Sponsored Guest Post on behalf of UKGifts
Planning a baby shower is a great experience. You get to come up with plenty of amazing games for people to play and decorate a venue for the mother to be. Baby showers show expectant mums just how much their loved ones care about them – and that can be very important when things are bound to feel a little stressful.
However, if you’ve never planned a baby shower before, it’s easy to underestimate just how much work is involved in making it a success. There are many things to do and plan before the day, and you might find yourself under a lot of pressure. Here, we’ve put together a list of five things you must remember to make sure everything goes smoothly.
1. Get the Guest List
The guest list is the most important part of any successful baby shower. To start, make sure you know whether you’re going to stick to the traditional process of only inviting other women or whether you’re going to welcome the father and his friends into the situation too. Once you have that out of the way, you can begin by focusing on the most important people in the surrounding family, like mothers, mothers in law, sisters, and aunties.
If you’re not sure what kind of friends your loved one would like at the baby shower – don’t just guess. Most mothers would rather you ask them who they want to be around, rather than having to deal with a visitor that causes any discomfort or stress.
2. Determine the Date, Venue, and Time Early
It takes a while to get everything planned for a baby shower, particularly when you need to ensure that everyone on the guest list is actually available. If possible, pick a day on the weekend when you know most of the people attending will be away from work. This will avoid any arguments with people who complain that they weren’t able to be part of the big day.
Once you’ve got a date in mind, choose the venue and the time of the event ahead of schedule so all of your guests can prepare. Choosing a venue well in advance will also ensure that the people you invite will plan their journey.
3. Agree on a Budget
When it comes to budgeting for a baby shower, a lot of people focus on how much the shower itself is going to cost, but there are other budgeting aspects to consider too. For instance, if you and the other family members are all buying gifts for babies, you might want to agree on a maximum “spend”, so that no-one in your group feels like their gift isn’t enough.
You may also consider working together to buy something a little larger if you have limited resources. A large gift from multiple members of family is a common purchase for a lot of baby showers. You could work together on getting something important that the mum needs, such as a crib or a pushchair.
Related: Ultimate Fathers Day Gift Guide
4. Plan the Décor
If you’re hosting the baby shower yourself, you can go as wild as you like with the baby shower decorations, just remember that you need to clean up after the party is over. If you’re hosting something at a local venue, you’ll need to speak to the people who own that location to see any restrictions on what you can do.
One important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t go too over the top if you have the shower at the mother to be’s house. Unless you’re willing to stay behind and tidy up after everyone is gone, a huge baby shower with lots of decorations to put away will just put more stress on the pregnant lady that you’re trying to celebrate.
5. Have Fun!
Although planning a baby shower can be stressful, it’s also important to remember that it’s supposed to be fun too. Don’t get so bogged down in the details that your stress and panic seeps into the joy of the day. If you seem overwhelmed and constantly flustered, then there’s a good chance that the mom to be is going to sense your headaches and try to swoop in to help you.
When things aren’t going according to plan, or you’re worried that something isn’t as it should be, don’t panic, just accept that there are unexpected changes in any big party and go with the flow.
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