Celebrating the birth of your unborn baby is an exciting time! It's safe to say that there is a lot to plan and a lot to get organized that it can be overwhelming if you don't have a plan or a structure in place. One of the most important planning events during your pregnancy is your baby shower, which is a whole other ballgame. Now that baby showers are becoming less and less traditional, there's tons to know and prepare for, so here are a few details to keep in mind when planning the big event.
Pick the date of the shower carefully.
Pregnancy can be unpredictable, so you'll want to pick the date of the shower very carefully. You never know what is going to happen, like whether your little one decides to come early or you are put on bed rest. In cases like this, it is always important to invest in pregnancy insurance, which will help to give you peace of mind that you are covered if you have to have surgery or specialized care. For some health insurance plans, pregnancy insurance is not included, so as soon as you find out you are pregnant, look into a plan or what your current plan offers. It's incredibly important to understand what your health insurance provides in terms of pregnancy as well as postpartum care. You don't want any surprise bills after you give birth at the hospital.
With all of this in mind, we recommend planning the shower to be at the end of your second trimester. This way you'll have ample amounts of time to organize all your new gifts before the baby arrives.
Send out invites with about five weeks to spare.
Especially now with the COVID-19 crisis affecting travel, you'll want to send out your baby shower invites as soon as you can. This will give guests from out of town ample time to plan their trip, as well as getting the mama-to-be registered on all her favorite baby sites. Just make sure the mom is registered before the invites go out, so you can include the link to her registries on the invite itself.
Ask for gifts to be unwrapped.
Sure, heaps of baby presents makes for an excited and gracious pregnant mom. But watching the mom unwrap presents for hours on end can be especially tedious for the guests. While yes, everyone loves to see adorable baby clothes, stuffed animals, and little bottles, baby showers can be quite boring. To ensure everyone is having a fun time for the entire duration of the shower, ask for all presents to be unwrapped. This way all the gifts will be on display for everyone to see, and the guests have more time to mingle. Another choice is opening presents after guests have left.
Choose crafts instead of games.
Some games are just not that fun during baby showers, only because they're not very original! Most guests have probably played all the games you planned on playing, so why not change things up by choosing crafts for the nursery and the family-to-be instead? There are plenty of fun ways to make crafting fun at a baby shower, such as:
- Give every person a white bib and fabric paint to decorate as they wish,
- Write a message on a piece of fabric and the mom can sew the pieces into a quilt after the shower,
- Each person puts on lipstick and kisses a canvas, leaving a "kiss" for the new baby,
- Each person draws what they think the baby will look like once it is grown up.
Allow for grazing with a buffet.
A sit-down baby shower can be a bit stuffy, so consider allowing a buffet so your guests can snack during the entire shower. You can pick a time in the mid-morning or the mid-afternoon and serve a lot of different appetizers and desserts to keep everyone full and happy. Just don't forget the mocktails and the cocktails!
Keep these few tips and tricks in mind and you'll be on your way to planning a memorable baby shower for the books!
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