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A few months ago, my best friend, Amy, called to tell me she and her fiancé were expecting this summer. I think I must have pierced her ear with my squeals of excitement. Having just “wrapped up” my very-last-pregnancy-ever (*tear*), I had so much I wanted to gab about with her… maternity clothes, cravings, …. the baby shower!
After attending multiple showers, we all get a feel for what works and what doesn’t.
So while her Mom did the actual party planning, with countless baby showers under our belts, our small group of friends served as an advisory board of sorts, giving input when needed and pitching in with some of the details.
This past weekend was the big celebration and it went off with out a hitch. It truly was a special moment to see this next chapter just beginning for her.
1. Create a group Pinterest board. Pinterest is the perfect go-to-place to brainstorm and collect ideas for planning a shower. Little details like invitations and decoratio
Amy’s Mom made these centerpieces. How cute is she, typing up each place card- with a REAL typewriter? LOVE.
Amy’s Mom made these centerpieces. How cute is she, typing up each place card- with a REAL typewriter? LOVE.
2. Assign a Mistress of Games. For Amy’s shower, this was me. So this bullet point is probably going to be the most lengthy. It’s a given that games and baby showers go hand in hand, but it can be a slippery slope trying to find a happy medium between entertaining and, well… silly (I’m looking at you, “guess the smushed candy bar in the diaper” game). Of course, there are some who love the silly games, and I am not an expert by any means– but I do recommend trying to avoid having the games involving sniffing, tasting, blindfolds or measuring tape (hello, worst game ever!) of any kind.
Here are my gaming recommendations:
Baby BINGO. It’s a no brainer, sort of a baby shower staple and super, super easy. You can easily find printables online or purchase premade ones online. Baby Bingo is also great to keep guests engaged in the sometimes very long gift opening process. My tips: Don’t assume everyone knows how to play (I accidentally did this, whoops!), and be sure to explain the rules before the first gift is opened. Also, plan for at least 5 winners. This keeps the game going longer.
Paper Games. By paper games, I’m talking word jumbles, word searches and quizzes. With Baby Bingo, 2 of these additional paper games are perfect. If you are looking for some unique baby shower games, there are a ton of options out there (again, I suggest Pin em!). The alternative book title game was a hit at Amy’s shower.
BABY SHOWER PRINTABLE
Daddy Knows Best. It’s nice to involve the Dad to be in some way. Quiz the dad-to-be with questions like the ones below and throughout the party have people at different tables ask the mom-to-be to guess his answer.
Before starting the game, give guests a paper slip to guess how many of his answers the mom-to-be will get right. The person who guessed correctly gets a prize.
If you are ambitious and crafty, this would be extra fun with a tally board at the front of the room so everyone can see how the game is progressing.
{Click to download free printable}
3. Assign a Photographer-Friend. Hand off the camera duties to someone you know will capture the day perfectly. They don’t have to be a pro, just someone who is dedicated and familiar with the camera you’re using. By designating this responsibility, you do not have to worry about missing any special shots. In our case, our friend’s husband is a professional photographer, so he was assigned this task. The pictures in this post are not his- obviously- ha! But I cannot wait to see them, because I know they are going to be amazing.
4. Prepare Thank Yous. The mom-to-be will no doubt have a ton of thanks to give after her shower and the thank you writing process can be overwhelming. To help streamline the process, printing mailing labels of all of the guests and ordering her thank you cards is a huge help and a great gift idea! Also, when opening the gifts, give someone the duty of writing small descriptions of each gift on the back of the cards to help jog her memory when writing out the cards.
Disclosure: I am blogging on behalf of Walmart.com and received compensation for my time. The views expressed here are solely mine, not Walmart’s. Shop online and save money to live better at http://www.walmart.com.
