Planning a Baby Shower

Spring is here and there are a lot of babies being born. If you are close to an expectant mother, you might be called upon to hold a baby shower. Or if a friend or relative is having a baby, you might decide you want to volunteer to hold the baby shower.

Decide on the guest list for your event. Talk to the expectant mom to determine who you should invite. Are you going to include “the guys” and children in your guestlist? Many baby showers are women only occasions, though sometimes men are invited as well. Most men, however, choose not to attend and let the women have this as an event just for the girls. If the expectant mom has children already or a lot of the guests have kids, you may choose to have a kid friendly event. On the other hand, this might be a good occasion to leave the kids with the guys so the women can have some time to themselves.

Pick a date that will work for you and the mom to be. Make sure it works for any guests who must attend and let them know as soon as possible so they can reserve that date for the event.

Pick a location. Many baby showers are at the home of the host; however, you can also hold the event at a restaurant, at a park, in a banquet room, or in any other space that is available for events. Where you decide to hold the event will be determined in part by how many people you expect to attend. If you have 10 people coming, your home might be an easy place to hold it, but if you are expecting a hundred people, you will probably need more space unless you have a very big house or yard. If you are having a large outdoor event, rent a tent and tables and chairs if your venue does not include them.

Find out where the expectant mom is registered. If she has not registered yet, make sure she does so. Babies R Us is a popular choice. You can also register at many department stores. Not everyone will buy things on a guest list, but it does help prevent to many repeat items and encourage people to get what the mom really wants.

Send out invitations to the event. Baby showers are an event like weddings that people normally send written invitations too. The invitations should include the names of the invitees, the location of the party, and where the bride is registered.

Pick up decorations for your event. Dollar stores and party stores have a wide variety of baby themed decorations and accessories for parties. Decide what games you want to play and pick out prizes for any games. Get a guest book.

Choose food for the event. Are you going to have cookies, cake, snacks, or a whole meal? Are you going to buy the food, make it, or have the event catered? If you are having the event at a restaurant, they will probably be preparing all the food and you will just need to make selections from a catering menu.

When you are getting close to the event date, check and see who has RSVPed. Contact anyone you have not heard from in order to put together an accurate guest list.

At the baby shower, be sure to have someone make notes of all of the gifts and givers when the mom to be opens her gifts. You can make the notes in the guest book to help keep things simple and organized. Also be sure someone is taking pictures.

When everything is done, congratulations are due not just to the expectant mom but also to you for holding a successful baby shower.