10 Must Haves For Your Baby Shower
A baby shower is a fun way to celebrate the new mom- and dad-to-be and their brand new baby on the way. You can plan to throw a baby shower for anyone close to you whether it’s your sister, cousin or friend. Planning a baby shower can take a lot of work though. We’re here to help you out by putting together a list of all the must-have items for a memorable baby shower.
Invitations
Sending out personalized invitations is a festive way to invite your guests to the baby shower and to make sure they save the date in their calendars beforehand. Sending out invitations early (ideally a month beforehand) also gives guests time to plan and shop for the perfect gift for the parents-to-be. You can look for invitation ideas here.
Food and beverage
Depending on the time of day when the baby shower is taking place, you can choose to serve brunch, lunch, a snack, afternoon tea or just some desserts and beverages. It’s best to plan what you’re going to serve ahead of time, so that you can make all necessary arrangements. Some guests might also have specific dietary requirements, such as being vegan or gluten free, so factoring that in is important as well.
The baby shower cake is a party staple! Think about the theme of the baby shower (or whether the baby is a girl or a boy) and then choose a cake with a matching design.
Party Tableware
You’ll also need paper plates, cutlery, paper cups, a tablecloth, napkins and serving pieces. These can be in line with your theme or the baby’s gender. If you need some inspiration, have a look at Shimmer and Confetti for some festive tableware ideas.
Balloons and Balloon Garlands
Nothing sets the mood for a party more than putting up balloons around the house and yard. You can choose balloon bouquets or balloon garlands in the theme of your party, in the colors of pink or blue, or letter balloons. Balloons can be put up on the front door for the guests to know which house to come to or in the backyard and in the house. Have a look here for some fun ideas!
Decorations
Decorating your home, yard or venue allows you to personalize the baby shower even more and create a festive mood. Little decorations, like cute little texts on the table, can complement your existing tableware and balloons. Think about items like fun lights, lanterns, banners, flowers, place cards or table centerpieces – anything that sparks your attention and inspires you. The parents-to-be will love walking into a beautifully decorated house and appreciate the amount of attention given to make their baby shower the coolest possible.
Fun Activities or Games
Planning an activity or game is a fantastic way to create a memorable baby shower experience. One fun activity for a baby shower is coming up with baby predictions – predicting the baby’s name, or the first word, date of birth and so on. Another fun activity is for everyone to write down their wishes for the baby and share them with the other guests and the parents-to-be.
A baby shower is also the perfect place to make the big gender reveal. You, as the host, can coordinate this with the parents-to-be.
Music
Music can really help set the tone of the baby shower and reinforce the theme. You can put together a playlist a couple of days before the party and play it from your phone, laptop or tablet. Make sure you set up proper speakers so that your guests can hear your music. Another idea is to bring in live musicians.
Presents for the Parents-to-be
Giving presents to the parents-to-be is a large part of the baby shower, in addition to celebrating the new life on the way. Guests can give the parents useful items for the baby such as baby clothes, shoes, toys, bottles or little treats for the mom to be such as hand lotion, scented candles, a journal, books of advice, books with nursery rhymes, a photo album. The choices are endless.
A Good Camera
Don’t forget to snap some pics of this big day. The parents-to-be will really appreciate having photos to look back on this day in the future. You can assign one person to be in charge of all photos and have all guests upload their photos to a shared photo-sharing site. Another idea is to put together a photo book with all of the photos from the baby shower.
Thank you notes and/or party favors
You, as the host, can send thank you notes to all of the guests and thank them for coming to the party. If you wish, you can also give your guests little party favors as they leave such as a candle, chocolate, a keychain etc.
Little Extras
You can also put together a memory book where each guest can write their best bits of advice to the new baby and the loving parents. This will be a treasured gift that the new family will be able to look back on fondly for years to come!
Also don’t forget to stock up on some of the less interesting, but yet so practical items for the party such as garbage bags, paper towels, toilet paper, soap, hand towels and cleaning products.
Hosting a baby shower is the perfect way to celebrate the mom-to-be’s pregnancy and to make sure that the baby and the parents get everything they need for their new milestone in life. It’s also a fun way to get everyone together and share advice on parenting and babies.
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