Planning any kind of event can be stressful but we should always keep in mind that it’s all about having fun and not over stressing! A baby shower should solely revolve around the new mother-to-be and the new comer on the way. Here are a few tips and ideas to make your party a success.

1.   Budget
Making a budget is very important for any party. Especially when it is for someone else you should be well aware of how much you as a host, are willing to spend. A great way to not put pressure on only one person is if a bunch of the new mom’s friends can pool in money for the party. This way the shower will feel even more special to the mom-to-be.
 

2.   Guest list
Make a guest list. This should be done by someone who is very close to the mother-to-be, like a close friend, sister, cousin who is familiar with the new mom’s friends, associates, acquaintances, colleagues etc. She should know to invite all the people that the new mom would love to have at her shower. The budget should definitely be in mind when making a guest list.

3.   Theme
Choosing a theme is the best part of any party as you can go wild with your imagination. If it is a baby boy to be born, the theme can be football, basketball, PeterPan etc and décor can be done with pastel blue or green shades and for a baby girl, the theme can be done in fairy tale princesses and the décor can be pink or white or even red for a more vibrant look!
There is always Baby Einstein, Sesame Street, Winnie the Pooh, Baby animals and Barney for both the genders.
When doing up the décor, you should keep in mind that party’s main focus is the new mommy and she should have a comfortable “throne” to sit on, from where she can open her gifts and chit chat. Being pregnant is already kind of uncomfortable; hence the mom should have a nice spot where she can comfortably sit for 2-3 hours. Some of the items of the décor may be used later to decorate the baby’s nursery.

4.   Right Invitation
Upon making the guest list, one must chose the cards to be given out to invite all the guests. The invite card should clearly be of the same theme as the party to maintain uniformity. There are tons of ideas on the internet that are printable to make your life a little easier!

5.   Fun Games
A baby shower must have games! This is the new mom’s outlet. There should be at least 2-3 games. The most typical baby shower games are Pin the Baby on the belly, Pass the Baby, Finish the Nursery Rhyme. The whole point is to play silly games and make it a night of fun but if you think your mom-to-be would not like these, then you can easily go for Pictionary, Taboo or any other fun board games that is sure to liven up any party.

6.   Gift Receiver
Make sure to appoint someone to receive all the gifts from the guests and make a note of it in a separate diary. This way the new mom will have a record of who a gift is from and thank later according to that.

7.   Baby Shower Food
Again, not to put a pressure on only one person, the close friends and immediate family of the mom-to-be can make it a One Dish Party/Potluck. You can set a meeting a few days before the party and decide on the dish that each should bring, deciding on a menu, the drinks and desserts should also be kept in mind. Lots of printable recipes are found online to help you. There should be a healthy selection of food for the mom-to-be.

8.   Gift Ideas
If the shower is of a small group of close friends and family, then you can decide on the gifts too, when you decide the menu. This way you can avoid repetition of gifts. But if it is a matter of a big shower then this should be avoided. Some useful gifts are a Breast-pump, Baby swing, Co-sleeper etc. You can also get some cute tops for the new mom that is loose and comfortable and easy to feed in. This should be avoided if you are not aware of the mom-to-be’s current size as you definitely don’t want her to be too aware of the extra baby weight she has put on. It should be purchased from the maternity section as they are specially designed for mothers. Do not forget if your gift budget is small, diapers are always a great baby shower gift as you can be sure that the new mom will use lots of them!

9.   Good Music
Any party should have a selection of favorable music. For a baby shower the music should be soft, classy and not too loud so that everyone can hear each other. It’s best to keep in mind what kind of music the mom-to-be prefers.

10.  Have Fun!
Again if we stress too much about anything, we forget to have fun ourselves. Keeping that in mind we should not worry too much as at the end of the day, even if anything fails, your new mom-to-be will be so very grateful for arranging a shower for her that it will probably not even be a big deal to her!