Checklist for Hosting the Ideal Baby Shower
- Hosting Baby Shower Checklist
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- UPDATED APRIL 06, 2024
by Tasha Mayberry
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Planning a baby shower is no small feat. It requires plenty of time, effort, and planning to ensure that everything goes off without any hiccups on the big day! I recently had my party, which left me feeling like an absolute pro at hosting events while also making it so much fun for friends who came over-a perfect ending results in my opinion (especially considering how exhausted we all were after).
The following passage discusses why you should always plan ahead when having guests attend your upcoming event:
Seven Weeks in Advance
- Choose who will serve as the host(s).
- Prepare a budget.
- Pick a good time and date.
- Decide whose home will host the celebration or book a restaurant or party space.
- Create a guest list (consult the expectant mother) that includes everyone’s full names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses (if possible).
- Find out how many people the room or house can accommodate.
- Ask about the expecting mother’s preferred theme or color scheme for the celebration.
- Choose if the event will be catered (and if so, the company/restaurant) or whether you or someone else will be assisting in preparing the meal. Also, choose who will be making what.
Six Weeks in Advance
- Make sure to include the expecting woman’s registry details in the invitation if she has registered for baby gear elsewhere.
- Place an order for invitations and get them ready to mail.
Five Weeks in Advance
- Send invitations by mail.
- Plan the menu.
- If catering, be mindful of your budget.
- If cooking: Decide who will make what
- Determine whether any visitors have food sensitivities and provide options for them.
- Order the cake.
- Make sure you have enough chairs, tables, and tableware. Look into your local renting possibilities if there isn’t enough.
- Appoint a professional photographer or assign one.
- Make a list of any props or party favors you may need.
- Plan the games you want to play during the baby shower and the rewards for the winners.
- Decide what kind of decorations and flowers you’ll have.
- Order any entertainment (a band, for example) or extra surprises.
Three Weeks in Advance
- If wanted, write place cards on paper.
- If there will be decorations, order balloons and flowers.
- Will the expectant mother be wearing a floral crown, corsage, or anything else unique to the shower?
- Place a table centerpiece order
- Place your order for any necessary props, awards, or party favors.
- Wrap all presents and favors.
- Make a plan for the expectant mother’s transportation to the shower. Is she being picked up? Does she drive on her own?
Two Weeks in Advance
- If you are holding the shower at a restaurant or other venue, you should confirm your reservation once more.
- Choose the serving utensils, tablecloths, and napkins if the party will be held at your house.
- Clean or iron table linens if necessary.
- Double-check the rental supplies (if needed).
- If catering, have the caterer confirm your order once more.
- Prepare a shopping list for the food and beverages you’ll need if you’re cooking your own meals.
- To create a lively and inviting atmosphere, confirm the entertainment once more or make a playlist.
One Week in Advance
- Call everyone who hasn’t RSVP’d to get a final headcount.
- Prepare foods you can freeze in advance for the occasion.
- Confirm again with visitors who were asked to bring food or particular items.
- Assemble or double-check party favors.
2 Days in Advance
- Shop for perishables, ice, and other remaining items.
- Make foods that can be made ahead of time.
- If the function is held at your house:
- Position the decorations.
- Prepare the tables and serve
- Select a comfy chair with a pillow or seat cushion so the expectant mother can use it in the shower.
1 Day in Advance
- Complete the cooking.
- Pick up the cake and prepare appetizers if you’re not cooking, or check in with the caterer.
- Purchase flowers or arrange for delivery.
- If the event is being held at your home, clean the guest bathroom.
- Provide extra chairs for visitors.
- Create a special area to store baby gift items.
The Morning of the Shower
- If you plan to use balloons as decorations, pick some up. They might deflate if you take them up earlier.
- Have all hosts gather at the party location an hour or two beforehand to assist with setup.
- Chill some drinks so they’ll be chilled when the party starts.
- Place food out, excluding anything that needs to keep hot or cold.
Party Time!
- Make introductions between the guests.
- Eat
- Interact
- Snap photos
- Play the games.
- Open gifts.
- Assign someone to keep track of who gave what gift.
- Choose a helper to assist with gift-giving for the expectant mother to open. She finds it harder to bend down these days.
- Assign someone to gather all of the wrapping paper for disposal.
- Assign someone to rewrap all the presents so the expectant mother can take them home.
- Check to see if she is eating, comfortable, and happy.
After the Party
- Arrange all the presents and put them in the pregnant woman’s car or vehicle.
- Prepare additional flower arrangements or have the other hosts make some for the expectant mother to take home.
- Make sure everyone is bringing their party favors and coats as they leave.
- After the visitors have left, wash the dishes and glasses.
- If renting linens, tables, or chairs that need to be picked up or returned, group them all together.
- Here is my checklist to assist you in planning the ideal baby shower. I hope you had a blast!