Pulling-off the Perfect Baby Shower
Follow these step-by-step tips for planning and implementing the perfect (memorable, out of the ordinary, personalized) baby shower.
I recently planned (with some great teammates) a special baby shower for a wonderful couple. Planning and executing a shower of any kind could be overwhelming for many. To ease that anxiety, you can follow this thought process along with the tips and tricks to pull-off a perfect shower!
1. Brainstorm and Develop Your Theme
Begin your planning process doing some or all of the following:
Consider the guest(s) of honor – what are they celebrating? what is unique about them? do they have a favorite thing/color/mantra? what style of gathering would they appreciate?
Build a secret pinterest board and share with the other hosts you are working with. There are many good ideas out there that you can tweak to make your own.
Nail down shower logistics and confirm with guest(s) of honor – available dates, time of day, location options
Use Google Drive to create a Shower Planning Spreadsheet where you can document shower details and who is responsible with different aspects of the shower prep
2. Guest List and Invitations
Who will be coming to this special shower? Work with the guest(s) of honor to develop the guest list and gather addresses and add these to your Shower Planning Spreadsheet.
What info needs to be communicated in the invitation? Make sure you clearly communicate the reason for the celebration, when it is (date and time), where it is, RSVP information (to whom and by when), and registry information when possible. I also think the invitation should communicate the style and theme of the event – this gets guests excited about even coming!
Here is the invitation designed by Paper Pleasers, LLC for this shower:
3. Plan the Menu and Food Table
This shower theme clearly points out the food theme making it easy to develop the menu. But even if your shower doesn’t, come up with a list of potential food and dessert ideas thinking through who will make each item, how much prep time it takes, and the space you have for serving. I knew with our modest house size, we could allow for a single food area organized as a build-your-own slider bar. We divided up the food making responsibility which keeps it simple for everyone.
The shower menu consisted of:
Three flavors of sliders (Aloha, American and Mushroom/Swiss) served on Hawaiian and Butter Rolls
Slider toppings of all kinds – guacamole, bacon weaves, grilled pineapple, teriyaki sauce, ketchup/mustard/mayo, cheese slices, grilled mushrooms, sliced onion, tomato, lettuce, etc.
Cranberry Lettuce Salad with olive oil dressing
Sweet Potato Fries with sea salt
Angry Orchard Cider Cupcakes with Cream Cheese frosting
4. Decor and other Personalized Touches
Creativity is encouraged here. Use those pinterest ideas and bring them alive. These are the touches that catch people’s eye and make the shower very special. You don’t need to go overboard – just a few key things will do. We focused on these pieces:
Designing and printing on treat bags that were filled with chocolate drizzled caramel corn and cheesy popcorn. We used the saying, “Thanks for popping by to celebrate Baby Hermsen.”
Handmade coasters – ordered 3.5in. wooden discs online and printed/cut circular designs that were decoupaged onto the wooden discs
Decorative pennants hung at the top of each window to make it really feel like a party!
5. Finish the Shower Look with Fun Presentation and Display
Transform your home or any venue into a true party space by considering the look and feel of the room. Set up different display areas for the food, drinks, gifts, and activities around the room. This also helps keep the traffic flow dispersed during the celebration.
Use tables and furniture you already have to set up these displays. Our dining room table became the slider bar. The secretary desk became the dessert and treat bag display. An old table with a table cloth became the root beer float station. And I transformed an old sewing table into another drink table by removing the sewing machine part and replacing it with an ice filled tub for more drinks – yes, two drink stations were necessary!
Best of luck with your party planning! Cheers!