Hosting a Baby Shower
Updated January 26, 2026
Hosting Guides By Gina Holzer
Are you hosting a baby shower for a friend or loved one? Early planning and attention to the guest of honor’s preferences are important in producing a successful shower. Here are a few helpful tips and tricks to produce the best possible outcome for your event:
- First set a budget. Be sure to take any offers from those wanting to help out whether that be financially or just helping plan the gathering. Every bit helps!
- After consulting with mom-to-be pick a date for the shower. It’s usually within a couple of months prior to the baby’s due date.
- Pick a venue. Clearly having it at someone’s home, your own, a friend or member of the family, would be beneficial as there wouldn’t be any cost to do so. If you choose a venue that charges a fee to rent the space, you’ll want to reference the budget when planning this step.
- Pick a theme. Be sure to include mom in this decision as she may want to have the baby’s room theme as the shower theme. The decorations that go into the baby’s room could be included on the registry for baby gifts too.
- Create a guest list. Again, you will most likely need to ask Mom-to-be for a list of family and friends she would like to invite.
- Send out invitations. Ideally three to four weeks in advance prior to the shower to allow for guests to have enough of notice and plan accordingly to be able to attend. Two weeks advance notice is the norm and considered proper etiquette.
- Make arrangements for food and drinks. Some like to have food catered in. Others will just have snack/finger foods depending on the time of day. Typically, a cake, cupcakes, or cookies with a baby theme is a good choice.
- Plan for games and prizes. This is not a must but is a opportunity to make the shower fun for the guests. In more recent years baby shower hosts have moved away from games like guessing the inches around mom-to-be’s belly and diaper games. Something as simple as musical ducks or tie dying baby onesies can be a lighthearted fun game to add to the shower. Making a diaper cake has been a trending theme, and it’s not just for decoration. You can send home the diapers with Mom-to-be for use when baby arrives!
- Purchase decorations. You may want to include banners, tableware (plates, napkins, plastic ware, etc.) when shopping. Be sure to reference the already chosen theme to be consistent.
- Party favors are always fun to send home with guests as a nice parting gift. Some nontraditional unique ideas are mini magnets, a nice scented hand sanitizer, succulents, baby shower coffee bags, adjustable wish bracelets, soaps, Hershey kisses with baby labels on the bottom, mini honey jars with honey dippers, candy like Jordan almonds, and/or wildflower seed packs.
By focusing on these key planning elements your baby shower should be a great success!
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