Baby Showers

One of the most fashionable accessories you can ever have is the baby bump! What a joyous time in your life. For first time moms it can be an extremely overwhelming time. You walk into a baby store to try to pick out a few items that are considered a “necessity” and then realize you are facing a wall of just bottles to choose from. So what better way to get yourself prepared then to have a baby shower! Now of course you cannot be involved in this, so you might want to pass this information on to your closest ladies.

Baby showers can be thrown by grandmas-to-be, siblings or close family/friends. No matter who throws the party, it’s nice for everyone to chip in. Baby showers shouldn’t be too fancy. After all they are usually thrown towards the end of the mommy’s pregnancy, and at that point most mommies aren’t very comfortable. Keep it simple by doing a luncheon at a local restaurant, or having it at a family member or friend’s home. Organize a group of ladies that are going to help run the party and assign projects to each. Some things to consider are:

· Location
· Food/Desserts
· Theme/Decorations
· Invitations
· Wishing well

To help create your “team” of helpers, consider those closest to the soon-to-be mommy like her mother, aunts, cousins and/or friends. I would suggest having no more than 6 - 8 ladies in the mix. Sometimes too many “cooks in the kitchen” can make the process more confusing.

First, agree upon your location. If the shower is going to be out at a local restaurant, etc. then establish who will be responsible for doing the research on the location and cost. If the shower is going to be in a home, be sure the home you choose has enough space to entertain the estimated number on your guest list comfortably.

If you choose to have it at a friend or family member’s home, now agree upon a menu. Please keep in mind the mommy-to-be here…sure you may love gourmet tea sandwiches, but the last thing you want is the mommy-to-be to look at the display and run for the hills (aka the bathroom). Make sure the menu contains items that she’s comfortable eating, and there are no smells that could make her sick. Split the food between 2 or 3 people and have each personal responsible for specific dishes. For desserts you can keep it traditional and have a nice cake or make a cupcake tower. The cupcakes can match the theme of the shower. Another fun dessert/favor that you can have is individually wrapped, homemade cookies. You can make them in the shape of baby foot prints, baby carriages, etc. These are another tasty treat to add to the party or for your guests to take home.

Now pick the theme. Everyone should be involved in this part of the planning to obtain the best idea. Remember to keep the mommy-to-be in mind here. If you notice her registry building up with multiple Disney items or see a trend of rubber ducks and frogs popping up, you might want to play off that. If the mommy-to-be knows the sex of the baby, then you can always keep it simple and stick to boy/girl color schemes.

Now get the invitations in order. Decide if you will have them printed, or handwrite them yourselves. Assign another 2 people to this task and ensure that the invites go out at least a month in advance. Be sure to include your whole team on this one so that the guest list is complete and there are no mishaps.

Some people also like to have Wishing Wells at the shower. There are various different ways to do this. Remember it’s a little something extra, so keep it simple. Some ideas for wishing wells are:
· Children’s books
· Toys
· Traditional (bibs, bottles, pacifiers, etc)
· Diaper raffle (have guests bring a package of diapers in exchange for a raffle ticket; then
during the shower draw a few of the raffle tickets and hand out small prizes).

So now that you’re shower to-do list is set, it’s time to start assigning tasks and get moving. Finding yourself short on ladies to help? Well, TSP is here to help! We can assist with all of the above details and help you serve the day of so you can enjoy spending the day with the mommy-to-be!

Feel free to share your Baby Shower ideas and comment below, we’d love to hear them!