Planning your first baby shower is an exciting time, an opportunity to be surrounded by your closest friends and family to celebrate one of the biggest events in your life. If you’re planning your first baby shower, then you may be wondering where to start. Do you first decide on the venue or do you prepare the baby to thank you cards for all the guests (in this case, SleepyMoon can be of great help!)? Take a look at our following guide to help you get an idea of what you will need to include for the day.

Choosing The Date And Time 

The first step is deciding the right date and time for your baby shower. There are a few things to consider when deciding this. The most important one is your expected due date. You don’t want to hold the baby shower too close to your expected due date in case you end up going into labor early and having to cancel all of your carefully thought-out plans. You’ll need to consider which days are convenient for most of your guests, which usually tends to be at the weekend. You can start the shower at whichever point of the day works best for you and your friends and family. If any of your guests have their own children, it may be better to hold the shower earlier in the day rather than later so that they can be home in time for bedtime, etc. If you’re heavily pregnant, you may also be starting to feel tired towards the end of the day too.

Choosing A Location 

When choosing the location to hold your shower, consider the number of people you plan to invite. You can hold a baby shower in your own home if you have the room and to help save some money. However, if you need to hire a venue, try and factor in the location and whether it works well for you and your guests. Try and book several months ahead, if possible, to make sure that you can secure the venue that you want to use. If you leave it too late, it could end up being fully booked.

Holding A Virtual Baby Shower 

There could be a number of reasons it may be difficult for you to hold a baby shower in person. For example, your guests could be dotted all over in different locations and may find it difficult to attend. Or you may be finding it difficult to socialize due to pregnancy symptoms. Many people have also had to cancel in-person plans due to the recent pandemic. Whatever your reason, holding a virtual baby shower can be a great and informal way of gathering together the people you care about to celebrate your pregnancy. You can still have fun with it and plan games and quizzes, and socialize through a meeting platform of your choice. Be sure to send out virtual baby shower invitations so that your guests know when it will be taking place and through which meeting platform. 

Food And Drink

You’ll want to provide some refreshments for your baby shower. You can create a meal or buffet yourself if you wish to, but if you’d rather save yourself the hassle, then you could hire a catering service to do it for you. Consider whether the food you choose meets the dietary requirements of all your guests, so everyone has something to enjoy. You could even ask around for people’s opinions. And, of course, make sure all the food and drink are safe for you to consume during pregnancy. Providing non-alcoholic options is a good choice for yourself and those who would rather not drink alcohol. 

Entertainment

To help keep all your guests having a good time, consider including some baby-themed party games or quizzes. For example, you could design a quiz about you and your new little one to see which of your guests knows you best. You can also find pre-made quizzes online to use. Some party game ideas include guessing the baby’s arrival date to win a prize, designing as many baby names as possible by combining the mum’s and dad’s names, and guessing the gender games if you haven’t already found out. Check these fun games to play at your next baby shower for more inspiration. 

Guests And Invitations

You’ve probably already got a good idea of who you want to attend your shower but be sure to go through a checklist to make sure you don’t miss anyone out. Once you’ve done this, you can start creating and sending out invitations. You can design your traditional invitations and post them to your guests or send out an email or text invitation. Whichever you choose to go with, make sure you include all the important details your guests need to know. For example, the location, date and time, and how guests should RSVP. Once you’ve got a clearer idea of how many people will be attending, you’ll have a better idea for planning things such as food and games.