Have you been tasked with planning a baby shower or gender reveal party? We’ve got your back with all the planning tips and helpful hints to make sure it is a memorable day for the mum-to-be and a stress-free experience for you, the organiser.

Before we get into the planning here are some of our must-read baby shower tips to consider:

• Avoid surprise parties. Although it is a nice gesture, a pregnant lady with hormones charging around her body might not enjoy being surprised, so keep her in the loop.
• Baby showers don’t have to just be for woman. It is common now to have the dad-to-be, his friends and male family members attend the celebration or to arrive near the end.
• Don’t over complicate the food. It doesn’t have to be a massive sit down meal, make easy nibbles for the guests or set up a big platter where people can help themselves.
• Plan the party that she would want, not the party you want. Take into consideration her needs, anything she has been craving or is allergic too.
• Don’t organise any games that might embarrass the mum-to-be or any guests, this isn’t a hens party. If you are unsure if something is acceptable then ask her.
• It doesn’t have to be an all-day affair, 2-3 hours is a great amount of time.

Date and Guest List

Pick a date, often people have their baby showers around 6-8 weeks before the birth. She is safely into her pregnancy and has time to organise the gifts afterward. Ask the expecting mum who she would want to come, if you are doing physical invitations gather the addresses, or alternatively create a private Facebook event so the mum-to-be can invite everyone. Tip: even if you do physical invitations it is often a good idea to have a Facebook event set up as well so you can give people any updates before the day. It is an easy way to let everyone know the date well in advance, prior to the invitations arriving and you can update them if there is anything in particular the mum-to-be really wants as gifts.

Venue and Decorations

The easiest venue is normally at someone’s house. Hosting a shower in a living room or backyard is intimate and much more cost effective. If there is a large number of people depending on the time of year a nice park setting can work really well or a place that offers high teas or function spaces for hire (the bonus with this option is they will often do the cleanup and organise the food for you). Decorating doesn’t have to be stressful or cost an arm and a leg either, look at Pinterest for inspiration. Our tips are to get a good amount of balloons, these are a great way to make a statement and are easy to set up. Getting some baby specific ones like the It's A Boy or It's A Girl packs, mixed in with a pack of the confetti balloons, easy! Statement balloons and a banner just to finish it off (view the full Lively & Co Baby Shower collection here) . Some little table decorations can be nice amongst the food to keep with the theme as well.

Food

Don’t overthink the food. Often baby showers are held mid-morning or afternoon so people only expect little nibbles which is much easier than a full sit down meal (saves a heck of a lot of dishes too). If you want to go all out and make baby themed food then Pinterest is your best friend for creative ideas. The food can be a great way to get the grandparents involved, often they are keen to help organise so get them to make with a few dishes. Platters are a very popular option because they look awesome, have a variety of food so they cater to everyone’s different food preferences and are easy to put together.

Games and Agenda

Sort out what needs to be done prior to the day first such as buying decorations, food, organising any games and favors (optional) and delegate where you can. To help things run smoothly on the day put together a rough timeline of events such as when people are arriving, the games you have chosen to play, opening gifts, food etc. Definitely organise the games well in advance in case you need to prepare anything for them, again Pinterest is full of ideas for this, along with printable templates you can use. There doesn’t have to be heaps of games and it is nice if the day feels relaxed and casual. Enjoy celebrating the new baby about to arrive!

Check out the Lively & Co Baby Shower Decorations