Saturday, April 16, 2011

Guest Post: How to Throw a Baby Shower


Hi there, my name is Chelsea and I blog over on Motivation Grrl! I am one of Kamika's sponsors this month and I am super excited to be able to do a guest blog post for her today! Since she is prego and all I thought it only fitting I write on something baby related, so today you are going to learn how to throw a Baby Shower!

If you are like me and entering your 30s you have friends that are married/single and pregnant. I’m sure one of you, at some point  will have a loving and dear friend that will need a baby shower hosted in their honour.

There are some generally accepted rules around hosting a shower, typically it is a good friend(s),  aunt or other family member that will host the shower (for some reason Mothers are not suppose to?). A shower can be hosted before or after the baby is born it all depends on preference. I’ve hosted an after the baby is born shower and have attended one like that, in many cultures this is the norm. Baby showers are changing these days and many are now for everyone (rather than women only). Depending on the preferences of the mommy to be, decide on a shower that suits her style. The shower that I hosted was after the baby was born and the
guys had just as much fun (if not more during the games) than the women did!!

Here are some things to keep in mind:

  • Allow for ample time to send out invitations, depending on where the friends are you should give at least 1/2 months notice,and don't forget about good ol snail mail! Older folks may not necessarily be online
  • If you have a lot of people that don’t know each other either plan a fun get to know something about everyone game OR think of a fun way to create name tags, get crafty!
  • Decide on a theme, and decided on the centre piece for the event as well. It is great to have something one of a kind and unique that brings the look and feel of a baby shower together. There are so many fun ideas out there. One that I found and worked delightfully was a three-tiered diaper cake, easy to make, they look gorgeous and leave mommy to be breathless. If you’re crafty I suggest making one (I youtube’d diaper cakes and voila my cake came to be! 
  • Set a budget - snacks and refreshments, prizes for games, balloons, decorations, plates, napkins and utensils...these things can all add up very quickly!
  • Pick out some suitable games to play but not too many, 2 or 3 spread out will keep things fun and interesting. Some examples are: who can make a baby out of play dough the fastest, no one can say the word baby (everyone had clothes pins that they would lose if they said it, winner has the most clothespins at the end), and guess what type of melted chocolate bar is in the diaper (gross but pretty funny). 
  • Assign someone to take photos – it’s a big and busy day! You will be busy ensuring all runs smoothly so give this job to someone who can dedicate themselves to the task
  • Assign someone to write on the back of all the cards (or write a simple list of gifts>names) of what the mom to be received as gifts, it makes writing/emailing thank you notes so much easier for her.
There are also some great online resources that I found helpful on hosting a baby shower
  • http://www.babyshower101.com/baby_shower_planning.html 
  • http://www.plan-the-perfect-baby-shower.com/baby-shower-etiquette.html
  • http://www.babyshower101.com/baby_shower_checklist.html
As a last little note, make sure your intentions for throwing this shower are honest and from the heart, do not make the same mistake i did. Although it was my pleasure to throw the shower that I did, as I love to help and love to plan even more....I also threw it out of pity. The mom-to-be was a former BFF of mine, and I felt bad that no one else had stepped up to the plate to throw her one. Despite a rocky past I did what I felt was the best and threw her a shower...but in the end it left me feeling a bit taken for granted. Just keep in mind that this is your gift to the mom-to-be, your gesture of love and support for her and her new child. Whatever you plan on doing, do it from the heart and do not hesitate to ask for help in the organization and planning.


Happy baby shower planning!!!!

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