Planning a Great Baby Shower

Are your friends expecting a baby soon? Then you should throw them a baby shower! Baby showers are ways of showing that you care about your friends, and that you want to help welcome in the newest member of their family. A baby shower party can be thrown by anyone except for the expectant couple themselves. If you think that they do not like surprises, you can include them in the planning. This will also make sure that they will enjoy the party as well.
Baby showers are to be held any time after the baby is conceived and before he or she is born. It is usually best towards the later part of the pregnancy. The big bellied look makes the party seem more real. Make sure that when you plan the exact date, it is a date where the parents-to-be are not busy, as well as everyone else who is going to the party. Also, it is important to allow the grandparents to come as well since they are important guests.
You can also choose to have the party after the birth of the baby, since then you can give gifts which relate to the baby's gender. This will also help the party be lively with a cute baby to talk about and fawn over.
Create the guest list at least a month before the scheduled date, so you can send out the invitations and give them time to adjust their schedule. You can talk to the soon-to-be-parents about who they would want to invite, in a discreet way, so that you do not end up forgetting someone important or inviting someone that they would rather not have there.
Themes make party planning a lot easier, so you can set the decorations and food around it. It also makes it more fun and festive. You can choose themes like Winnie the Pooh, Noah's Ark, Ducky, Under the Sea, or anything that the parents-to-be will like. For example, if you're going with a Noah's Ark theme, then you can serve banana boats and animal crackers for snacks and you can have a cake with a picture of Noah's Ark on it. Rainbows, doves, and leaves are good decorations for the party. You can have multi-colored balloons and confetti.
What is a party without some fun games? Games are fun for everyone, even if they aren't exactly kids anymore. They do not have to be competitive; you can just have fun activities like ice breaker questions. Even old games like "name the baby food flavor" or "pin the diaper on the balloon" can be fun if everyone joins in and enjoys the games.
Party favors are also great to give, so that everyone will remember the date of the shower and it will be a memorable party. Remember that it is necessary to give gifts to the mother-to-be as well. Opening the gifts is a very important part of the celebration, so if you can't think of what to give, you can ask around and check the internet for ideas. Some of the best gifts include baby bouncers and baby monitors to keep the baby happy and safe.