How to Plan a Baby Shower

If you’re planning a baby shower for a mom-to-be, you have a lot to think about! Throwing a party for a holiday or birthday is one thing, but a baby shower requires a lot of coordination and hard work. Here are the basics on how to plan a baby shower.

Baby Shower Planning Checklist

Choose the Date and Time

Unless you’re hosting a surprise baby shower, you’ll need to work with the mom-to-be to choose a date and time for the party. Make sure any important guests—grandmas, BFFs, sisters—are available before you settle on a date. Most baby showers are held around the seven month mark of a pregnancy, but there are some circumstances when an earlier or later date may be preferable.

Come Up with a Guest List

Again, unless you’re throwing a surprise baby shower, the mom-to-be should provide you with a list of who she wants to invite. She should also include email addresses or mailing addresses. Once you have the guest list, you can figure out a budget for the event based on how many people you’ll be hosting.

Select a Venue

A baby shower in a home or backyard may be perfect, but if there are a lot of guests coming, you may need to choose a restaurant or other venue in order to accommodate everyone comfortably. If you’re planning an outdoor shower, make sure you have a contingency plan if the weather doesn’t cooperate!

Send Invites

With the guest list and venue settled, you can now send out invitations! They should arrive about six weeks before the shower to ensure everyone has enough notice. Paper invitations are best for formal baby showers, while email is fine for more casual gatherings.

Come Up With Activities

Not everyone is into baby shower games, but you’ll need to have some sort of agenda for the party. Purchase a baby shower guest book and ask all of the guests to leave a heartfelt message for the new parents. This is a much better way to remember who was at the baby shower than a list of gifts scrawled on a piece of paper!

Plan the Menu and Theme

Decorations are the best part about planning a baby shower! If the parents-to-be have a theme planned for their little one’s nursery, you might want to match the baby shower theme to that. As for food, ask the guest of honor what she’s craving! Be sure to have some non-alcoholic cocktails at the party, too.

Choose a Party Favor

Thank your guests for coming out to celebrate the mom-to-be by purchasing small party favors for them to take home with them. These party favors could match with the theme of the party, or they could be something else that you know guests will appreciate. A small succulent planter, an artfully wrapped truffle or macaron, or even a small lotion or hand sanitizer are all popular ideas.