Most people in their life time have attended a baby shower. Many of us, including myself, have been fortunate to have one thrown for us. However, there is a big difference between going to one or being the women of the hour and throwing one. This is an article to cover the basics for anyone who is about to throw one and has no idea where to start.
The first question that comes to mind is who should throw the shower. Now traditionalists say that only friends of the mother to be should throw the party and that it is inappropriate for a family member to do so. If you are looking to be proper a family member should not throw the shower because some people may feel that action sends the message that the family is trying to illicit gifts. However, this is usually not the case and in today’s world it is just as common for a parent or sibling to throw the party as it is for a close friend.
Now that we established that just about anyone close to the mother to be can throw the shower the next question is who should be invited. Unless this is a surprise shower, at some point the guest of honor should be consulted. When this is done the guest list should be something that is discussed. If the guest wants a more traditional shower which allows her to spend quality time with all the guests the list should be trimmed to fewer than 25 people. However, sometimes this is not feasible. What needs to be decided is who is invited. The type of people needs to be divided into groups. For instance family and close friends should make the list as well as the father’s family and friends. However it needs to be decided if neighbors or co-workers will be included. This depends on the relationship as well as how large or small the shower will be. The mother to be should also be consulted on the final list as they may notice someone you forgot to include or a conflict on inviting two people to the same event that do not get along and may make her day less than relaxing.
In the ever changing world of baby showers one thing that might need to be considered is throwing a modern co-ed shower. This would allow both the men and the women to celebrate together in one place. If this is the way you want to go you may want to reconsider the decorations, the food or the activities to best suit everyone’s tastes.
If the couple wants something modern but the woman still wants her own shower you may want to consider having a shower for the women and a party for the men, this would allow both partners to celebrate the upcoming birth in their own way.
Now that we know what type of party is being thrown, who is throwing it and who is being invited it is time to decide when it will be. An ideal time for a baby shower is near the end of the sixth month through the beginning of the eighth month. This will ensure that the mother to be will have a small chance of going into labor before the party. This will also help the expecting parents know what they do and do not have in time to finish shopping and to put all the baby’s new things in place before the arrival.
Now it is time to choose the invitations. The invitations can be of any design, but if the parents have chosen a theme for the nursery the invitations should follow that theme. The invitations should be sent out with the guest of honor’s name, the hostesses name and number, the location, date, and time of the party, a date to RSVP by, a map to the shower as well as a list of any of the stores the parents may be registered at.
Now that all preparations have been completed it is time to look forward to the shower. A baby shower can run anywhere from 2-4 hours, but should not be any longer. The beginning is usually when the hostess and the guest of honor will thank each guest for coming. During the period of everyone’s arrival is usually time for people to mingle. After everyone is there some sort of food is usually served, either a sit down meal like a brunch or a variety of finger foods and desserts. After the food you may choose to play a couple of games, but of course this is not mandatory. Finally, the guest of honor gets to open her presents. As the hostess besides providing the party and the food, you may also want to buy door prizes, prizes for the baby shower games and party favors.
There you have it, the basics of throwing a successful shower.
Thanks to Pamela Kazmierczak for this very informative info.
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