Planning and arranging a Baby Shower

by Julian Pollock

Stage 1

One of the simplest ways of planning a baby shower is to consider it to be in two stages or points in time. The first stage is the preparation and sending out of shower party invitations to the guests and the second is the actual hosting preparations of the party (- the food and fun). You will probably want to allow from two to three weeks between these two points in time. You’ll then need to include another week or two before the first stage. So we are looking at three to four weeks to comfortably make all the arrangements. It can be really useful to ask a few friends if they'll be around to help when needed. 

In the first stage of preparing the invitations, there are four things to arrange and we'll go through them starting with:

The Guest List for the Baby Shower.

Bear in mind that baby shower parties no longer stick to strict traditions and other circles of friends and families may also be hosting showers for the mother-to-be. You could just go ahead and decide for yourself, but it may be more practical to liaise with her (or the father-to-be if it is to be a surprise party) about whether she would like it to be an all women affair, with friends only, with family only, with work colleagues only, etc. There can also be another surprise party that she knows nothing about, so it's just as well to check with the father-to-be or her closest friends and family.

Another important factor is your budget for the event. Depending on all that, the guest list could be extensive, or you may end up arranging an intimate soirée with her closest friends. But what you need to make is a list of guests. Then you can decide on:

The Shower Party Venue.

Once you know the number of guests attending, or at least being invited, you can make a decision on where to throw the party. A private home is the perfect option for a small group of guests. It keeps the arrangements for food, beverages and entertainments to a very manageable size. An alternative is to host the event at an appropriate restaurant or hotel, in which case you'll want to check how private your party will be. You do need to consider the guest of honor. Is it a place she would enjoy and be comfortable at? She may soon be giving birth, or may already have done so.

The Date of the Party

With the two main parts of this first stage completed the third part of fixing a date for the occasion may just fall into place. Again you will probably need to liaise with the principal guests - be prepared to compromise. With the date decided upon, you can now get the party in everyone's diary with the:

Baby Shower Party Invitations.

We all know the invitations must include the purpose of the occasion, the date, venue address, an RSVP with a name and address, phone number or e-mail to reply to. You've already got the guest list, but do you have their full names and addresses to post the invitations to?

Another important part is that baby shower parties often have themes. These help the organizer plan and choose party decorations, games and entertainment, even the food and beverages. Of course the theme should be baby oriented and could be as simple as having little inky baby footprint images on everything starting with - the invitations. 

Think what the mother-to-be is interested in; does she have a pet? You may be able to pick a theme from that straight away. Otherwise a bit of research and browsing of baby shower sites will no doubt provide the inspiration needed at this stage.

In your browsing you may come across perfect invitation cards to buy online. Alternatively you can Google in “free” with “baby shower invitation card”. You’ll find some to print out for free, or if you're into it and have the time, you can even design your own using a simple baby footprint graphic or the like. 

Anyway you need to get that done and post out the invitations so the party is on everyone's social horizon. 

And that is Stage One completed.

Stage 2

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