Welcoming a new baby into the family is an exciting time, and throwing a baby shower is a beautiful way to celebrate the occasion. But if this is your first time planning a shower, you may feel a little overwhelmed or unsure of where to start. Our baby shower planning guide will walk you through each step of the process, so you can start planning with confidence.
Planning a Baby Shower Checklist
Planning a shower doesn’t have to be complicated. The most complex parts are choosing a theme and finding a venue. All the rest will fall into place rather easily.
Here’s how to plan a baby shower in 5 simple steps:
- Choose the Theme and Invitations
- Choose a Venue
- Plan the Food
- Plan the Entertainment
- Choose Party Favors
Choose the Theme and Invitations
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The first step to planning a baby shower is choosing the theme. The theme you choose will dictate which decorations you choose and the invitation.
There are so many fun baby shower themes to choose from, such as:
- Bees
- Woodland
- Nautical (baby on board!)
- Moon and stars
- Baby elephants
- Rubber ducky
- Sunflowers
- Giraffes
Once you’ve chosen a theme, you can start designing or choosing invitations and decorations.
If you’re short on time, you can find entire kits or packages for baby showers that include backdrops, invitations, balloons, streamers and more.
Choose a Venue
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Next, consider where you’ll host the baby shower. Choosing a venue is an important decision, so make it carefully. At this stage, you should also sit down and create the guest list.
Knowing how many people will attend will help you choose a venue. The bigger the guest list, the bigger the venue.
Keep in mind that the parents-to-be will be nesting, so they may not want to travel too far. A local venue is ideal, as it will also make it easier for guests to attend.
Do your research and use a site like Venue Report to find the perfect place to host the shower. When comparing venues, consider the facilities and amenities they offer.
- Do they have catering options or will you need to handle the food yourself?
- Will the venue offer decorations or can you bring your own?
- Are there flexible seating options?
- What about A/V equipment?
Remember to consider costs, too.
Of course, it’s perfectly acceptable to host the shower at your home or the home of a family member. A backyard shower is perfect for spring and summer weather.
Plan the Food
If the venue does not offer catering or you want to host the baby shower at home, you’ll need to plan for food.
First, think about how many guests will be attending. If you have a large guest list, it still may be worth considering catering just to make everyone’s life easier.
Regardless of whether you’re doing the cooking or getting catering, keep the following things in mind when planning the food:
- Do you want the food to be served buffet style or will it be a more formal sit-down affair?
- What do the parents-to-be like to eat?
- What foods will complement the theme of the baby shower?
- Will there be children at the party?
Let’s say that you’ve chosen a moon and stars theme for the shower. A variety of moon pies and other galactic goodies would be perfect for this theme, and be fun for the crowd.
Don’t forget to keep young guests in mind when planning the food and consider any special dietary needs, like vegetarian, gluten-free or dairy-free. Do your best to accommodate all tastes and dietary preferences if possible.
Plan the Entertainment
Along with planning the food, venue, and theme, you’ll also need to think about what everyone will do at the party. Planning the entertainment will be the fun part.
Most baby showers will incorporate games and gift opening into the mix, along with eating and drinking.
Here are some fun game and activity ideas to consider:
Baby Shower Bingo
Bingo is always a hit, and it’s a game that will get everyone involved. For this game, you’ll need:
- Bingo templates for the guests
- Pens or markers for the boards
You can play this game while the parents-to-be are opening gifts, or while everyone is eating. Make sure that you have a prize for the bingo winner.
Diaper Raffle
The diaper raffle game is a great way to help the new parents stock up on diapers. Ask each guest to bring a pack of diapers of any size. Each pack will get the attendee a raffle ticket.
Towards the end of the shower, you can draw the winners and hand out prizes.
Ice Ice Baby
Before the party, freeze mini plastic babies in ice cube trays. Have attendees take one ice cube and put it in their cups. The first one to have their ice cube melt and have their baby freed wins a prize.
Ice Ice Baby is a fun game that everyone can participate in. Just make sure that you have enough ice cubes for everyone.
Chop Binky
The objective of this game is to pick the binkies up from the table and either place them somewhere or stack them on the chopsticks. But here’s the catch: the chopsticks must be held in the guest’s mouths.
The person who picks up the most binkies wins a prize.
Choose Party Favors
One of the last steps of the planning process is to choose the favors. It’s a tradition to hand out favors to guests who attend the shower.
Photo by 8kka ame on Unsplash
Favors can be anything you want, but popular choices include:
- Bags of candy or sweets
- Bath bombs
- Succulents
- Mini bottles of champagne
- Bags of popcorn
Choose a favor that will complement the shower theme and will be something the guests will enjoy.
Enlist the help of other family members to help you get the favors prepared. It can be a big task to put the favors together, so get as much help as you can. Another option is to buy favors that are already made and ready for giving.
Plants also make wonderful favors for baby showers and are quite easy for one person to prepare.
Conclusion
Planning a baby shower doesn’t have to be complicated. Use our planning a baby shower guide to get started and get input from friends and family to make the party a success.