How to Plan the Perfect Baby Shower

Have a family member or friend who’s expecting? Then you’re the probably one tasked with planning a baby shower.

Planning a baby shower may sound overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Instead, you can make it fun and enjoyable when you have all the right steps lined up for you.

Let’s take a look at a few things you’ll need to gather so you can execute the perfect baby shower.

This post contains affiliate links. Please see disclaimer for additional details.

1. Set a date and time

The first thing you want to do is to set a date and time. Gather some information from the expecting mom so that you’ll have an idea of when’s the best time to do the event.

I personally recommend a baby shower that is held during the 7th or 8th month of pregnancy; however, timing is up to you and can be held at any time that you may see fit.

2. Create a budget

Hosting an event without a budget can soon turn into a disaster if you don’t plan funds for the expenses you’ll incur.

Make a list of expenses you’ll have for the event and write them down.

Here are some budget categories to get you started:

• Venue
• Food
• Decorations
• Entertainment
• Activities
• Party Favors

Another thing you want to consider is whether you’ll be hosting the event alone or co-hosting with other individuals.

If you’re co-hosting the event, then you will want to discuss with other members about who will be responsible for which budget category.

3. Gather the guest list

Next, you will want to gather the guest list.

Ask the expecting mom for a list of of family members and friends who she will like to be invited to the event. Consider how you plan to send out the invitations.

If you plan to do digital invitations, then perhaps emails, social media profile names, or phone numbers will be required. If you plan to send out invitations the traditional way, then make sure the expecting mom provides the guests’ mailing address so you can prepare invitation cards.

4. Pick a venue

Now that you have your guest list, let’s pick a venue.

The most common choice is to host at the expecting mom’s home. This allows mom to avoid traveling and makes it easier to receive and acquire gifts.

However, if you prefer to host the event at different location, you can opt for beaches, parks, party venues, or event centers.

5. Pick a theme

You’ve got the first part done, now you need a theme.

If you already know baby’s gender, the easiest way to go about it is to pick a theme that is gender-based (e.g. sports for boys or flowers for girls). If you’d like gender-neutral themes, you can go for teddy bears, bumble bees, jungles, botanical, etc…

Another option is to choose a color scheme. You can choose pastel colors or popular color choices such as, mint and gray or blue and pink.

6. Plan decorations

Once your theme is set in stone, plan your decorations.

Here’s a simple breakdown of areas you may want to decorate:

• Dessert table
  • Centerpiece (this is the focal point of your table)
  • Banners
  • Table cloths (I use disposable table cloths from Dollar Tree!)
  • Dessert plates or platters (to make it look elegant)
• Seating table
  • Table cloths
  • Centerpiece
• Backdrop (this can be for your dessert table, for a photo booth, or for anything to make it appealing)
• Ceiling/Wall decorations
  • Banners, balloons, etc…
  • Streamers
  • Baby shower printable decorations

7. Plan the food and beverages

Consider the time of the day the event will be held. Will it be during lunch time, around 2pm – 5pm, or around dinner time?

Mealtime ideas:

• Lunch time: sandwiches, salads, appetizers, chips and dip, finger foods
• 2pm – 5pm: appetizers, finger foods, charcuterie, snacks, pretzels
• Dinner time: sliders, chicken poppers, slow-cooked meals, salads, finger foods, entrees

A fun and easy way to serve food any time of the day is to have food bars.

Here are some ideas:

• Taco bar
• Baked potato bar
• Ice cream bar (for desserts)
• Salad bar
• Vermicelli bowl bar (Not sure what this is? It’s a bowl that uses the combination of rice noodles, vegetables, a side of protein, and a simple oil-free dressing)
• Nacho bar
• Hot dogs and burger bar
• Or you can customize your own food bar to make it fun

Don’t forget the baby shower cake!

8. Activities and entertainment

A baby shower is no fun without activities and entertainment. Engage your guests in activities and games!

3 DIY Game Ideas:

• Guess mom’s measurements:
  • What you’ll need: Toilet paper roll
  • Using toilet paper roll, wrap a sheet around the mom’s back-to-the-belly button, tear it off and then set it aside. This sheet will be used as the “goal” length that each guest needs to go by. As for the guests, have each person think how long mom’s measurements are and tear it off the roll.  Each guest will hold on to their toilet roll sheet until everyone did their round. Whoever has the closest sheet measurement to mom’s, wins the game!
• Don’t say, “Baby”:
  • What you’ll need: Clothespins and a basket or bowl (to hold the clothespins)
  • Set a bowl or basket of clothespins by the entrance of the door and have each arriving guest grab 1 clothespin and pin it to their shirt.
  • To play: The game is that whoever says the word, “Baby”, loses a pin to another participant and whoever collects the MOST pins at the end of the party wins a prize!
• Dirty Diapers:
  • What you’ll need: 3 clean baby diapers, 3 candy bars (pick the ones with caramel or nuts inside), paper to make paper slips, pen for writing, and basket/bowl.
  • Label each diaper, “A, B, and C”. Take out the candy bars but keep the candy wrappers. You will label each candy wrapper, “1, 2, and 3”. On a piece of paper, write down the diaper labels (A, B, C) on the left column and write down the candy numbers (1, 2, 3) on the right column (this will be the paper slip). Make more than 1 copy of this so that each guest can submit a paper slip as their answer. Using the candy bars that you took out, crush each one and smoosh it on each diaper to make it look “dirty/soiled”.
  • To play: Each guest will mix and match the letters to the numbers, write their name on the paper slip, fold it, and place it in a basket or bowl.  At the end of the day, have a person look at all the answers and see which ones were correct. The guests who had the correct answers will get one prize. (This game can have more than one winner so a good prize selection will be goodie bags or small prizes).

Additional Party Games to think of:

• Apples to Apples (Board Game)
• Baby Shower word scramble
• My Water Broke: Give an ice cube with a baby inside to each guest and see which ice cube melts first! First person to melt the ice wins!
• Word Search contest: Use a free word search generator online to create a word search competition between your guests! Whoever finishes first wins the game.
• Baby Shower printable games
• Charades! Have you heard about the Charades app? Simple download the app onto your phone and challenge your guests in trivia and creativity.

For more on entertainment, you can also invite performers or musicians for added fun.

9. Plan party favors (optional)

As a nice gesture for the guests, you can create party favors for them to take home. Make sure this is part of the budget before you plan it as these can get expensive fast.

However, party favors doesn’t always have to be expensive. Easy and simple party favor ideas include chocolates, succulent plants, little hand sanitizer bottles, popcorn favors, mini donuts, and more.

For more on inspiration, check out Pinterest boards and you’ll see tons of ideas!

10. Send out invitations

Once you’ve finalized all the research and planning, prepare to send out invitations.

Party invitations have become more easier now than ever. Most people are using online websites and apps to create invitations as well as to send them out.

You can find cute and adorable designs on free online websites such as Canva.com, and can even find pre-made templates to choose from. It’s that easy!

What to put on your invitations:

• Headline: You can put something like, “You’re invited!” or, “It’s baby time!”. Make it catchy and inviting.
• In honor of (names of new parents-to-be): Make sure you include this line so that guests know who this baby shower is for.
• Date & Time: Guests will want to know the date and time the event will take place.
• Location: Place the address of your event here!
• RSVP information: This can be optional, but if you are expecting to have “Reserved” tables or want to get a “count” of how many people will be there, it is a great idea to put this on there.
• Contact information of the host: Make sure you include the contact information of the person hosting the party (whether it is you, or someone else) so that guests can have someone to contact for questions and to RSVP (if applicable).

Don’t forget to grab your free and exclusive “Baby Shower Brainstorm Bundle” that includes:

• Baby Shower Checklist
• Baby Shower Brainstorm Sheet
• Plan and Execute! form
• Budget Sheet
• 100+ baby shower theme ideas!

Now available in the free resource library.

Oh, and one more thing.

If you enjoyed this post, please share? Others may find it helpful as well!