How to Organize a Baby Shower.
Organizing a baby shower for a friend who is expecting the arrival of a child is a great idea. It’s a special time for them, so it’s good to do something a little special that focused on them. A baby shower is the perfect way to do that, and here’s how you can organize one from start to finish.
Check with the Mother-to-Be
You shouldn’t really go ahead unless you are sure that the mother-to-be is onboard with what you’re doing. It’s normal for a close friend to organize the baby shower, but it’s still best to organize it in collaboration with the mother. You don’t want them to be surprised by the whole thing because they might not want to do it. It’s best to check with them when you are organizing it. That will allow you to make sure you are not causing her any hassle that she doesn’t really want. It won’t be a very good baby shower if even the mother-to-be doesn’t want to be there. So, this is a very important part of the process.
Create a Budget
It can be expensive to hold a baby shower, so it’s something that you should take it into account beforehand. There might be a group of you that wants to contribute to the costs of the baby shower. This is the best way to do it so that the cost can be spread more thinly, and it won’t be such a financial strain on you. How much you choose to spend will be up to you. There are, of course, plenty of things that have to be paid for. But you can do it all pretty cheaply if you try hard enough. It’s all about having fun, and it doesn’t always cost a lot of money to have fun with friends. You just have to use your imagination and come up with new ideas.
Pick the Right Time
Choosing the date of the baby shower is very important. It can take place at any point during the pregnancy. But it’s not something that tends to happen early in the pregnancy. Most baby showers happen towards the end of the pregnancy. But, at the same time, you don’t want to leave it too late. You don’t want the baby shower to be interrupted by the actual arrival of the baby. It could be roughly 7 months into the pregnancy, or something like that. And you will also need to make sure that it doesn’t clash with any hospital appointments or checkups that the mother-to-be might have.
Prepare the Invitations
You will then need to think about who you want to come to the baby shower. It’s probably best to sit down with the mother-to-be to discuss this. You don’t need to invite dozens of people if everyone would prefer to keep it small. The best baby showers can often be the ones that only take place among a small group of close friends and family members. And it can all be much more stressful if you invite a lot of people. But the actual amount of people you invite is something you can decide on. You will then need to prepare the invitations; you can get really cool personalized stamps online. Then all you have to do is post them.
Choose a Theme
If you want to tie everything together and make the whole baby shower a little more fun, you could choose a theme. If you do decide to do this, you should make sure that you mention it on the invitations when you’re preparing them. It won’t be much of a theme if none of the guests are aware of it. The theme could be whatever you want it to be. It could be something simple and minor, or it could be something bigger. The theme could then be reflected in the activities you do, the food and drink that is served and the gifts that people bring with them.
Get a Gift
Every guest to a baby shower has to bring a gift for the expectant mother, even if you organized the whole thing. Getting the right gift for the mother doesn’t need to be too tricky. You are basically buying something that will be useful when the baby is born, and there are plenty of options to consider. You could buy things like clothes and toys for the baby. Or you could buy appliances and items that will be useful. There is no shortage of options. Some people pool their money together and then buy a larger combined gift for the mother. So, this is something to consider too.
Serve Food and Drink
You should plan the food and drink options in advance of the baby shower. People will expect to be given something to eat and drink if they are coming over, so don’t forget about this. You could possibly get away with not doing this if you are trying to keep things cheap. But you will have to arrange the baby shower at a time when people will have already eaten. If you do decide to serve food, it only needs to be a small amount of food for people to snack on. You don’t need to serve a three-course meal or anything. Some simple sandwiches and a bowl of crisps should go down fine.
Come Up with Something Fun to Do
There are lots of fun activities that you can do at a baby shower. Some people choose to organize a game where everyone modify a baby t-shirt. This creates something for the baby and allows everyone to have fun. Or you could simply pick some key discussion topics that everyone talks about. This is good if everyone at the baby shower is also a parent already. They can then pass on tips and advice to the expectant mother. This kind of thing is fun if everyone is familiar with one another, and it can keep the whole gathering laid back and relaxed.
