I have extremely mixed feelings about baby showers. On one hand, I love baby showers because I love any excuse to throw a party. However, I also get a little freaked out knowing that I am now old enough to have friends with children. My mother has to write out explicit instructions on how to feed our fish when she leaves town, and my friends are over here bringing life into this world. Way to make a girl feel inadequate.
I helped host my first baby shower last month and would now consider myself as much of an expert as a 24-year old can be in baby-related parties. See below for my tips and tricks, as well as photos from the shower!
Theme It Up
I firmly believe that all baby showers should have a theme, and it shouldn't be 'newborn.' Most of the time you'll see baby showers that center on the theme of the future child's nursery, which I think is a fantastic choice and what we did for our shower. The baby's nursery is Toy Story themed and everything from the food to the decor to the invite incorporated that theme in one way or another.
If you happen to be throwing a shower for someone with a neutral baby room (which seems like almost everyone these days) then base your theme on colors, rather than an activity. Or better yet, encourage your friend to think outside of the box and do more for their future child's room than paint it a pastel color and cover it in white linens.
Invitations
Since it isn't your pregnancy or a party celebrating you, it may be tempting to send out an e-vite rather than a paper invitation. DO NOT DO THIS. The golden rule is to treat others as you would want to be treated, and this applies to party planning as well. When it's your turn to bask in your pregnancy glow and open gifts, do you want your friends taking the cheap route with a cheesy e-vite? I would hope the answer is no.
Other than bringing in the party theme, baby shower invitations follow a similar flow to other party invites. Drop-in events for a baby shower are great because there isn't a lag in the excitement. New people are always coming in and creating new conversation topics and bringing new gifts. Send your invites at least 4 weeks prior to the shower(people make plans early) and set a specific date for RSVPs. However, keep in mind that there are always people who show up without sending in an RSVP and others who promise they'll be there and never show.
Sorry for the white boxes! Just trying to protect personal information.
Decorations
I've already explained how important a theme is when throwing a baby shower. Basing your party on the baby's nursery is a great way to get easy decoration ideas. Luckily for us, the future mother had a ton of Toy Story toys for her nursery and was kind enough to donate them to the shower. The characters really livened up the food table and reminded everyone what the theme was.
Baby showers don't need to be too serious. Take the opportunity to embrace your inner child and go all out with the decorations.
Using nursery decorations and toys is an easy way to jazz up a baby shower food table.
Putting these Green Army Men around the cupcake tray was probably my favorite set-up!
This is what happens when you let someone with a sarcastic attitude (aka me) write on the chalkboard. Keep it light at a baby shower!
Food & Drink
Probably the most important thing I learned while hosting this baby shower was that you don't serve alcohol. I understand pregnant women shouldn't drink, but I'm not sure why the rest of us have to abstain. As for the food itself, you don't need to go overboard. Some small sandwiches, fruit plates, dip and dessert are all you really need (especially if it is just a drop-in event). Also, if your food table is looking a little boring, blue or pink flowers are a great way to liven up the decor and make everything look more appetizing.
Every shower I've ever been to (baby, bridal, etc.) has had chicken salad sandwiches. It's an easy-to-make option.
You can't have a shower without some delicious dessert. Make sure the sprinkles match the baby's gender.
My other special project- Coloring in the HEs on Hershey's bars. This can also work for a baby girl. Just color in the SHE.
Gifts
I learned something very important at this baby shower- Even if you have a registry filled with basic necessities, no one will use it. People want to buy baby clothes, not diapers, bottles or anything else that your baby actually needs to survive. I also noticed that many people don't have good taste in baby clothes, but that is a different topic.
Now, I am an offender of this myself, as my mother and I deviated from the registry and purchased a Kate Spade baby bag and adorable white shoes. But, in my opinion, it's okay to completely ignore the registry if your gift is absolutely amazing (which obviously anything from Kate Spade is). Moral of the story- If you don't want to purchase something basic from the registry, at least try to bring something functional along with your cutsie onesie. The parents will greatly appreciate it.
If you didn't want to be a mother before, this baby bag will definitely convert you.
For the gifts that do arrive, it's important to do two things. 1) Make sure that the future mother opens all gifts in front of the people who brought them. This is especially important for a drop-in shower. The mother needs to be constantly opening gifts so that everyone can see the joy on her face as she unwraps her items. 2) Set up a gift table to display all of the gifts. This is also especially necessary in a drop-in. People coming in late have an opportunity to view all of the gifts that have already been opened, which means the mother doesn't have to answer the question 'What all have you gotten?' 500 times.
The gift table! How amazing are those painted letters?
Manners Moral: Like all parties, baby showers require certain rules to be followed. However, the most important thing is that the future mother is showered with love and congratulations during her pregnancy.