9 Tips For Throwing The Perfect Baby Shower
Home » CELEBRATE » Baby Shower Ideas »Baby Showers are a growing trend in the UK and are a great way to celebrate the forthcoming new arrival with the parents-to-be. It’s a chance for mum and dad to relax and have a bit of fun before the joys of new parenthood arrives…along with sleepless nights and dirty nappies! For friends and family to gather together and shower the guests of honour with good wishes and of course, baby shower gifts!
I threw a Pink Flavoured Baby Shower for my sister and brother-in-law back in 2012 and it was one of the most exciting parties I have ever planned! A new baby in the family was a joyous occasion, especially as there hadn’t been one for 13 years! I’m going to share with you my 9 Tips For Throwing The Perfect Baby Shower, and hope that you will find some ideas and inspiration from this post.
1. The Date!
Six to eight weeks before baby is due is the best time to host a baby shower – just incase the little one decides to make an early appearance!
2. The Colour!
I’m quite the traditionalist – pink for girls and blue for boys – at least, for a baby shower! If the parents know the gender of their baby, then decorating in that colour brings everything together. If the gender is not known, then neutral colours like white, cream and pale grey, mixed with lemon, peach or mint green would be gorgeous.
3. The Invitations!
Invitations are so important – they give the guest all the important information – the date and time of the baby shower, where it is and of course, the RSVP details. I always make my own invitations using a graphics programme on my computer, but there are websites like PicMonkey or Fotor you could use too. These kinds of invites could easily be sent by email – and are nicer than just a boring old text email. If you haven’t got a designer bone in your body, you can of course, buy ready-made invitations and mail them. Make sure you send them out in plenty of time so that you know how many people you will be catering for.
4. The Decorations!
When it comes to decorating for a party, you can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. Think back to your colour choices and how you could incorporate those into your decorations. Tissue paper is inexpensive and can be used to make rosettes in lots of different sizes that you can hang everywhere in the party room. Customise plain white baby vests and hang those on a makeshift clothes line, or just buy some flowers to spruce things up.
5. The Food & Drink!
The type of food and drink that you serve at the baby shower will depend on a few things – is it in the morning/afternoon/evening, is it just a few nibbles, or a full on buffet? Only you can decide this…whatever you do, do keep it simple, with the minimum of fuss and preparation for you; buy in if you have to, don’t feel bad if you’ve not made every single thing from scratch!
How about a brunch? Buy some baked goods, cut up a platter of fruit, some granola, some juices and coffee, a perfect mid-morning meal! Or what about afternoon tea which is something which always goes down well – some dainty sandwiches, a selection of cakes and a pot of tea – what could be easier? Then for the evening, some elegant canapes and some fizz – non-alcoholic for the mum-to-be of course!
It’s fun to theme some of the food too – I made these cute Little Miss Pink Pudding Shots using pink pudding and whipped cream in tiny shot glasses. Another easy party food to make are Marshmallow Pops; just skewer big marshmallows with lollipop sticks, dip into melted white chocolate (or coloured candy melts if you can buy them) and cover with sprinkles. Simple, pretty and delicious!
Don’t forget drinks – you can buy pink lemonade, and there are even blue drinks on the market too. Instead of glasses, serve them in cheap baby bottles (you can buy them in pound shops) with straws!
6. The Games!
What is a party if it doesn’t have a few games? They are a great way for everyone to mingle – especially if there are guests who don’t know each other, and they can be downright funny too!
Here are some of the games I organised for my sister’s baby shower…
- Guess the Famous Kids Quiz – photos of famous people when they were children – who is who?
- Guess the Baby Food – labels removed from jars of baby food and everyone has to taste and guess what flavour it is.
- Guess the Date/Weight of Baby – the right answer won’t be revealed until birth day!
- Eew! Nasty Nappies – this one was a riot! Melt various chocolate bars and squish each one inside a disposable nappy – everyone has to take a look and guess the chocolate bar!
- Make a Baby – use modelling clay to make a model of a baby – the parents to be judge the winner.
7. The Gifts!
The whole idea of a baby shower is to shower the mum-to-be (and dad!) with gifts, after all, it’s their special time! I love making up gift baskets; it means I can pick out lots of different things and create something special and unique. You can give gifts to the parents as well as for the new arrival, and if you are really organised, you could be super stealthy and find out what the mum-to-be needs for her baby and perhaps pass this information around to them. I don’t think we’re quite at baby gift registry level in the UK just yet!
8. The Memories!
Of course, it’s lovely to celebrate the impending arrival of a new baby, to shower the parents with gifts and to have a fun party with friends and family, but the most important thing is the memories! I made some Wishes for Baby letters that all the guests could fill out, filling out prompts for their wishes for the new baby like “I hope you love…” and “I hope you never forget…”. These make a great keepsake, and I actually reprinted these for my niece when she turned one in 2013, so we could all make wishes for her now that she was one!
9. The Thank Yous!
I always like to thank guests for coming to any party that I throw by giving them a little thank you favour to take home with them. Something as simple as a lollipop with a tag attached saying Ready to Pop! is perfect!