How to Host a Baby Shower

Baby showers are a great way to help a mom prepare for her new baby, as well as get together and have a good time with women and other mothers. If you have the opportunity or responsibility of throwing a shower for a friend or relative, do not be overwhelmed. There are many free resources available to help you put together a fun, memorable party for the mom-to-be. Here are a few ideas and guidelines to help you on your way.

1. Send out invitations at least 4 weeks ahead of time. If this is the only baby shower the prospective mother will be receiving, be sure to include as many women as possible on the guest list. Relatives, friends, coworkers, neighbors and church family members of the bride are all important guests to remember. Be sure to include your phone number and email address so that individuals can RSVP before the event. Also, it is considered rude to state a baby registry location on an invitation, so insert an additional card into the envelope with this information. Also, if the baby has not yet been born, but the mother knows the sex, pass this information on to the guests.

2. Set an itinerary and stick to it. While a baby shower should be relaxed and adaptable, it also should not stretch on indefinitely. If all goes well, the guests will be having such a great time that they won't want to leave at the scheduled ending time, but having a time in place will allow women with other engagements to leave gracefully. A 3 hour shower is considered rude.

Your shower itinerary might look something like this:

2:00-2:15 Guests arrive, get refreshments & mingle

2:15-2:20 Icebreaker game

2:20-3:00 Games

3:00-3:15 Inspirational talk from a friend or relative

3:15-4:00 Gift opening

3. Select appropriate shower elements.

Food Shower refreshments will vary depending on the time of day. Rolls, muffins, fruit and juice or coffee are appropriate for mid-morning showers, while cake, nuts, fruit, coffee or punch are good choices for afternoon showers.

Games The structure of your games should alternate between paper games (word finds, unscrambling, etc.) and active games (making play dough babies or diaper changing races.) Here are some great sites for finding game ideas:
www.partygameideas.com, www.babyshower101.com, www.101babyshowerideas.com

Door Prizes Giving gifts to the guests is a great way to ensure they have a memorable time at the shower. Good gifts include pretty dish towels, candles, decorative bowls or plants.

Speaker Choose a woman with parenting experience who is close to the bride to offer some words of wisdom. The new mother is embarking on a journey for which she may feel unprepared. This is an opportunity for all mothers present to reflect on their own parenting and appreciate the responsibility of raising children. It is also a nice idea to have each woman in the room offer a piece of advice to the bride by writing sentiments on decorated card which can be kept by the new mom.

A baby shower is an event which a new or expectant mom will remember for many years to come. With proper planning and consideration, you can make sure that both she and her guests have a wonderful, memorable time.