Whether you are the guest of honor or have the privilege of being a hostess, there are a few pointers to follow to ensure the shower is a hit and that the mom-to-be (and dad) really feel the love in their time of preparation for new baby.

For the hostesses:

Time/Date

Showers are typically thrown a month or two before baby arrives; however, in my case, with twins, I told my hostesses I would prefer to have mine before I entered the third trimester.  Make sure to include the future mom in this part of the planning.   Once you determine the date, you’ll need to decide on the time of day.  I’ve helped host showers in the morning, lunchtime, afternoon, and evening.  There is no right time of day – it’s what will work best for the hostesses and the mom-to-be.

 

Theme

Choosing the theme of the shower can be so much fun, as well as overwhelming.  With that said, you don’t have to have a set theme, such as fiesta or woodlands or baby animals, but sometimes the mom-to-be has the perfect theme in her head that may match the nursery, or her favorite European city, or gender specific/color……there are a wide varieties of themes you can choose from.  The showers that were given for me all focused on the theme of TWINS, with corresponding pink and blue decorations (think balloons, stuffed animals, banners, baby carriages, etc.) – and it was absolutely perfect 🙂 A quick pinterest search can help you brainstorm some ideas.

Location

Finding the location for a baby shower is also a very important step in the planning process.  You’ll want to consider how many people are expected to attend the shower.  Having the shower at a hostesses’ house is a great idea, and many restaurants have side rooms that are perfect for showers and parties as well.  You’ll want people to feel comfortable, but not on top of each other, as well as not too spread out.  Having people in a close (but again, not too close) proximity to each other helps with sparking conversations and avoiding any awkward silence.

 

Food & Drink

Once you determine the time of day your shower will take place, you can determine what kind of food and drinks to serve.  Are you hosting a brunch? An evening catered meal?  Or something in between?  You know the crowd you are catering to, so keep that in mind when deciding the menu.  Will this be a seated meal or buffet style?  When it comes to serving alcoholic beverages, I am all about it.  Make it fun and do a mimosa bar or have a signature drink.

Sweets

This is one of my favorite parts….because I love sweets (especially now that I am pregnant!)  The dessert industry has come a long way in such a short amount of time, and the cakes, cupcakes, cookies, macaroons, etc. that are served now are just incredible.  Not only do people love a little sweet treat at an event to go with their coffee/juice/champagne, but they photograph so well and can be the central focus of your table.

Guest List

The mom-to-be needs to actively be involved in this category.  Afterall, the shower is for her 🙂  If she hasn’t kept up with somewhat of a good contact list over the past several years, this can be stressful.  Give her plenty of time to determine whom to invite and find their addresses.  Here’s a tip – maintaining a good contacts list in excel is a great way to do this.  I have the master list from my wedding and try to keep addresses updated.  It also helps when sending out Christmas cards.

 

Decorations/Budget

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is planning a budget for the shower.  Things can add up quickly, and if you are like me, you might tend to go overboard on the decorations.  Whether you are splitting up the tasks by person, or one person doing it all and then the rest venmo-ing their share, you need to determine a comfortable budget before the purchasing begins.  The last thing you want is someone to be caught off-guard when it comes time to paying up.  Once you determine your budget, you can then decide on how much goes towards your decorations.  In the world of Instagram, Pinterest, blogging, etc., there is no lack of ideas for decorating a baby shower.  Balloons, flowers, stuffed animals, bath toys, books, diaper cakes….the list goes on and on and on and on.  I’m telling you – this is an easy one to go over budget on.  “But this is so cute,” or “She would love these,” or “How adorable is this?” adds up super quickly.

Invitations

Invitations should be sent out three to four weeks ahead of the shower.  Invitation essentials: Mother’s (or Parents’) name, date, time, location of shower, RSVP info, registration info.  Many times, the invitation will hint at the theme of either the shower or the nursery.

Games

Games can be a fun way to get people moving around and chatting with each other, but they can also be a way to annoy people.  Avoid games that could be embarrassing for the mom-to-be and/or make the guests feel uncomfortable.  Know your crowd, know what they’ll enjoy, and make your decision based off of that.  The goal of games is to get people chatting, active, and involved, while having fun at the same time.

For the Mom-to-Be

When I was getting married and wedding showers were hosted for me, I always wanted to arrive early to the showers, kind of like I was hosting the shower (I think part of it was fomo! haha)  I kept reminding myself that I am the guest of honor, and the hostesses need their time to set up and decorate.  I do recommend arriving a few minutes early to take pictures, maybe 10-15 minutes, but not any sooner than that.  It’s a balance between not arriving too early while the hostesses are finishing up last minute decorations, setting out food, getting drinks ready, etc. and not being on your phone the first 15 minutes as your guests are arriving.  Try to speak with all of your guests and mingle around the room.  You do not want to be in the back corner of the room chatting it up with one friend the entire time – spread the love.  Be polite, say please and thank you, yes ma’am, no ma’am, etc.

Thank you letters

I’ve read about this new trend of not sending thank you letters, and although I am very modern in some ways of thinking, I am very traditional in others, and I believe a thank you letter is a must.  I am currently experiencing this personally, where as the mom-to-be you feel like you have 800,000 things to do before baby (or babies) arrive, and writing a thank you letter is time consuming; however, it is a vital part of showing respect towards your guests who not only took time out of their day to attend your shower, but also spent money buying you a gift.  If you’ve not had the opportunity to purchase baby gifts, believe me when I say, they are expensive.  I am in the process of writing my thank you letters, it is just taking me longer than expected.  My goal is to have them done by the time the twins arrive – so fingers crossed!  One tip that is extremely helpful – have one of the hostesses record the gifts you are opening along with a detailed description (for example, Carter’s pink bunny onesie vs. onesie.)

Hostess Gift

This is a polite way of thanking your hostesses for taking time out of their busy lives to plan and host the baby shower given in your honor.  Examples include a candle, room spray, flowers, wine glasses, olive oil and vinegar set, cheese board, a nice bottle of wine, etc.  Basically, this is something to show your appreciation to your hostesses.

What to Wear

As the guest of honor, this was fun for me.  Being pregnant, I don’t always feel “cute.”  But, I did splurge a little on my baby shower dresses and felt confident and great on the day of the showers.  I wanted to feel and look my best, and I am so glad I did.  I look back at my baby shower photos and just love them.  I look happy, because I felt happy.  For a few hours each day, I didn’t focus on how big I was, or how round my face was getting, or how badly my feet hurt – I enjoyed my time at the showers (and then went home and crashed 🙂 )