Baby Showers

Everybody loves a baby shower. Showers are full of fun and hope – fun for a few hours of friendly socializing, and hope for the baby’s safe birth and bright future.

Everyone gets a chance to see how the mother-to-be is doing, how she is decorating the nursery, and what her plans are for the baby’s birth. Guests who have had children themselves get to share their stories about their own childbirth experiences. Many times these are the same guests who gathered months or years earlier for the mother-to-be’s bridal shower, and they get to catch up with old and new friends.

Planning a baby shower can be a lot of work, and there are a lot of decisions for the hostess to make along the way. The end result is well worth the effort, and having an overall theme for the baby shower makes the decision making easy.

Consider using one of these themes for the next baby shower you plan:

Baby Animal Theme

Baby animals are adorable, and animals are a popular baby shower theme. Start the theme by selecting baby shower invitations with baby bears or ducks on them. Decorate the party venue with stuffed animals that double as baby gifts, and send a box of animal crackers home with your guests. Decorate a plain sheet cake with frosted animals or make a cake in the shape of an easily recognizable animal like a rabbit or teddy bear.

It’s A Boy Theme

When you know in advance that the baby is a boy, celebrate the baby’s sex with a boy baby shower theme. Send blue invitations and decorate the party room with blue and white balloons, blue ribbons, and a blue frosted cake. Decorate with traditional toys for baby boys like trucks, boats, sports balls, and dinosaurs; let the mother-to-be take the toys home with her as gifts.

It’s A Girl Theme

Similar to the “It’s A Boy” theme, this baby shower theme requires knowing in advance that the mother-to-be is expecting a girl. Tie a pink and white balloon bouquet to your mailbox to help guests find your house. Go full out and decorate the room in pink and white. Serve pink lemonade or pink punch, and serve sugar and spice cookies with a pink frosted cake.

Mommy’s Choice Theme

This baby shower theme is the most personal of all. Find out how the new parents are decorating their nursery, and match the baby shower theme to the nursery theme. Let all your guests know what the theme is so they can select gifts and gift wrapping paper that fits in with the décor of baby’s new room. Keep the theme in mind when you select the baby shower invitations, refreshments, and games.

If this is the first time you have hosted a baby shower, sometimes it can be hard to figure out just what you want to plan. There is only so much time that can be spent opening gifts and appreciating them. Often, games and other activities can be planned. If you are at a loss as to what exactly to do, sometimes using a baby shower theme may help you come up with a few ideas.

The way you choose to run a baby shower will play a part in whether you even want to use a baby shower theme or not. Other factors you may need to take into consideration are how many people are going to be attending, what kind of budget you have to work with, and the wishes of the mother to be.

Successfully Hosting A Baby Shower

One way to choose a baby shower theme is to build it around whatever decoration scheme the nursery will be done in. from the nursery them you can come up with some ideas for the baby shower theme. If the nursery colors are yellow and green, perhaps you can use those colors for streamers, cake decoration or party favors.

As a general rule, a baby shower probably shouldn’t last for more than two or three hours. If you plan on serving appetizers, guests can graze on those while everyone is arriving. One of the first items of business can be any type of game you choose to play. These can be based around the baby shower theme and don’t need to be complex or challenging. After the games the mother to be can open her gifts and then everyone can mingle or eat depending on the baby shower schedule. As the shower begins to wind down, the guests will begin to trickle out and every guest should be thanked for coming and given a favor that can also go along with the baby shower theme.

Another baby shower theme you could try would be a couple’s shower. This allows both the mother to be and the father to be to participate in the activities. This type of shower can still have a baby shower theme, but you may want to consider having activities that both men and women will feel comfortable participating in. Traditionally, baby showers have been a women’s only venue, so many men may not feel at all comfortable at a shower.

Hosting a baby shower can be a lot of work, but it can be rewarding as well. By searching at your local library, online, and in magazines, you should be able to find enough activities to keep everyone occupied and happy.

With changing attitudes towards gender norms, having a baby shower just for women is simply passé. Men should be included more in the celebration of a child’s impending birth, and a great baby shower idea would be to have a party where both men and women are invited. It’s not only practical (wives and fiancées can bring their men), but also inclusive.

A Co-Ed Party Isn’t Simply A Fair Baby Shower Idea, It Could Be A Lucrative One

Mothers-to-be who want to make out with a treasure’s chest of booty, should also consider inviting men to baby showers. Statistically, one can double the merchandise won, when inviting both sexes (unless you invite couples, and they’ll tend to get one present together). Having men is an excellent baby shower idea because you’ll be able to extend the gift list you’re registered for at Babies “R” Us – and that’s always a good thing – relying on female friends and lady coworkers is just not enterprising enough.

Remember That You Have Men At The Party, As Well

So, you’ve agreed that inviting the guys was a great baby shower idea – so now what’re you going to plan for the party? Unless you’re guy friends are really in touch with their feminine selves, traditional baby shower games are going to definitely flop (to be honest, I don’t know of many adult women who enjoy playing games that involve wearing a crown made of wrapping paper, either). Just because it’s a baby shower, doesn’t mean you have to stick to some infant-centered theme. Remember, you invited the men for a reason (besides wanting to get some free baby swag). They’re your friends, and want to celebrate your baby. So treat it as you would any kind of gathering.

Inclusiveness And Sharing: A Great Baby Shower Idea

Another great thing about inviting the men in your life to a baby shower is that, along with thumbing your nose at convention, your promoting inclusiveness – this is especially important if you have single male friends (gay or straight) who may not be invited to functions, too often. How would a solitary male coworker feel on the Monday, when the rest of the ladies discuss the fabulous party they’ve all attended, that he was not invited to, because of his sex? And what about the mommy-to-be who happens to have male friends? A room full of cooing women might not be her vision of a great baby shower idea. You’re not inviting strippers to a baby shower, so really there is no reason to segregate the men from the women.