A baby shower party is an event that is held by expecting parents. This shower is mainly hosted by the newborn’s parents, grandparents, or family and friends. During this event, the parents will receive gifts that will be used for the arriving child. It typically includes lots of festivities such as music, games, photography, food, and presents.

How To Plan A Baby Shower

Planning a baby shower party should be an exciting and enjoyable moment for the baby’s family. Women who are expecting a baby should always have a baby shower. Most women do not so when a baby shower is in the works it is always good to have proper planning. This is to ensure that the mother is less stressed after the baby’s birth. This is very essential for working moms who may have to take maternity leave for the first few weeks of their baby’s life.

Also, they probably haven’t been having the greatest time being pregnant and probably missed out on doing many of the things they were participating in before conception. Therefore, you should take great measures to properly prepare for this highly anticipated celebration. The following step-by-step guides will help you arrange the perfect baby shower. When you begin to plan for your baby shower you should anticipate having the shower before the baby’s birth.

Having a baby shower party after the baby is born is rare but it could also be something you should think about. This would be a great idea because it would give your child the experience of meeting all the people who will grow to love him or her. It can also be a special way to say thank you to all the people who attended the event and brought gifts.

Baby showers are usually held about 2 months prior to the baby’s due date. This will give you time to plan ahead in the event that your child arrives early. You would probably not be too thrilled to be in the delivery room on the day of your supposed baby shower.

When you start thinking about how to plan a baby shower, you can start planning anytime you would like. You can even start planning it the day that you find out you are with a child. Most people wait until they find out the sex of the baby so they can have a better idea of the type of shower they want to have. You can even turn your baby shower into a gender reveal party if you want. Just be sure to let your guest know that you would prefer to have neutral baby items instead of a specific gender type.

This would also be a good idea if you plan on having another child shortly after but do not want to have a baby shower event for your second child. That sounds bad but taking care of children can be very expensive. At the beginning of your party planning think about what type of shower you want to have. Something big and over the top, something private for just your family and friends or if you want to just have a big celebration. Be mindful of where you want to have the party. This can include if you want to have your shower outdoors, at home, or rent out a space to host your guests.

When deciding where to have your baby shower think about how many people you want to attend and if the space will hold the number of guests you want to invite. After you figure out where you want to host, and how many people you want to entertain create a budget for how much you are willing to spend on the baby shower altogether. The best way to do this is to decide what areas you want to spend your money on and what parts of the party you can take care of by yourself. Knowing the gender of the baby before the party will help you coordinate with the party planner for the colors and themes.

How To Plan A Baby Shower Surprise Party

If this will be a surprise party for the parents the person hosting the party should know this information and keep it a secret from the parents. This could be a great gender reveal party for the friends and family walking into the surprise party and finding out the sex of their baby amongst their family and friends.

After the theme preparation, a menu of the food items will be created. The food is what people will be looking forward to the most along with the shower games and prizes. The planning of your baby shower is very important. Ensure that all these things are taken into account and very thoroughly executed.

Set A Date & Time

When planning the date and time of the shower, take the due date into account. Schedule the shower before the arrival but after the first and second trimesters. This will save you the hassle of throwing a party before knowing if there will actually be a birth. If someone other than the parents is hosting the event, consult with the parents and allow them to choose the party date. As you all should know, having parties on the weekend are always ideal. Fridays are good, but you should aim to have the party on a Saturday when most people may be likely to be off work and the children out of school.

Choose A Theme  

Choose a theme or color scheme to set in place for your party. Having a theme such as a set of characters, sports team, logo, or set of colors would be ideal. This will allow you to have a simple & easy baby shower plan, that is a lot faster and smoother. Although some decorations might be a challenge to search for having a set of colors to look for will be essential. You already know what colors you need to get so if you are out and about and see something in the stores you can go ahead and pick it up. This will also be helpful for your guests when it comes to buying gift items for the baby.

Choose A Location

Select the venue where you will be having the baby shower party. If you want to stick to your budget, consider, hosting the party at the park or even in your own backyard. However, if there is a large number of guests on your invitation list, it would be beneficial to rent a building or space to host the party. When you are renting a space be sure that you adhere to the specific number of people that can fill that space at one time. A baby shower typically lasts for about  3- 4 hours. Prepare for late guests and set up times when you are renting a space for your party.

Also, have a cleanup crew in place. Larger spaces take more time to clean, and when renting a space, you rent the place for a certain amount of time. This can take a few hours, one day, or two days, depending on how long it will take you to decorate, arrange the furniture, tidy up, and lock the building before returning the keys. When selecting your location, be mindful of how long you want your party to last. 

Create A Guest List & Invitations

List all your guests’ names to invite. By listing the guests, you can determine the budget you need to prepare for the party. This will let you know how many people you would need to provide meals for. How many games you might want to play and what type of entertainment you will need If you have more guests you might want to hire an entertainment source. You may also want to have more gifts to give as prizes and a larger number of party favors, seating, and tableware.

Make sure you provide clear details and information about the baby shower when creating your invitations. This should include the date and time of the shower, where you will be having it, location directions, the dress code, and RSVP options. Also, be sure to give them some type of contact information just in case they can’t make it or they get lost on the way. 

Plan The Food Menu Items

Create a list of the type of items you want to have at the baby shower. If your shower will be an all-day event you may want to have light breakfast food, Quick lunch ideas, and a full-course dinner meal. Providing some snacks at the event would be essential especially if there will be children at the party. The snacks can consist of wings, fries, sandwiches, tacos, salad, cookies, and cupcakes, just to name a few.

Arrange Your Decorations

Make the baby shower party special by including the expectant mother’s personal tastes. You can choose to have simple or elaborate shower decorations. For each guest table, create or purchase a centerpiece. If you decide against ordering a centerpiece, think about using eye-catching gift table decor instead. These are usually some of the things you can do on your own.

This allows you to save money so that you have more money for other things like your venue rental, menu,  party favors, and prizes. As required, place orders for tablecloths, plasticware, cups, plates, napkins, and other baby shower party supplies. A core baby shower decoration is a decorated chair for the expectant mother. It makes sure she has a designated spot to sit while she unwraps her shower blessings.

Plan Your Games & Activities

Baby shower games and activities make the party more fun. It is a great way to keep your guest engaged in the party and stay longer. Be sure to create games that are gender specific as well as gender-neutral. This will give you a wider range of games that you can play while entertaining the partygoers. If there will be small children attending the party be sure that you also involve the kids. If the mom-to-be already has a child or children kid-friendly games for children that have siblings will make them look forward to attending the party. Adding some kid-friendly games will make the commemoration more enjoyable.

Prepare Your Party Favors

Create party favors that will be memorable and enjoyable. These can be in any shape or form. Be sure that when you do create your party favors that you include all the party information on the favor. This could be the date and time of the event, gender, and baby name if you already chose one. It should have a thank you item in the gift along with maybe a mint, candies, and baby gift souvenirs. This is one part of the shower where you can be the most creative. Be sure to keep it simple if you are planning to have a numerous amount of guests. Customization can come at a hefty price these days. 

Prepare & Set Up Your Gift Table

Arrange your gift table with the same theme you choose at the start of the event planning. It should be a nice clean and decorative space for the baby’s gift items. Keep the gifts off the floor unless they’re too big to fit on the table or are extremely heavy.

These are a few simple and easy ideas to consider while planning for your baby shower. During a baby shower, the main objective is to welcome the new baby into the family. If you follow this simple shower planning guide your baby shower will surely be a success. Good luck, Congratulations, and happy planning!