The one who needs the baby shower ideas is not usually the Mum-to-be but rather the friend or relative who organises the shower.
Who organises it? Who comes up with the ideas?
Baby showers can be organised by anyone close to the mum-to-be but definitely not by the mum-to-be. She should be able to relax and enjoy the event as much if not more than the other guests. Ask a trusted relative, co-worker or friend to organize your baby shower and just run the baby shower ideas by you.
When is the best time to hold it?
The last trimester is the ideal time to hold a baby shower . The organiser could even keep it as a surprise from the mum-to-be, or depending on the personality and circumstances of the mum-to-be, involve her in some or all decisions for baby shower ideas, concepts.
Who will be invited?
If the baby shower is not a secret, ask the mum-to-be who she would like to have on the guest list. Remember to ask for the names, emails or addresses of close friends that you might not know, work colleagues, antenatal or exercise class buddies. While a baby shower is often an all female affair, partners can come along, too, and it can be a nice way for the dad-to-be to feel involved. You can even ask for baby shower ideas from the invited guests.
Where will it be held?
You need to consider the type of location before deciding on how many people to invite. Ideally, the baby shower shouldn't be held at the mum-to-be's house, so she doesn't have to be concerned about cleaning the house before guests arrive or clearing up after they've gone. Ask around to see if anyone else is willing to host the event at their home. Otherwise, consider other venues eg. playgroups, church halls, cafes/restaurants (if you are not planning games ++). Any venue which has regularly hosted such an event will have baby shower ideas to offer as well.The afternoon tea is more popular for such an event . Many hotels and cafes have special menus for afternoon teas.
How much to spend on it?
If you are the organizer and paying, you may wish to ask each guest to contribute a fee to cover your expenses, many mums-to-be are happy to also contribute to expenses of course.
Should we set a theme?
Baby showers sometimes have some sort of baby theme to get everyone in the mood. You can either buy decorations with a baby theme or even make your own. Some popular ideas for baby shower themes include:
• Teddy bear's tea party -Have a Teddy shaped cake, ask guests to bring a teddy book or teddy related gift. Download teddy-bear clip-art and use on invitations, decorations.
• Nursery rhymes - decorate with toys with a nursery rhyme theme eg, spider (Little Miss Muffet), buckets etc (Jack & Jill's pail), toy boats (Row Row Row Your Boat), roses (Ring O' Ring of Roses). Follow this idea for the baby shower through to the invitations and cake.
• The cake could be in the shape of a fairy tale book. Each guest could choose a baby book as a gift.
Ask guests to sign a memento book with a few words of 'wisdom' to pass on to the prospective mum. She might not take the advice, but it could give her a few laughs!
Return to Baby Shower Gift ideas
Some guests may not be mums themselves, so it can be difficult for them to know what to buy. Have a list of suggestions with your invitation (ask the mum-to-be for hints) or here are some ideas:
• Pedicure or massage voucher for Mum
• Parental Magazine subscription
• Nappy Service (a gift for Mum and the planet)
• Frozen Meals - for those cracker chefs, preparing a meal for the mum-to-be to freeze for after the baby is born is an invaluable help.
• Classic baby and toddler books, eg. Beatrix Potter, Snugglepot and Cuddlepie or fairy tales
• Nursery rhyme or relaxing music CDs
• Bathroom Basket: first toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and shampoo
Party food ideas
If you are hosting at someone's house, you could ask everyone to bring a dish of nibbles. Some may prefer to make a monetary contribution . Make sure it is all food safe for a mum-to-be.
Baby Shower Party games and prizes
Rather than swapping labour nightmares or poo stories, why not have some fun with variations of these ideas
- Guess the mother-to-be's girth measurement (Give each mum a piece of string and get them to estimate with a knot.)
-Baby Collector- Prepare a 'necklace for each guest with string and a baby item (Safety pin, dummy etc). During the course of the party, whenever a guest uses the word 'baby', any other guest can yell out 'baby' and claim the necklace of the other (who said 'baby'). The one with the most necklaces at the end wins a prize. Make sure to explain the rules well at the beginning.
-Guess the contents- Fill a jar with safetly pins and get each guest to guess the number. One variation is to fill a large glass bowl with slightly tangled disposable nappies, squashed in and with plastic wrap on top.( a gift for Mum after!)
-Name the Baby Stuff- Give every guest pen and paper and in 5 minutes they must write down a list of baby-related items (eg. bottle, cot, bib). Who has the most wins the prize.
-Bottle Race- Fill enough baby bottles with Milk,Ice tea, juice or even wine! . Have each guest suck their baby bottle and see who can empty it first. (of course you need to use care if wine is the liquid and guests are driving!)
Goody bags for guests
Bonbonierre or a small bag of chocolates/sweets for each guest is a nice way to say thank you for supporting our mum-to-be, even a scented candle.
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