Planning a baby shower is no mean feat, and you’ll probably be feeling a bit of pressure to make it a worthy occasion. That’s why we’ve created this guide going through everything you need to know about how to plan a baby shower. From basic tips to ideas for baby shower party favours and themes, we’ve truly covered it all.
What is a baby shower?
Maybe you’ve heard of it before but aren’t actually too sure what a baby shower is all about? Essentially, a baby shower is a chance for the upcoming parents to be surrounded by their nearest and dearest whilst being showered with love and gifts.
Some parents decide to have the baby shower before the baby arrives as a bit of a last hurrah whilst others end up waiting until the baby has been born.
Either way, it’s all about having a party complete with great food, party favours, decorations, and games – but don’t worry if you’ve not thought about all this yet, we’ll get into it later!
Who organises a baby shower?
When it comes to who’s expected to step up and organise a baby shower, this responsibility tends to fall on the mum’s bestie, a future godparent, or another close family member. But there’s also absolutely no reason why the expecting parents couldn’t throw a baby shower themselves!
Whether you’ve been tasked with this duty or have chosen to take it on yourself, your main focus should just be making sure the parents have the best time possible. Don’t stress yourself out trying to make sure every little thing is ‘perfect’ – every baby shower is unique. If we’re being real, it doesn’t take much for everyone to be joyous about such a happy event.
Tips on planning a baby shower
Apart from the obvious party planning aspects like sorting out the food and decorations, there are some other things you should nail down when organising a baby shower. For instance, have you thought about how much you’re willing to spend or who’s even going to be invited?
Before we get into the rest of our baby shower ideas, here are some general tips on planning a baby shower:
1. Set a budget early on
The last thing you want to do when planning a baby shower, or any party for that matter, is to get carried away and spend too much. That’s why it’s so crucial to set a budget early on (and then stick to it, of course).
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a baby shower on a budget either. In fact, if we’re being completely honest, everybody is going to be too busy focusing on mum and dad and their exciting news rather than any expensive décor anyway!
Sometimes the baby shower is paid for by the new parents whilst other times friends and family end up chipping in. Whatever the case, it’s important to know how much money you can afford to spend before doing anything else.
2. Sort out a guest list
Now it’s time to narrow down who you actually want to come to the baby shower.
Whilst you might be taking on the party planning alone and leaving the parents-to-be to focus on baby arrival preparations, this is probably a part that they should get involved in. After all, it’s important that they know who’s coming and get to make sure everyone they want is there.
You’ll also need to send out invitations for your baby shower so that everyone knows when and where it’s all happening!
Since you should already have a budget in mind at this point, finalising your guest list will also help you determine how much you can spend per person.
3. Find your venue
If you’re keeping things casual, then the comfort of your own home or the local park would be great options. Alternatively, if money allows, you might decide to hire out somewhere a bit snazzier like a hotel or restaurant.
That’s why it’s so crucial to have your budget sorted and at the front of any decision you make. Not only that, but the number of people you’re inviting will also help you decide which venue is the perfect option!
3. Decide on a theme
It’s not something you need but some people do prefer to pick a theme for their baby shower. A theme really just helps to tie the whole thing together since everything like the baby shower decorations and invites will be chosen with the theme in mind.
Ultimately, it can just make the occasion feel extra special and it’s completely up to you whether you go big or decide to keep things understated!
Struggling to think of anything that leaves you feeling excited? Below are a couple of baby shower theme ideas that you might enjoy:
- Escape from the zoo
- Christmas came early
- Spooky but cute
- All things Disney
- Lullabies and dreams
- Ahoy baby
- A real-life fairytale
- Under the sea
And if none of these are taking your fancy, it might just be that you opt for no baby shower theme at all – as we said, there’s no rule saying you need to have one.
Baby shower food ideas
When planning your baby shower food menu, there are a few things you’ll probably want to take into account. For instance, how many guests have you got coming, what time of day is your baby shower (aka will people be super hungry or not), will you be able to sort this all yourself or can you hire a caterer, and are there any dietary restrictions or preferences to bear in mind?
On top of all that, if you’ve decided to stick to a particular baby shower theme, this may also impact the food options you have on offer!
Here are some baby shower food ideas which you might be able to take inspiration from:
- Sandwiches – These could also be easily made more on-theme by using a cookie cutter in the shape of a baby grow.
- Pizza bites – A favourite no matter your age, pizza bites are the perfect party food for a baby shower. You can either keep it simple with margherita or offer a few different flavours, it’s entirely up to you. Plus, who doesn’t love a pizza party?
- Charcuterie board – Fill a board with all the cheese, meats, crackers, and some dips you can find, and you’re already pretty much done. There’s a reason that a charcuterie board is a party food classic for adults.
- Cupcakes – Not only can they be easily decorated to fit with a certain theme, but you don’t have to worry about portion sizes like you would with a whole cake.
- Fruit salad – For a healthier alternative, it’s super simple to pull together a big bowl or platter of fruit so that guests can make their own fruit salad.
Then, from a drink perspective, it only seems fair that everyone steers away from anything alcoholic, in solidarity with the pregnant soon-to-be mum, and instead, you can offer mocktails or other non-alcoholic beverages like juice and fizzy drinks.
Baby shower party favours
A baby shower is a special occasion and party favours are a lovely way to thank guests for attending and serve as a reminder of the day. After all, the parents are going to be showered with all the best baby shower gifts money can buy from those attending.
Of course, it’s entirely up to you how much you decide to spend, but it’s important to remember that they don’t need to be expensive as they’re just a token of appreciation.
If you’re not sure what sort of thing to get, here are some baby shower party favour ideas that we think would go down a treat:
- Bottle opener – There’s no need for baby bottles unless there are any newborns present, but your grown-up guests are likely to get a lot of use out of a handy dandy bottle opener.
- Grow your own kits – Whether it’s a grow your own plant or a novel twist, this serves as a subtle nod to the fact the mother has just grown a whole human!
- Pick ‘n’ mix bags – Take people back to their own childhood by handing out some pick ‘n’ mix bags full of their favourite sweets from when they were little.
- Tamagotchi – It’s only right that everyone should get a taste of the responsibility that comes with being a parent, and what better way to do that than with an iconic Tamagotchi toy?
Baby shower games
Now, the last thing you want at any party is for people to just stand about doing nothing – just imagine how boring that would be! That’s exactly why it’s a great idea to have some baby shower games planned and at the ready.
If you’re not sure exactly what counts as a ‘baby shower game’, we’ve got a couple of ideas for you below:
Mummy or daddy
You might have already guessed by the name of this game, but this is just another take on the classic Mr and Mrs. However, instead of questions relating to one another and your relationship, it’s all about what you’d be like as parents.
For instance, you might ask questions along the lines of:
- Who’s going to be changing more nappies?
- Which parent is going to be the strictest?
- Who will be the best at reading bedtime stories?
- Who will want another baby first?
Guess who: baby edition
This one requires a bit of planning ahead but basically you just want to get as many of your guests to send you pics of them as a tot. From there, you can create your own guess who boards on paper where everyone has to match up the baby pics to the adults at the party.
This is a fun little icebreaker that allows you to see who looks the exact same compared to when they were teeny as well as who has grown into a completely different person.
And that’s it from us. Now you should be full of all the knowledge and inspiration you need to go ahead and throw the most epic baby shower!
Baby food taste testers
A combination of both an activity and a party game, everyone’s going to be a baby food connoisseur by the end of this one! There’s all sorts of interesting baby food flavours on the market so you’d be a fool not to take advantage of this.
Lay out all the different baby food options you can find and have your party guests guess the flavour they’re tasting, the most correct answers wins – simple enough, right? Along the way, you’re probably going to find ones that you’d feel bad even giving to a tot or others that become a secret favourite.
Aside from the party planning side of things, you’ll also want to pick up one of our new baby cards to send to the new parents (complete with a sweet baby shower message inside, of course!).
Below you can have a sneak peek at the wonderful original designs our creators have come up with for this special occasion:
As you might have sensed, we love to celebrate all sorts of occasions here at thortful, and that includes the arrival of little bundles of joy. Whether you’re in need of some godparent proposal ideas or inspiration on what to write in a baby thank you card, you can find all sorts of articles over on our blog.
