Baby Shower Checklist

Welcoming a baby is such an exciting time. With roughly 40 weeks to prepare for baby, the anticipation turns into a game of hurry up and wait! 
But with appointments and classes to help a mom pass the time, there’s one event a mom is sure to look forward to:
The Baby Shower.

Times have changed, and gone are the days when a family member or friend is expected to throw a baby shower in honor of a mom to be, and men had no interest in joining the occasion.

Now, anything goes, and the baby shower can be what you, yes YOU, make it. Given my recent announcement of the arrival of our first child, there are many things I’m looking forward to, and the baby shower is just one. While my family is taking the reins on planning and hosting the baby shower, I wanted to have a hand in some aspects of planning.  Moms-to-be can be as involved as little or as much as they would like in their baby shower, and everyone is different. Knowing event planning isn’t easy, I wanted to put together a baby shower checklist of how to plan for a baby shower to help any other expecting mamas or their friends and family to make sure you cover all your bases.

Here is what is on my list of to-dos:
1. Select a Date and Time
Is mama due in the summer or the chilly winter? Depending on the time of year, you can decide whether you’d like an indoor or an outdoor shower.
Think Winter Wonderland gathered around a large fireplace while snow falls outside the windows, or the magic of a Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Once you have a date set, pick a time. Are you thinking of serving brunch? Then mid-morning may work best. Want to serve a variety of snacks and appetizers? Then schedule for the afternoon. Want to serve a full-course meal? Invite your guests to a dinner party to shower mom and baby.

2. Find the Perfect Venue
Once you have a date and time selected, you will need to select a venue and confirm availability. Before looking into a space, know your budget. Know how much you have to spend on things like food, invitations, party favors, and venue. Limited budget? No problem! See if someone would open their home or yard to guests or check out local parks. Just make sure the location you choose will accommodate all of the guests.

3. Make a Guest List
If you are planning your own baby shower, think of who you’d like to be there. If you’re planning for someone else, get this list from the mom-to-be. Or, make it a surprise (if she’s into surprises)! Decide if the party guests will be just female, or if men are invited too. Throwing a baby shower for an expecting couple has become popular and is nice to include the dad in the fun. Once you know who to invite, gather the mailing addresses for the guests on your list.

4. Design and Order Invitations (discount code available!)
Now with your guest list in hand, it’s time for one of the funnest parts, INVITATIONS! The invitation is going to set the stage for what your guests can expect. Have a certain theme or color scheme you’re going for? Finding the perfect and unique baby shower invitation is an important part of planning. And it is most likely going to be a keepsake for the mom to be to look back on for years to come.

For my shower, I chose to look at Basic Invite for invitations. Basic Invite is one of the few websites that allows customers to order a printed sample of their actual invitation before they place their final order. They can see the paper quality and how it will print in real life and make sure the card is perfect. This is a big deal.  Have you ever spent hours designing the perfect card or invitation, thinking it is beautiful, only to have it arrive on your doorstep not what you were expecting?

I love that I can get a physical preview before I purchase. Even better, hunting down addresses from guests can be a pain.
Basic Invite offers an address capturing service that allows customers to share a link on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media to request their friends and family’s addresses. This will save a ton of time!

The addresses are stored in the customer’s account and can be selected during the design process. Basic Invite offers recipient address printing at no cost on all card orders. And right now Basic Invite is offering 15% off with coupon code: 15FF51. And don’t forget to buy corresponding Thank You cards with your invites!

Zoo Baby

5. Plan the Menu
Depending on the time of day you schedule the baby shower will determine the type of food you will serve. Have your heart set on breakfast food? Feed guests frittatas, fruit, and pastries. Going with afternoon appetizers? Serve bite-sized or finger foods, whatever is easy for guests to eat and won’t be too messy.

6. Think About Decor
Let your invitation be your guide to decor. Follow the theme or color scheme. Decide if you want it to stay gender-neutral or go all out with blue or pink. Decorating is a fun aspect of planning a baby shower, but it can add up quickly. Have ideas of what you want and check out things you can do yourself instead of buying already made. Need some inspiration? Check out this post for 50 baby shower ideas.

7. Research Baby Shower Games
Party games are usually an expected part of a baby shower, and they can be a lot of fun. With so many different games out there, do some research and pick a few that you’d like your guests to participate in. Here’s a blog post with 21 non-traditional baby shower games that look like fun.

8. Pick out Party Favors
Give your guests a little thank you gift for helping celebrate the mom and baby to be. It doesn’t need to be anything grand or expensive. Browse Etsy and Pinterest for inexpensive and easy DIY baby shower favors.

9. Plan an Agenda
Set a schedule of things to do for the baby shower, and make sure to keep things moving. Guests often get restless when given long periods of time without a planned agenda. An example would be to give some time for guests to arrive and get settled.

Have them sign a guest book when they arrive. After 15-20 minutes, welcome guests and make an announcement for food or start with an introductory game while guests are grabbing their drinks. Give guests about 30-60 minutes to eat before moving into games and activities. Wrap it up with having the mom to be open any gifts she may have received and thanking her guests for coming.

Awaiting the arrival of a baby can be filled with anxiety and stress. It’s important to take time to treat the mom-to-be, or yourself, and celebrate all the excitement with friends and family. Hopefully, this post helps you get organized and eager to plan for a baby shower.

10. Baby Shower Gifts
Baby shower gifts can be for baby or mom, but if you’re looking for a unique and thoughtful gift for both baby and mom-to-be and you know she has plans to breastfeed, send her one of our breastfeeding boxes.

Our breastfeeding boxes are curated by a Registered Dietitian and known to support breastmilk supply. It includes an assortment of foods, tea, and herbs to help the new mom explore what foods support her in her breastfeeding journey. 
Check out a free baby shower agenda and baby shower checklist (see below!)

This post was sponsored by Basic Invite. All reviews and opinoions in this post are based on my personal view.