Welcoming a new life into the world is an incredibly joyous occasion, and planning the perfect baby shower requires careful consideration and attention to detail.
Whether you're organising the event for yourself or you’ve been tasked to celebrate a cherished friend, this comprehensive guide will take you through the essential steps to create a memorable celebration.
Using a six week countdown, we'll explore additional tips and insights to ensure your baby shower is truly extraordinary.
Six Weeks To Go
- Get your baby shower planner
- Set a date and time
- Choose a location
- Set your budget
- Prepare the guestlist
- Think about catering
- Photography
- Choose a theme
Get Your Baby Shower Planner
A baby shower planner is not just a fancy stationery tool. It's your roadmap to organisational success.
Consider a baby shower planner with sections for brainstorming theme ideas, guest lists, and to-do lists to make sure you don't forget anything. A proper baby shower planner ensures to make the planning process more organised, enjoyable and stress free.
Set a Date and Time
Choosing the right date involves more than just checking calendars. Consider the season, weather, and cultural events that might impact attendance. You also need to consider how far along the mum-to-be will be in her pregnancy.
I'd recommend anywhere between 30-36 weeks as anywhere past this is when the mum-to-be may want to start slowing down and nesting.
Choose a Practical Location
Like choosing a wedding venue, the space chosen for your baby shower needs to look stunning, but more importantly, it needs to be practical too.
Your space needs to be accessible for guests and needs to offer practicality when it comes to catering. I’m sure the mother-to-be will already have a good idea of where she wants the shower to be held, so be sure to ask for her input.
Set Your Budget
Setting a budget is crucial. And whilst only you know the budget that works for you and where you want to prioritise funds, it's wise to consider allocating a contingency fund for unforeseen expenses. This ensures extra flexibility without compromising your baby shower.
Prepare the Guest List
If you're planning a baby shower for somebody else, here is where it's handy to have the mum-to-be's input.
While other things can be compromised, the mum-to-be's guest list shouldn't be. Ensure everyone is invited at the same time with an appropriate timescale so they can plan to attend.
Think About Catering
Consider whether your chosen venue will be providing the catering, whether you'll be getting outside help, or doing it yourself.
Each option comes with its own benefits. You could also explore creative catering options like a DIY dessert station or interactive food stations to add an extra layer of fun to the culinary experience. It's the little touches that come with menu prep that will keep guests talking for years to come.
Photography
Photography at your baby shower is a must. This could either be from a professional photographer, having cameras readily available or setting up a grouped album you can share online.
Capturing candid moments in motion will provide a treasure trove of memories for the years to come. It'd also be a great idea to gift the mum-to-be with an album full of wonderful photos either just before or just after the baby is born.
Choose a Theme
Pinterest is amazing for exploring baby shower themes. Putting a board together means you can dive deeper into personalised touches, customised invitations, themed party favours, and coordinated attire for an immersive experience. The following baby shower themes always prove to be popular:
- Twinkle twinkle little star
- Elephants
- Baby in bloom
- Rainbow
- Princesses
- Botanical
- Peter Rabbit
Four Weeks to Go
- Send invitations
- Order the cake
- Plan decorations and props
Send Invitations
Consider your baby shower theme when sending out invitations. Using invites that follow the theme is sure to add suspense and excitement to the big day.
It might also be worth considering adding personalised messages to the invites, perhaps asking guests to bring a specific item for baby shower games.
Order the Cake
Get together with your local baker to put together a baby shower cake of dreams. Design something that complements the theme, but also that tastes as good as it looks.
If this doesn't quite fit in with your budget, however, shop-bought cakes can look just as lovely with added accessories. Cake toppers can be easily bought and/or personalised to make your cake a total showstopper.
Plan Decorations and Props
Celebrate your mum-to-be by going all out with decorations and props. Make your space as fun as can be. Personalised banners, balloons, and confetti are great ways to add ambience to your space. You could go that little bit extra with balloon arches or flower walls.
Two Weeks to Go
- Confirm numbers with the venue
- Check in with suppliers
- Order flowers
Confirm Numbers With the Venue
After sending invitations, it’s worthwhile double checking and confirming numbers. With two weeks to go, it’s at this stage you’ll be knuckling down on the admin side of things. Take this week as a confirmation/administration week before you get to do the fun stuff next week.
Check in With Suppliers
With two weeks to go, you should be checking in with your suppliers. This could be caterers, prop designers or your baker. Making sure you have good rapport and communication elevates the overall quality and smoothness of the event.
Order Flowers
Having flowers at your baby shower can really make a difference and take your event to the next level. Consider incorporating flowers not just as decorations but as delightful gifts.
Prepare individual flower arrangements for guests to take home or bigger bouquets for mum and grandparents-to-be. This extends joy and celebration beyond the event.
One Week to Go
- Shop for perishable items
- Organise games
- Organise transport for the mum-to-be
Shop for Perishable Items
If you're catering the event yourselves or have perishable gifts you'd like to gift, now is the time to get those bought. Using local or small businesses would be a brilliant way to add a heartwarming touch to the celebration.
Organise Games
Enhance the entertainment factor by creating games and a themed playlist. Incorporate the mother-to-be's favourite songs, turning the celebration into a personalized musical experience. You could consider the following popular baby shower games:
- Guess the baby
- Don't say baby
- Pin the dummy on the baby
- Nappy change race
- Baby shower bingo
- Guess the baby's name/weight/dob
Organise Transportation for the Mother-To-Be
Quite an important factor to consider is how the mum-to-be is going to be arriving at the venue. Consider giving her a special treat by offering a chauffeured ride, or you could go all out and hire a party bus for you all to get to the baby shower.
One Day to Go
- Prepare food
- Collect items from suppliers
- Set up the room
Prepare Food
If you’re catering the party yourselves, it’s handy to set up a food preparation schedule. Having a schedule (no matter how loose) is always handy when you’re catering for a large number of guests.
Create a checklist of food you’ll be preparing and tick them off as you go. This creates momentum and encourages productivity.
Collect Items From Suppliers
Today's the day for scooting around and picking everything up for the big day tomorrow. Organise pick up times with your suppliers to make sure everything runs as smoothly as possible.
Consider making separate trips if items such as balloons or props are going to take up too much room in the car.
Set up the Room
If possible, I’d recommend setting up the room the day before. This ensures minimal stress for the day of the baby shower. I’d also recommend setting the room up in secret, away from the mother-to-be. This way, she gets a huge surprise the next day.
On The Day
Hopefully, on the day of your baby shower, you’ll have minimal tasks to do. If by using the baby shower checklist and countdown provided, everything goes to plan, all you’ll need to do on the big day is turn up!
