Becoming a parent, especially a new parent, is an exciting time. With that comes the joy of having and hosting a baby shower. If this is your first child, planning a baby shower is going to be a new experience. It is best to be prepared in advance with a few of the important tips below to host a successful baby shower.
Maintain A Budget
It is important that when you are planning your baby shower, that you start out by giving yourself a budget to stick to. Having a budget is crucial because as you go about your baby shower planning and shopping, it can be extremely easy and convenient to add things to your cart as you see different cute and useful items. A smart tip to use is to get a general idea of how much you want to spend per person, then do the math to facilitate where you will be allocating your money towards. This ensures that you provide enough food and drinks for everyone, as well as providing yourself with different necessities for hosting a party with decorations and a setting, all without overspending.
Have A Checklist And Schedule
Along the same lines as maintaining your budget, you want to create a checklist. This will help you plan your baby shower with everything you need leading up to your baby shower, understanding who you will need to contact and reach out to in terms of planning and hosting, food and catering, and other shopping needs. Having a checklist ensures that you are not going to overlook and miss anything.
Form Your Guestlist For Invitations
One important step that you need to take when you are planning your baby shower is to create your guest list of who you plan on inviting. When you are planning and budgeting, you can of course create a generalized standard budget to stick to. However, if you form your guestlist beforehand, you can use this to understand how many people are going and how many people that you approximately need to budget for. Having this understanding can make your other steps much easier to accommodate. Generally, the more guests that come, the greater your budget needs to be.
Setting Your Date
Dates are extremely important for a baby shower. It sounds simple enough to pick a date, but if you do not choose the day and time wisely, you may have a situation where most of your guests do not show up, and you are left wondering why. You want to avoid setting your baby shower around major holidays, graduations, and birthdays. Additionally, you want to consider a time that will work with most people, where they do not have prior commitments such as work or even events like religious services. Take a little extra time to think about when you set your date and you will be able to enjoy your shower with as many friends and family as you wish to.
Decor And Theme
When you are planning your baby shower, one of the things you will have to include in your budget and planning is the decorations. As mentioned, when you are shopping, it is easy to see something cute and add it to your cart, adding to your total expenses and potentially breaking your budget as items accumulate. The decor is the biggest culprit since these types of products and items are easily purchased on a whim or spontaneously. This is why you want to go into your shopping with a plan regarding your decorations and theme. If you plan beforehand, you will be able to properly allocate your money and get what you need. Having a plan before will also give you a chance to get things cheaper, finding discounts and deals as you head to this site, or the ability to buy in bulk. This is because when you have planned things early, you will be able to take your time and wait for the best available sales as opposed to having to purchase everything at its retail value.
Catering
It is important that you consider what you will do for food when you are planning your baby shower. Depending on your budget, the amount and type of food you can provide may vary. However, you should prioritize this aspect because as a host, you want to ensure that you take care of your guest’s needs, and ensuring that everyone is fed is essential. Depending on your culture and traditions, some people may opt to provide food in a potluck style, asking others and guests to bring dishes. You might also consider this if your budget is small or tight, as a means to save money. However, you should consider that as a host, you should be providing the very least in terms of different drinks and foods for your guests to have a good time and not have to worry about what food to bring or make. And remember to consider all allergies to ensure everyone is safe. Your guests will be bringing gifts or money anyway, so catering your event and being able to provide the food yourself means everyone is a little less stressed and can have a good time.
Creating A Baby Registry
Early on when you start planning your baby shower, you want to create a baby registry. This is helpful, especially before you send out invitations. This will help your guests buy you presents that you need and sometimes want as you go through parenthood. Having a baby registry also helps prevent your guests from purchasing the same gifts, and prevents you from having to make large returns due to duplicates received. Additionally, you limit the number of presents you don’t want and have to potentially return, or even worse, are stuck with presents you cannot use. Do your guests and yourself a favor and have a baby registry to make the gifting experience a seamless one.
If you are entering parenthood for the first time, you will understand that preparation is your best friend in whatever you do. The baby shower is no different, and you want to factor in as much time and consideration as possible to make sure everyone has a good time celebrating your newborn on the way.
