Ten Steps To A Perfect Baby Shower, Part One

The American baby shower is a fairly recent innovation, really only coming to popularity during the Baby Boom era of the 1950s. But if it's a recent tradition, it's also an important milestone for expectant mothers and their friends and family. Baby showers give the new mother one last big time with everyone before the rush of caring for the new baby consumes their attention, while guests get the chance to send the new mom off in style.

1. The right hostess for the baby shower planning

It's often important to realize who should throw a baby shower. Basically and according to most rules of etiquette, baby showers can be hosted by anyone except the expecting couple. The strictest rules of manners say no relatives should host the baby shower, to avoid seeming as if the family is demanding gifts. However, modern conventions have loosened a bit and today almost anyone can stage the event.

Our headline notwithstanding, there's no reason the baby shower can't have a host instead of a hostess, either.

2. It's all in the timing

It's customary to wait until the mother is pretty far along to host the shower - anytime in the last trimester is fine. If the baby shower is welcoming an adopted child to the family, the celebration can happen anytime after the adoption becomes official. In either case, the shower can always take place even after the child arrives.

The hostess should coordinate the date with the guest of honor before the baby shower invitations are sent out. Expectant mothers are sometimes quite busy with doctor's appointments and shopping. The guests also have their own schedules.

If possible, try to schedule the baby shower time during the weekend, preferably late on a Saturday morning. Most guests will have the day off from work and guests with their own families will have more open schedules.

3. Explore space for the baby shower.

Once the date and time are set, you'll have to settle on a place. Depending on the size of the baby shower, the options are fairly broad. Many hostesses stage their baby shower in the private dining room of an elegant restaurant or bistro. Others cater the affair at their homes. A third, less formal choice is to simply have everyone over for a light-hearted luncheon or get-together.

Give the mother of honor some veto power when choosing a venue and the level of formality. You'll want them have a say in the event. It's their shower, after all!

4. The decorations you choose depends on where you hold the baby shower.

The decorations you use for the baby shower is a reflection and a natural development of which venue you choose. Public places, such as restaurants, often have very strict regulations or may insist you use their own decorations. Private events facilities will likely be more lenient.

Decorations usually take a huge portion of any baby shower's budget. Hostesses should look to party supply wholesalers and closeout stores for deals on everyday decoration accoutrement such as banners, ribbons, and flatware if the party is hosted at home.

Deciding on the decorations can feel intimidating, but choosing some decorative elements, such as the baby shower centerpieces, will depend largely on the choice of theme.

5. The theme is the main idea.

More and more baby showers are settling on a theme as a way to celebrate the baby's arrival or just to give the new mother an extra thrill. Baby shower themes range among dozens of ideas and motifs. The theme can center on something as simple as the baby's gender or take the form of a classic icon of childhood.

Nursery rhymes and fables are favorite baby shower themes, as are themes that celebrate motherhood. A traveling theme, in which guests give the mother to be a playful "Bon Voyage," is also gaining in popularity.

Part Two discusses baby shower dining, which games to play, gift giving and presenting, and what to do when the baby shower ends.
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