Baby Showers are tons of fun for everyone who attends! Use our free tips below to plan any themed Baby Shower. When shopping below for Baby Shower party supplies, you will find invitations, tableware, balloons, party favors and banners... & many other baby shower party supplies.

Baby Shower Planning Ideas by BirthdayInABox

Host the perfect baby shower with our Baby Shower Ideas! Read on for decorating, food, and gift ideas, fun baby shower games that everyone will enjoy, general shower planning tips, and more!

Begin planning 6 - 8 weeks in advance to allow time to purchase and mail invitations, as well as to give your guests time to RSVP and make travel plans, if needed. Don't panic if you find yourself short on time; you can still plan a great party! Planning ahead simply reduces the risk of conflicts with guests' plans and may increase attendance.

Decorating & Food Ideas

Whether the baby shower is held inside or out, pastel colors are a must. Combining an assortment of soft colors like pale yellow, light green, baby blue, lavender, light pink, and white will work well whether the mother-to-be is expecting a boy or a girl, or if the baby's sex is unknown. Keep these classic baby shower colors in mind as you pick out decorations like:
Balloons
Banners
Basic Partyware (e.g. plates, napkins, & cutlery)
Corsages and/or Boutonnieres (i.e. for the mom- & dad-to-be)
Loose or Arranged Flowers
Streamers

Add to your decorations by placing fresh flowers in pastel colors and baby-related items (e.g. storks, rubber ducks, pacifiers, baby bottles, etc.) throughout the party area. You can also use baby bibs as placemats or open-top baby bottles as cups.

Shower Snacks & Baby Beverages

The food that you serve at a baby shower depends on two primary factors:
What time are you having the party?
For a Brunch Party… Serve traditional breakfast foods like pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon, orange juice, and coffee.
For a Lunch Party… Consider serving sandwiches, crudités, and cold salads, such as potato or macaroni salad.
For a Mid-Afternoon Party… Serve lighter fare, such as hors d'oeuvres, mini desserts and drinks.
For a Dinner Party… You'll need to serve more substantial fare, such as steaks, baked or mashed potatoes, and green beans; lasagna, tossed salad and breadsticks; or, for a more casual party, hamburgers or hotdogs, corn on the cob, coleslaw, and baked beans.

Do any of your guests have dietary restrictions? I

f you don't know for sure, plan to serve an assortment of vegetarian-friendly foods in addition to meat-based fare. You should also have diet drinks and at least one sugar-free dessert on hand in addition to beverages and treats containing sugar.
If you plan to only serve hors d'oeuvres and other snack-type foods, consider creating or purchasing an assortment of platters. A few options include:
Cheese Cubes, a Cheese Ball and/or Cheese Spread with Assorted Crackers
Crudités (i.e. cut veggies) and Ranch or Blue Cheese Dip
Cheddar Cheese Fondue with Bread Chunks and Apple Slices
Tossed Salad (Note: As an alternative to traditional salad, try mixing romaine lettuce, frisse, grape tomatoes, dried cherries, candied pecans, and raspberry vinaigrette)
Pigs in a Blanket
Chicken Satay
Mini Vegetable Rolls and/or Egg Rolls
Mini Quiches
Tortilla Chips and Salsa
Potato Chips and French Onion Dip
Fruit Salad or Cut Fruit (e.g. sliced melon, cubed pineapple, strawberries, grapes, etc.)
Finger Sandwiches
Pita Bread Pockets Filled with Hummus
Tortilla Wraps Filled with Cold Cuts, Lettuce, Tomato Slices, Cheese, etc.
Mini Desserts (e.g. tiny tarts, cheesecake squares, cookies, petits fours, etc.)
As for drinks, a bowl of fruit punch or sherbet punch (i.e. 1 tub of sherbet mixed with 1 2-liter bottle of ginger ale) is perfect. Additionally, consider supplying an assortment of sodas, bottled water, and/or juice. At your discretion, you can also serve alcoholic beverages such as Mimosas or frozen daiquiris.

Gift Ideas

Pick the Perfect Gift… To come up with a thoughtful gift that the mom- and dad-to-be will really appreciate, consider what qualities a good baby shower gift might have; for example...
something the expecting parents will need to take care of their newborn;
a gift the baby will enjoy;
something that will enhance the parents' excitement about starting a family;
an item for both parents to enjoy (i.e. not baby-related); or,
something special from you, just for the mom.

If you still aren't sure what to give the parents-to-be, consider these more specific ideas:
A Gift Basket Full of Baby Supplies (e.g. bottles, pacifiers, toys, etc.)
A Baby Blanket (Note: If you know how to knit or crochet, make the blanket yourself for an extra special gift!)
Baby Clothes in Neutral Colors (unless you already know the baby's gender)
Unique, Homemade Gifts Like a Baby Sock Corsage, a Diaper Wreath, or a Bassinet Gift Basket (Note: To do the latter economically, have all of your guests pitch in to buy the bassinet, and then fill it with one smaller gift from each guest.)
Parenting, Baby Name, and Other Baby Books for the Parents (Note: We recommend Baby Be Loved by Susan Ann Stelfox and Joel Dugan, and The Baby Book by William Sears & Family.)
A Unique Picture Frame or Album to Use for Family/Baby Pictures
A Baby Book
A Baby Bank (Note: Turn this into an activity by asking your guests to dig through their purses and pockets for loose change. Then, pass a jar or piggy bank around, and ask your guests to drop in their change. Give the collected money to the mom to help start a savings account for the new baby.)

Baby Shower Games

Icebreaker Games

Discovery Game - Create a list of 10 to 15 things that a person might like, might do, might have, or might have done. Examples include, "Someone who has traveled to France," "Someone who loves Italian food," or "Someone who is wearing blue." Make sure you have at least one statement per guest, and preferably more in case there are some that no one matches. Type up the list, and print out a copy for each of your guests.

At the party, give everyone a copy of the list and a pen or pencil. Tell the players that they have 3 minutes to find a guest who matches each statement on the list. In those 3 minutes, all of your guests will learn at least one thing about everyone else at the party! Award a prize to the person who finds the most matches.

"Who am I?" - Write the names of famous moms, cartoon characters, inanimate objects, or anything else (preferably within a theme) on index cards. Tape an index card to each guest's back upon their arrival. Explain that the card has a name on it, and they are not allowed to take the card off, look at it, or have another person read the name to them until the end of the game. Likewise, they may not tell any other guests the names taped to their backs.

The object of the game is for each guest to figure out what person, character or object they've been assigned by asking other guests questions like, "Am I an actress," or "Do I have blonde hair?" If desired, you may award a small prize to every guest who correctly guesses the name printed on their card.

Door Prize Games

Dirty Diaper Door Prize - Fold white paper napkins into small diapers (one for each guest). Make 1 - 3 (depending on the size of your guest list) "dirty diapers" by marking the inside of each with a brown marker or lipstick. Alternatively, you can hide a small item, such as a raisin, in a couple of the diapers. As your guests arrive, give each a randomly-picked diaper with a safety pin so they can pin on the diaper. Then, at the end of the party, have your guests check their diapers. Award a door prize to each guest who has a dirty diaper.

Other Fun Shower Games

Draw a Baby - This game is fun, easy, and always hilarious. Hand each guest a sheet of paper, something hard to write on (e.g. a piece of cardboard, a magazine, etc.), and a pen, pencil, or marker. Have everyone put their sheet of paper on top of their magazine/cardboard/etc., and then hold it on their head with one hand while trying to draw a baby with the other. Take turns revealing each "masterpiece" for a good laugh. Award a prize to whoever draws the best- and worst-looking babies.

"Who Know's Mommy Best?" - Come up with a list of 10 - 20 interesting facts about the mom-to-be. This list might include things like where she's travelled, her favorite food, her middle name, or anything else about her. Write each item in the form of a question (e.g. "What has Jane collected since she was 6 years old?"). At the party, gather your guests in a circle, and begin asking them the questions you've prepared. The first person to "buzz in" and answer correctly gets a point. Optionally, you can include the mom-to-be in this game by awarding her a point for every question that goes unanswered by her guests. (After all, she's so interesting and diverse that even her friends don't know everything about her!) Award a prize to whoever has the most points at the end of the game.

A-Z Baby Name Game - Give each guest a piece of lined paper and a pen or pencil. Have everyone write the letters A through Z down the left sides of their papers, skipping every other line. Set a timer for 2 minutes. When you start the timer, each player must try to write down one baby name for every letter of the alphabet. You may limit it to girl or boy names only, if desired. All players must stop when the timer buzzes.

Go through the lists as a group, letter by letter, comparing everyone's answers. Players get one point for every unique name they write down. For example, if more than one person puts down "Jessica" for the letter "J," nobody gets a point for the name "Jessica." However, anyone who wrote down a different "J" name, like "Jill," gets a point if they were the only player to write down that name. Award a prize to the player or players who tally up the most points.

Baby Bottle Drink-Off - Fill 4-ounce baby bottles with juice, water, milk, or another beverage of your choice. Give a bottle to each participating guest. When you say, "Go!" the players race to see who can drink the contents of their bottle first. This a hilarious game to observe as it's a lot harder to drink from a baby bottle than most people realize. (Note: If you're planning a co-ed party, make this a men-only competition for a real laugh!)

Pass The Gift - Place a small gift (a picture frame, a candle, or a gift card) in a box, and wrap the package with wrapping paper. Then, add several more layers of wrapping paper overtop of the first layer until you have covered the box with a minimum of 5 (but no more than 15) layers. At the party, have your guests sit in a circle. Play a CD or tape, stopping the music randomly as you would in musical chairs. Have your guests pass the gift around the circle while the music plays. Whoever has the gift when the music stops gets to take off a layer of wrapping paper. Continue playing until someone takes off the last layer and reveals the gift. That guest may keep the gift.

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