Baby Showers – Tips for Planning a Baby Shower

Many people find it difficult to plan baby showers. This is true especially when the baby shower is a surprise party that you are planning for someone close to you. You not only want to impress the mother-to-be, but also the guests who will be attending the shower. The desire to please places a lot of pressure on the planner. However, with the following tips, planning baby showers will no longer be so stressful.

Before you begin the actual planning of the baby shower, there are several factors that must be considered. First is, the preferences of the mother-to-be. The shower should be planned with the expectant mother’s likes and dislikes in mind. Forget about your own fantasy baby shower. Although the party is a baby shower, it is the mother who will appreciate it more that anyone. If the expectant mother is a close friend or relative, this should be easy to figure out. If you are planning the shower on behalf of someone else, ask them the preferences of the expectant mother.
You will also have to decide on an appropriate time of the day and a suitable day of the week. Many people prefer to have baby showers in the afternoon hours.

After all, the mother-to-be needs to get as much rest as possible. You should therefore avoid late night parties. A luncheon or tea party would therefore be more appropriate for a baby shower. If the guests expected at the party are housewives or self employed, you may plan the party for a week day. However, a baby shower is best celebrated on a weekend.

You must also decide on an appropriate location. If one of the guests offers their homes, ensure that it is easily accessible for all the other guests especially the mother-to-be. If not, ensure that adequate transport is provided for the guests to and from the venue.

The last and most important consideration is the budget for the baby shower. It is important to plan your party within a specified budget. It will do you no good to plan a party that is too extravagant for your pocket. Ensure that you have access to adequate funds either by collection from guests attending the party of from your own savings.
Having considered all the above issues, you can now go ahead and plan the actual baby shower. Begin by deciding on the theme you want for the party. This also ought to be based on the preferences of the mother-to-be. Your decorations and food menu will be influenced largely by the theme of the party. However, if you have no specific theme in mind, decorate the venue with simple decorations.

The menu will be dependent on the time you have set for the baby shower i.e. lunch, tea or dinner. If you have planned the baby shower to be held during lunch hours, you ought to plan to serve your guests a full meal. The current trend in baby showers is a brunch where breakfast and lunch are combined. These parties are planned for mid morning hours.
If there are a few guests coming to the party, you ought to consider their preferences as well. Consider any special dietary needs such as diabetes or allergies. You should also ensure that you order the cake in good time. Many people order a cake that is in line with the party’s theme.

Baby showers are unlike other parties. They are usually not a scene for building social contacts but for presenting the mother-to-be with gifts and offering her support and congratulations. However, the baby shower doesn’t have to be filled with boring conversation about babies and diapers. You can include fun games that will keep your guests active and alert. Many baby shower games are educative and can be sought from online sources.

One of the most important parts of the baby shower is the gifts presented to the expectant mother. This is the main event in the baby shower; when the mother-to-be sits down to open the presents that have been brought by the guests. To avoid disappointment, many expectant mothers register gift lists for their showers with different stores. Ensure that you send the gift list along with the invitations. If not, alert the guests of its existence and ensure that they are aware of the gifts that the expectant mother would like to have.

If cooking and planning the party takes up too much of your time, you may want to consider hosting the party at a family restaurant. This will take the burden off your shoulders. All you will have to do is supervise the preparations and ensure that everything is perfect the day before the actual shower.

Many people get overworked when planning a baby shower. It is important to remember to have fun with the experience. Your preparations don’t have to be perfect. In many cases, expectant mothers are so overjoyed with the surprise party and the gifts that are being presented to them that they hardly notice anything else. It is often best to keep things simple and affordable.