a final list of attendees a few days before the baby shower.
Tips To Get You Started Planning a Great Baby Shower
Baby showers are parties thrown for friends that are pregnant. This practice has significantly changed over the course of the years and has gradually become more and more elaborate and planned.
Baby showers can make an expectant mother feel more secure in the fact that her friends are all pulling for her and giving moral and financial support. Usually, the baby shower is organized by non-relatives. But today, there is isn’t abnormal to find family members, support group members, church friends and pretty much anyone except the expecting mother.
Inviting the Guests
Who should you invite? Usually, the guest list will only include those nearest and dearest to the expectant mother. It wouldn’t hurt if she gets a first look at the guest list so that she can suggest who should be invited. If you are planning a surprise baby shower, you will have to do a little research on who should be attending instead of running the list through the expectant mother.
If the child is not a firstborn, you may opt to keep the number of guests down to the closest to the mother. Firstborn baby showers tend to have a larger guest list since it is, after all, the mother’s first time.
The thing to remember is that the nature of baby showers is intimacy. So, for any baby shower party, try making the gathering one of intimate friends.
You could use informal ways to invite these guests: email, phone, and others. Invitation cards and other letters are the best way, however, as they provide tangible, traceable evidence of invitation. Plus, it is the surest and formal way to invite a person – and in many cultures – the only way.
What About the Guys
The nature of the party is probably going to tend toward the feminine side; if the organizers of the party have a provision for this, then inviting men would be fine. It also depends on the men, since the party may dwell on topics such as pregnancy, children, and other motherly topics, they might not be that excited to join. All in all, it depends on the preference of the organizers.
The Venue
Anywhere! As long as it can keep with the placid and fun nature of the occasion, any place would be fine. The more usual places on baby shower lists are backyards, formal halls, restaurants, and basically any room that has the amenities to make a baby shower successful. Just make sure the venue is not crowded and stressful to the mother-to-be. It also pays to make sure the venue is set long before the actual baby shower happens.
When to Throw a Baby Shower
Usually, this is one or two months before her due. The baby shower is the perfect time to get your friend baby needs and stuff she may not have had time to purchase yet. It has to be well-timed though – not too close to the due date, and not too far as to whittle down the excitement.
Baby showers are a pleasant surprise for expecting mothers. It takes a lot of the stress of expecting a child off of their minds and provides a means for friends to show support and concern (and of course, baby gifts) to expecting friends.
A properly coordinated baby shower will be greatly appreciated and forever remembered by mothers long after they have delivered their children.
Preparing For The Baby Shower Event
Who doesn’t get excited when a baby is on its way? Aside from their caring mothers, everyone in the family gets that certain thrill. Welcoming yet another being in this beautiful world comes with a certain joy. So how else can you celebrate a soon-to-be-child arrival? Have a blast with a baby shower party.
Planning a baby shower can be really fun. You can create your own party as you wish. You can either go traditional or put a little humor to your event. You can choose whatever theme you want. Unleash your creativity. The main goal is simply to have your baby shower unforgettable and fun for everyone.
To get you started, the tips below can absolutely help you with the steps of creating that perfect baby shower party for you.
Be Prepared
Plan ahead of time. It is best to hold baby showers either on the seventh or eighth month of pregnancy.
Look for a Perfect Location
You can opt to have your house or the backyard as your event area. If you have an extravagant budget you can scout for convenient party places which can hold your guests.
Set the Right Date and Time
Be sure to check out your guests’ availability, from there schedule where most of your expected guests can be free. Set a date that could easily fit their other engagements.
Think of the Perfect Theme
There are hundreds of baby shower themes that you can choose from. Popular choices are teddies, cartoon themes, or balloons. The possibilities are endless.
Surprise Her
To make the party more momentous, you can make a surprise baby shower for the guest of honor. Consult her close and relatives when preparing your guest list.
Impress with Invitations
Send out invitations at least three weeks before the event. Match your invitations with the theme of the party itself. Be sure that the invitations contain all vital information like date, time and sketched- up location. Be creative in designing your invitations.
Have Fun with Games
Games can give amusement to any party. Your baby shower would definitely be a hit if you have enthusiastic participation from the guests. Remember to buy prices for the winners.
Feast on Good Food
You can either decide to cook food for your guests, order from a nearby fast food or restaurant or hire professional caterers. Take note of the expected number of guests that you will have. You don’t want to end up with one or two guests without a meal.
Jazz up and Decorate
Make your venues appealing by adding items that go with your baby shower theme like balloons or toys. Just don’t overdo it. It is important to have at least one centerpiece at the site. Flowers will make a good centerpiece or cute baby accessories that you can purchase on specialty stores.
Coordinate Gifts
During baby showers, it is a common thing to have cribs or strollers in doubles or in three’s. To avoid this, you can make use of a registry list which a rundown of specified gifts you might use. Don’t you worry; your guests would appreciate it if their gifts would come unique and more usable for you and your baby.
Planning your baby shower should be a lot of fun. The excitement of doing the preparation step by step builds up as the big day comes. And even more, fulfillment is yet to come, when your little baby arrives soon!
Ideas for Baby Shower Centerpieces
There are many things you can use for a baby shower centerpiece. The more traditional centerpieces that are usually used for baby showers are floral arrangements.
You can place a selection of your favorite flowers and arrange them in a beautiful basket. If you have a theme color or motif, you can incorporate it to the décor of your flower arrangement.
There are many different sizes and shapes of a basket that you can use for your flower arrangements. The best thing about flower arrangements is that they add an element of the outdoors in your home. The freshness and beauty of these flowers would add a delicate touch to your baby shower.
If you want to make your centerpiece fun, and more delightful, you can add baby things in your floral basket such as; washcloth, soft toys, baby bottles, bears and bunnies, teething toys, small colorful socks, etc. This would fit right into the theme of the baby shower.
But if you don’t want to make your own baby shower centerpiece, you can always buy these floral centerpieces ready made.
The price varies depending on what’s included in the pack. The average price of the baby shower basket is around $60. It includes an arrangement of flowers, and baby items such as rubber ducks, soft toys, blankets, washcloth, rattles, and comb & brush sets.
Another centerpiece that is popular in baby showers is a diaper cake. Now, understand that a diaper cake is actually not an edible cake. It is a set of diapers that are arranged in such a way as to resemble a real cake! The great thing about this is that the diapers can then be used by the baby after the baby shower. This is a very practical baby shower centerpiece.
But if what you are after is a more festive mood, you can always use balloons! After all, what is a celebration without balloons?
Tie a stack of colorful balloons to a weight, then place them on your table. Balloons are very cheap. If you are working on a limited budget, then balloons are a great idea. Plus, they are so easy to find. Just run down to any party store, and voila! Balloons!
Hey! did you know that plants can be centerpieces too? Just add a toy along with a plant, like a tiny bear or a rubber ducky, and place it in a colorful pot. Instantly you have a unique baby shower centerpiece.
Fish bowls work as a great centerpiece too! Decorate your fish bowl with beads, add some water and floating candles. This would make a lovely centerpiece.
A baby shower gift basket also works as a centerpiece too. If you have received such a present in advanced, why not put it out on display. The great thing about this is that it already follows the theme of a baby shower.
The secret is to get creative. There are no rules when it comes to baby shower centerpieces. You can even use stuffed toys, and tie them to balloons.
Maybe you want to create a beach theme, you can place a small baby blanket, a toy boat, a beach ball, and even a small treasure chest!
The occasion of a baby shower is a happy occasion for a new mother and the baby on board. Baby shower centerpieces add to the atmosphere of the occasion. So just get creative and have fun with it!
Baby Shower Checklist: Get Organized
Planning a baby shower can be a lot of work. This baby shower checklist will guide you to a smooth baby shower event.
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Photo by Wes Hicks