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Planning a Baby Shower

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Where do you start when planning a baby shower for a pregnant friend or family member? As with all parties or events, success will be determined by careful planning and attention to detail…

Here is a checklist of things to remember when organising a baby shower.

•    Make a plan. Do this several weeks in advance. Check with the Mum-to-be what her preferences are. Together decide on a time, date and location that will suit her. Some time after the 20th week and before the last couple of months will probably be best. By then the morning sickness is hopefully behind her and she is not so tired that she can’t enjoy the party. She will also be able to give you a list of the people she would like to attend and their contact details.

•    Try to encourage one or two mutual friends to help with the preparation, especially if the guest list is big. Many hands make light work.

•    Careful thought must be given to the invitations. If the baby’s sex is known a colour theme may be appropriate. I recently attended a baby shower for the Mum-to-be of a boy, (who has since been born) and the invitations were produced in blues, greens and purples. This coloured theme was followed through with the balloons and napkins. The invitations must contain certain clear information: the purpose of the party (ie. baby shower for _____), date, time, address (including a map or directions) and RSVP details. You could have fun creating your own invitation format to email or buy a pad of ready-made invitations to post. And make sure that the invitations are sent three to six weeks in advance of the date of the baby shower, so there is a greater chance of most of the people who are invited being able to attend. If you prefer to send email invitations you can register with web sites such as www.evite.com that specialise in this and allow people to rsvp online and for updates on the party to be emailed to the attendees.

•    You might like your baby shower to have a different kind of theme. Maybe it could be based on the season the baby is to be born ie. spring, summer, autumn or winter, a tea party, prince or princess, nursery rhymes, favourite children’s book characters etc, etc … There are so many possibilities!

•    What food are you going to serve? The baby shower I went to was around afternoon tea time and several of the guests brought finger food with them. This seemed to me to be a logical way of cutting down the preparation time of the host. Remember to serve drinks also – tea, coffee, juice and perhaps wine.

•    As the host you will need to give some thought to (and serious planning for) any games you might choose to play. If you choose wisely and get well organised ahead of time, these can be a great way at the beginning of the party to “break the ice” and get guests who possibly don’t know many (or even any) others at the gathering mixing and having fun. As the host, it is your responsibility to ensure that all the guests feel comfortable, included and welcome. As well as games, prizes are essential. Try to choose prizes that will be appropriate to any of the guests.

•    One thing that I needed guidance on before the party date was what gift to bring for the Mum-to-be. If the host is armed with a range of suitable possibilities, guests will be able to make choices which will be appreciated by the guest of honour. Baby clothes, toys, nappies and baby linen are obvious options. One that I really like is books. A child can never have too many books. And the possibilities are endless. Make sure that there is a place, perhaps a table, readily available for gifts to be left. And I think it is nice to allow time during the party for the Mum-to-be to open the presents. As host you will be pretty busy during the opening of presents, unless you delegate to someone else, recording who gave what, so the Mum-to-be can confidently write her thank you notes soon after the party.

Good luck with the planning and preparation of your baby shower. And remember, if you are well organised you will be able to have fun with your guests on the day.

A selection of games to play:

•    Baby bottle / lolly guessing game. Make sure you count the number of jelly beans (or any other favourite lolly) as you fill a baby’s bottle. The winner is the person whose guess is closest to the actual number in the bottle.
•    Who is that baby? When sending out the invitations you will need to request that each guest brings a baby photo. They will need to be stuck (I suggest with blu tack) to a long sheet of paper and then numbered. Some will be harder than others to recognise.
•    How big is Mummy’s tummy? Guests use string or wool or toilet paper cut / torn to the length they think is correct.
•    Draw the baby. Each guest places a paper plate on her head and draws what she thinks the baby will look like. Ask the guest of honour to choose the winning picture.
•    What’s in the bag? Number each paper bag and place a different baby item, such as baby bottle, rattle, pacifier, nappy, toy, bottle of baby food etc in each. Pass the bags around.
•    Nappy race. Contestants, while blindfolded, put a nappy on a doll or teddy bear and are timed.
•    Nappy toss. Wet 10 cloth nappies and fold them. Contestants stand behind a line a suitable distance away from a nappy bucket. The competition is to see which guest can get the most nappies into the bucket.
•    What do you remember? The Mum-to-be walks twice around the room carrying a tray of 10 to 15 baby items. When she leaves the room, the guests are asked to record, in detail, what she was wearing, not what was on the tray.

Article by Robyn McGahan

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Gifts
Written by Heidizzle, on 10-09-2009 08:17
I think another good present is a pamper voucher for the mum to be (eg massage, manicure, facial etc), it's nice for her to get something just for her.

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