Blessingway: The New Baby Shower

Tired of sitting in a circle passing around baby clothes and playing boring games of trying to guess when the baby is coming or how big the mother-to-be is around the middle? If you are desiring a fresh twist on an old idea of throwing a baby shower, a blessingway is a great alternative!

What is a blessingway?

Traditionally, a blessing way is a spiritual ceremony or gathering of women to celebrate a special time in another woman's life. A blessingway is a wonderful alternative to a traditional baby shower in that the emphasis is placed on celebrating the mother-to-be rather than giving gifts for the baby. Of course, gifts for the baby are always welcomed, but a blessingway focuses on providing an expecting mama with support, encouragement, celebration, and attention that is often overlooked when the bundle of joy arrives.

What happens at a blessingway?

Since the emphasis at a blessingway is celebrating a special and magical time in a woman's life, there are several activities and ways to celebrate a woman's journey to motherhood. Some meaningful and fun activities include giving the guest of honor a pedicure. This is both meaningful and practical -- it is not easy reaching those toes in the late stages of pregnancy!

Also, creating a scrapbook as a group that focuses on all the love and support surrounding the mother-to-be and her baby. Other blessingways have included making simple bracelets that all the women wear until the baby is born to show their support, prayers, and well wishes.

Another wonderful blessingway idea is for all the women to gather together in the kitchen and prepare their favorite dishes and casseroles. They then wrap them and fill the freezer of the expectant mother. The idea is to remove stress from the mama-to-be so she is free to focus on her baby without thinking about what to cook in the early days of new motherhood.

One fun craft to do at a blessingway is to make a plaster cast of mama's pregnancy belly. They sell these kits in most craft stores and they are easy to do. It makes a cast that the mother can keep for years to come as a reminder of this special time in her life. It can then be decorated and displayed.

Gifts focusing on celebrating motherhood, alleviating stress, and supporting mom-to-be are best at a blessingway. Guests could begin the blessingway by cleaning mama's house or painting the nursery, then have lunch together. Gift certificates (either bought or made by the giver) of help around the house, pick up groceries, or to watch baby while mama catches some much needed sleep are all ways to show mama-to-be your support and understanding.

For more intimate blessingways involving close family and friends, more spiritual traditions and rituals can be done -- such as brushing mama's hair and styling it in a different way with flowers placed upon her head to symbolize her blossoming into a new stage in her life. Also, Spending the duration of the blessingway simply serving the mama-to-be -- getting her tea, rubbing her feet, giving her a massage, a facial, painting her belly with henna paints are all ways to celebrate an expecting mother.

Whatever you decide to do during a blessingway, the most important thing is focusing on celebration of mama-to-be. When the joyous event of the baby arriving is upon everyone, he or she will take the spotlight and often mamas become frazzled and forgotten. A blessingway is an amazing way to show a woman that she is honored and what she is doing in bringing a new life into the world is to be celebrated!