The baby shower is a tradition that goes back through the ages. The shower we practice today came about in the ’40s and ’50s, as post-war women were preparing for the Baby Boomer generation.
The modern baby shower is a great way to celebrate a new life coming into your community. It brings people together to help support new parents, often with gifts, games, and delicious treats.
Traditionally men have been excluded from the shower, but now, it’s up to the soon-to-be parents to decide how they’d like to run the show. A baby shower can be whatever experience you want it to be: lunch with your closest friends, a night out, or a day at a spa.
How to plan and what to consider
Planning a baby shower can be overwhelming. There are endless Pinterest boards, articles, and books on baby shower invitation ideas to favour ideas. It’s good to plan the party four-six weeks before your due date, in case your new bub comes early.
You’ll want to think about whether you’d like to organise it yourself, or if you’d rather a trusted friend take the reins so you can lay back.
While some folks love a gender-reveal, others are opting for gender-neutral themed parties. The mother who started the gender-reveal tradition now regrets them, wishing people would opt for transgender-inclusive ways to celebrate. “With the gender-reveal, you’ve isolated one aspect of this person. When it gets elevated as being central to your identity that’s problematic,” she told The Guardian. Many parents are veering away from a “blue is for boys, pink is for girls” mentality.
To tie your shower together, you’ll want to start with a theme and then build the food, decorations and games around it. There are guides out there on everything from eco-friendly themes to Wonder Woman themes to more fancy Wes Anderson-themed showers.
Below are some baby shower ideas you can use to make your baby shower a memory you’ll cherish for life. They feature food, decoration, game and favour ideas.
5. Plant a tree together
If you live in a permanent residence, you could plant your baby-to-be a tree with the help of friends and family. Watching the tree grow while your bub grows will be pretty wholesome. That tree could become a place where your child can go to reflect, relax and laze under the shade.
A small tree will set you back anywhere from $20-150 at your local nursery. You can liaise with the nursery to find the best type for your backyard, and there are plenty of DIY tree-planting tips on YouTube.
4. Plan some silly games
Essential Baby provides an extensive list of games, from a spit the dummy contest to a raunchy guessing game called ‘Labour or Porn’.
Or, if your pregnant mate is a thrill-seeker, they might like this one: buy a dart set (preferably the magnetic kind, so that your tipsy players aren’t a hazard). Stick little paper cut-outs in the shape of sperm on the darts and an egg on the bulls-eye. See who can impregnate the egg! It really puts you in the sperm’s perspective.
Here’s another game idea: pin the sunnies on the cool baby. Print out a bunch of pictures of cute babies and cut out some images of sunglasses. While blindfolded, see if you can pin the sunnies on these cool-as-heck babies.
3. Share words of wisdom
As common as childrearing is, it can be an isolating journey. As small communities become more fractured and with more and more people moving long distances for work, it’s likely true that women from different generations spend less time together than they used to. The effects of this are that intergenerational knowledge is lost. Some advice cards could be a thoughtful step to bridging this gap.
If you’re organising a shower for a friend, reach out to their parents and grandparents. Ask them to write down words of wisdom they wish they knew while raising their kids.
You could go further and collect advice cards from other parents in your social groups, and give them as a gift.
4. Plan a shower based on one of the new parents’ hobbies
What do you love to do in your spare time? Plan a theme around a hobby, be it reading, sport or anything at all. Just because a baby is around the corner doesn’t mean new parents have to distance themselves from their passions! Plan your decorations and food around your favourite hobby. You can find endless themed baby shower cake ideas online.
5. Make a gift list
As a baby shower favour idea, you might want to compile a list of items for people to buy. “A baby shower can really help you feel less overwhelmed by equipping you with a lot of what you’ll need when the baby arrives,” says Jodi Cohen, co-founder of event company JOWY Productions.
Opt for gifts that will ease stress when the baby comes around. For example, include white noise machines to help the baby fall asleep, waterproof play-mats, easy-to-wash silicone bibs, pram toys and baby thermometers. These kinds of gifts are often available in a variety price ranges meaning gift-givers on all budgets can contribute.
