Let’s be honest. Baby showers bore many women like you who will send gifts but beg off from actually attending. Then comes the day you find yourself pregnant, and you just know somebody’s planning a baby shower for you. Uh oh. How to deal with this?
Well, you might try helping plan your own baby shower. Correct the things that you think could bore you to tears. And when everyone shows up with their gifts and generous attitudes, you will be so glad you’ve got friends like them.
So, let’s consider how you would plan a baby shower for your very best friend or yourself.
If you don’t like the “test” games, play interactive games or games that rely on chance. Don’t like having to sit in one spot for hours? Plan activities that require you to mingle, compete in teams, have a cheerleading contest, teach Grandma the YMCA dance, and walk around a buffet table.
A shower typically ranges from about 5-20 people, more or less. An intimate group gives people time to visit with the mother.
A good time for the shower would be 1-2 months before the baby’s due date. If the shower is held later, there is always a chance that the baby will arrive early and make it to his/her own shower. If possible, the shower should be held before the birth.
Maternity clothes for baby showers play a vital role in making you look gorgeous and feel comfortable during the event. An empire-waist maternity dress does wonder when it comes to throwing a baby shower. Buy the one if you’re hosting your own baby shower. Otherwise, you can gift any maternity wear if it is a baby shower of your very best friend.
As men take a more active role in raising the children, a men-only shower has become, if not common, at least heard of. A close friend of the dad usually arranges it. These don’t usually involve games and can be held at a restaurant or bar or someone’s home with sports games or video entertainment. For gifts, the guys could bring gift certificates or a package of diapers.
A co-ed shower is usually more of a party than a shower. Barbecues are popular for co-ed parties. If you think the guys might be up for shower games, give it a try. Most games work with co-eds or can be slightly modified to fit the bill. They might be all the more amusing with guys.
Viewpoints differ on whether to have a shower for a mother’s second child and so forth. If you believe every impending birth is worthy of this honor, you might just tone down the gift-giving. Guests just bring essentials like diapers, formula, and pop-up towelettes.
Sometimes adoption proceedings don’t go as planned. A shower for an adopted baby should be after the couple has adopted the child. The shower should be put off for a month or two to allow the new parents to bond. When picking out invitations, try to find special adoption invitations. The invitations make sure people know that the baby is adopted to avoid inadvertent remarks that may cause discomfort.
To surprise the mother or not? Not always the best choice. But, if you do surprise her, make sure you talk to the mothers and fathers of the mom-to-be to find out what family members to invite.
Events usually go this way. Serve to light appetizers and have each guest introduce themselves once everyone has arrived. They will also tell how they know the mom-to-be. Play 2-4 shower games as ice-breakers. Let everyone graze the food table. Once everyone has been served, the mother-to-be can start opening her gifts.
If the mother-to-be is older or just not into games, you may choose to have a nice dinner or tea at a restaurant or your home. However, if many people don’t know each other, a few sit-down games would help get guests involved and have fun. Discuss the idea with the mother-to-be for her opinions during planning.
Be sure to have someone write down each gift and who it is from. It will make sending thank-you notes a lot easier. People chat and usually leave a few at a time. Ensure the mother-to-be gets to say goodbye to everyone, and the hostess thanks the person for attending. If the hostess has shower favors, they should hand over this to the guest who is leaving.
Serve finger foods, snack food, cake, ice cream, and a fruit or vegetable tray. Do not serve alcoholic drinks out of respect for the mother’s pregnancy. You may even have a barbecue or picnic.
In some regions, it is unheard of to give favors. In other areas, it is considered rude not to acknowledge their presence with a favor. Base your decision on what you have experienced at showers you have attended locally.
At the beginning of the shower, start passing around a journal. In it, ask people to write some advice for the new mother. Present this as a gift to her at the end of the shower. This works best for first-time mommies. It gives the guests a chance to think of what they would like to write to the mother-to-be. Also, it is helpful if you make a note on the shower invitation that this will be done. The invitation might read, “We will be making a special list at the shower with advice for the mother-to-be. Please be thinking about words of wisdom you would like to share.”
Sometimes special corsages centered around baby pacifiers are made for the mother-to-be. The corsage is pinned to the mommy-to-be using a diaper pin.
Pass out single-use cameras to a few people as they arrive to help capture all the special moments as an additional gift to the mother-to-be. Of course, they leave the cameras at the party for the hostess to process for the last and maybe a most meaningful gift.
