If you’re wondering how to plan a baby shower then you’re in the right place!
Whether you’re the mama-to-be putting together your own party or are wanting to make a pregnant loved one feel special, this article is going to explain exactly what you need to do.
There’s even a free printable baby shower planning checklist at the end of this article. Download and print to remind you of everything you need to get done before the big day.
Key things to remember when planning a baby shower
- Create a guest list
- Set a budget
- Pick the venue
- Set the date
- Send out invitations
- Choose a theme – check out these baby shower themes for inspo!
- Send invitations
- Choose and order food and cake
- Order decorations
- Follow up RSVPs
This is a simple list to help you wrap your head around the key things to think about with regards how to plan a baby shower.
Want to throw a baby shower for guests who live all over the world? Check out this guide to throwing a virtual baby shower.
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How to plan a baby shower step by step
Here’s a complete guide to what to do to plan the perfect party for a pregnant friend.
Create a guest list
I’ve attended surprise baby showers (my own) and pre-organised ones. Who sets or helps with the guest list depends on the type of baby shower this will be!
Generally speaking a close friend or relative who may plan the baby shower will know must of the key people the pregnant guest of honour will want to invite.
Set your budget
Once you know what kind of numbers you will be trying to host it’s a good idea to set the budget before deciding on a venue.
As with any party, you can either set a very high budget and go all-out with an expensive venue and lots of decorations or host it at someone’s house and cater it all yourself.
A survey by American Express found the average cost of holding a baby shower was £91.
If you are trying to keep costs down then I would cater the event yourself and plan for a cost of around £5 per head for food and drink. Decorations are likely to be another £30 to £100+ on top of that – depending on how far you want to go.
You may also like: Cheap baby shower gifts
Decide on a venue and date
Once you know your budget then you can decide on a venue.
Lots of people choose to have baby showers at the mama-to-be’s home or at a loved one’s home to save on costs. It’s also better if you have just a small party of people.
Alternatively you could have a baby shower at a local restaurant – which is nice if it’s just a small group of three to eight people.
If you hold the party at a restaurant then it will be tricky to hold any party games.
You could also hire out a local hall or community centre if you have bigger numbers expected to attend.
Pick a theme
A baby shower does not have to have a theme, but it can help to have even a vague colour scheme for when you pick out decorations and invitations.
It just ties the whole party together and will help you make choices for decorations and colours much faster.
Theme ideas include:
- Pastel rainbow colours
- Gender neutral boho
- Bees
- Woodland animals
- Botanical
- Tea party
- Garden
- Unicorn
- Stars
- Safari
- Winnie the Pooh
Send out invitations
Once you have a final guest list it’s time to send out the invitations. Try to do this at least six weeks before the actual date to give everyone a chance to make plans for travel if needed.
You can save money on invitations by finding stunning digital options on Etsy that can be personalised and then printed off at home.
Buy some high quality gloss paper to ensure they look really great.
Check out these beautiful digital baby shower invitations to personalise and print at home.
Choose and order the food
The type of food you order for your baby shower will very much depend on the venue and how many people you have invited.
A buffet of party food is a solid option, plus it makes a nice focal point for decorations.
Pretty cakes, cookies and tasty food laid out on bright plates add to the ambience of the party.
Plan where you will get the food from at least four weeks ahead of the party and put in your orders.
If you will be making the food yourself – such as sandwiches and dishes – then plan when you will do this so you get it done in time for the day.
Plan some games or activities
There are all sorts of great baby shower games you can choose to give guests something to do and make it fun.
If you prefer activities rather than games then I have a whole host of baby shower activities and modern baby shower games – with a free bundle of printable games.
It’s nice to get the guests to either sign a guest book or fill out words of advice cards for the mother-to-be. Baby prediction cards are also fun for her to look back on.
You’ll need to remember to order the supplies for the activities in advance – for example if you want to do onesie decorating then you’ll need some white onesies and fabric pens.
Want some printable baby shower games? Check out my pretty baby shower games bundles.
Don’t forget to get some prizes for the winners of the games, if it can fit into your budget.
It’s not essential to have prizes, and it could be something as simple as bags of sweets or mini bottles of tasty non-alcoholic cocktails.
Remember to print off any games or activities you have found or bought online well in advance of the baby shower day. You don’t want to be struggling with a jammed printed the night before the baby shower.
If you would like to give your guests some prizes then check out my list of brilliant baby shower prizes, they suit all budgets!
Want to make your baby shower really stand out? Why not combine it with a gender reveal party? Here’s how to throw a gender reveal baby shower.
Follow up on RSVPs
You’ll want to try and finalise the numbers that will be at the party four weeks before the event if possible.
Chase any late replies ahead of the big day.
Consider if you want to give out party favours
A party favour is a gift you give to guests when they are leaving the baby shower to say thank you for coming.
They’re basically a party bag, but for grown-ups.
Edible baby shower party favours such as cupcakes in a pretty takeaway container, or colourful popcorn work really nicely.
You could also give out little bottles of shower gel or bubble bath, with a label tied to the bottles saying “thanks for attending X’s baby shower”.
Create a gift list
While guests may like to pick out their own gifts to give to the expectant mother, it can be useful to have a gift list for people to choose from.
This way the parents-to-be get stuff that they will actually need and use, rather than a pile of repeat gifts.
The easiest way to do this is for the expectant mother to create an Amazon baby wishlist.
This can be shared with loved ones who can then purchase items off the list, avoiding the risk of any duplicates!
Top tip for preparing for a baby: Set up a Baby Wishlist with Amazon and share it with your friends and family so they can gift you with things you need!
Plan how you will use the venue layout
Once you have chosen a venue then it’s a good idea to figure out how you will use the space.
Where will the gifts go? This can be a nice focal point as the wrapping adds to the decor.
Decide where the food will go and how you will decorate the venue so that the decorations will stand out. A larger room will need more decorations, otherwise the room, will feel empty.
If you are running a few activities – such as onesie decorating – then decide where you will set this up.
Plan and purchase decorations and supplies
Picking out your decorations and other supplies will be much easier once you’ve decided on a theme.
Decorations you may want to purchase include:
- Balloons – individual bunches and/or arches
- Flowers
- Bunting
- Streamers
- Banners – personalised with the mother’s name
- Photo booth props – you don’t have to set up a whole booth, but a bright corner of the room where you could do photos with some fun baby shower themed props is a nice idea
- Lanterns
- Table centrepieces
Decide who will take photos
As most people at the party are bound to have a smartphone, you can rely on guests to take pictures.
But it can help to designate one person to go around taking photos – if you are not going to have a professional photographer at the day – to ensure the happy memories are captured.
Create a schedule for the day
Putting together a schedule for the day will help the party to run smoothly.
It doesn’t have to be rigidly planned down the minute, but it helps to have a running order to guide the event.
Figure out how you will welcome guests – will the food be ready right away or will you give them a welcome drink and invite them to sit somewhere first?
Decide on how many games you will play – it can help to have a couple of backups in case you have extra time – and what time you will allocate to them.
Don’t forget to leave at least 30 minutes for gift opening at the end. Double check with the mother-to-be that she wants to open gifts in front of guests, or if she would rather do so later.
Organise a music playlist
Having some music in the background is a great idea to create the party atmosphere.
You could ask the mother-to-be to pick all of her favourite songs to go on the playlist, or ask every guest to choose two songs to be included on the list.
Order and send thank you notes
It’s nice to send thank you notes within a couple of weeks of the baby shower.
Postcards with a picture of everyone who attended the shower in a group photo can be a really nice way to send out your messages.
To do list for the day of the baby shower
On the day of the baby shower you’ll need to do the following things.
- Pick up cake, party food and any final decorations
- Decorate the venue and lay out the food
- Choose a spot for where gifts will go
- Organise your games and activities
- Set up the music player
- Have fun!
List of items needed for a baby shower
- Balloons – a balloon arch looks particular pretty for a baby shower and gives a really lovely place to take photos. You can order them, or you can save money by creating your own using a tutorial such as this one.
- Decorations – floral arrangements, table cloth, napkins and hanging decorations such as bunting, streamers, banners, candles and lanterns
- Party favours – Examples include bubble bath, sweet cones, popcorn cones, succulents and biscuits
- Cake or cupcakes
- Food – lots of baby showers go with a buffet of party food. Biscuits and cookies decorated to match the colour scheme or baby themed are a nice way to make the food table look fun. Add some paper plates and tablecloth to match the theme too.
- Games – don’t forget to print off game sheets such as baby shower bingo. Be sure to print off plenty of copies just in case.
- Activities – once you have decided on activities then make a list of all the things you’ll need to facilitate those. Signs explaining what guests should do at activity stations can also be a good idea.
- Gifts – all guests usually bring a gift to a baby shower. As the planner it can help to give guests an idea of what the parents-to-be need by creating a wishlist
Baby shower schedule example
You’ve got a venue, a guest list and a theme sorted out. Plus you’ve got an idea of some things you might do, but what does an ideal baby shower itinerary look like?
First of all it’s a good idea to establish how long your baby shower will last. The typical duration of a baby shower is two to three hours.
Here’s an example of how your baby shower schedule may look:
- 1pm. Guests arrive. If it’s a surprise baby shower then you’ll want to ensure the guests arrive at least 30 minutes before the mama-to-be gets there. If it’s not a surprise shower then you can set a general arrival time. If it’s a buffet then have the food out ready to go.
- 1pm-1.30pm. People mingle and get a drink. Once everyone has arrived you could play very short ice-breaker game, such as going around the room and getting everyone to introduce themselves and tell one short fact about themselves. Invite people to help themselves to food if it’s a buffet.
- 1.30pm. Play some baby shower games or enjoy some relaxing activities, such as writing encouraging messages on nappies for the mama-to-be to use.
- 2pm. Serve lunch if you are having a sit down meal. Otherwise allow guests to enjoy the baby shower activities, such as onesie decorating.
- 2.30pm. Open gifts.
- 3pm – 3.30pm. Baby shower ends and people say their goodbyes.
Who usually plans a baby shower?
A baby shower is often planned and hosted by a best friend or close relative of the pregnant mother.
Sometimes a pregnant mother may also be involved in the planning of the baby shower.
It’s important to note that everyone’s situation is different, and it may be that the usual etiquette doesn’t work for you. Go with whatever situation is going to be the best for the pregnant mama.
Who pays for a baby shower?
Relatives may typically foot the bill for a baby shower, however it’s not unusual for friends to all chip in to fund the party.
When should you have a baby shower?
The baby shower typically happens in the third trimester of pregnancy – when the mother is around 28 to 35 weeks pregnant.
You want to avoid planning it too close to the due date, as it’s possible for baby to arrive a little early and scupper the plans.
During the final weeks of pregnancy it’s also likely the mother-to-be will want to put her feet up and rest and may not be up to a party.
This timeframe also means the parents can get organised with newborn essentials they need, as a baby shower helps them tick some crucial things off the list.
Who should be invited to a baby shower?
The mother-to-be’s close female relatives, including mother and mother-in-law, and friends and co-workers are typically invited to a baby shower.
However this isn’t a rule set in stone, and if dads want to attend and his partner is OK with that then it’s of course absolutely fine.
It’s a good idea to consult the mama-to-be on her guest list if the one planning her shower isn’t close to everyone in her social circle.
Baby shower planning checklist
To help you plan your party use this handy printable checklist to stay on track.
Best of luck with planning your baby shower!
