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• Baby Shower Planning Home
  Plan Your Baby Shower - games, themes, favors - all the baby shower planning help you need!
  
  
• Conclusion
  You also know about themes and games that can make the baby shower a memorable and joyous event for all. And, of course, you know about some of the essential do’s and dont’s that can make all of the difference in determining whether a baby shower succeeds, or runs into some trouble along the way.
  
  
• Couples Showers?
  A very good trend over the last generation or so is that more men are participating in the whole childbirth experience. Many men are now also involved in the birth itself, assisting the mother with coaching and helping her endure the stress. In this light, it’s not strange to imagine that men are participating in baby showers in unprecedented numbers.
  
  
• Directory
  Directory of baby shower resources
  
  
• Food
  Having a wide selection is also important; and we discuss this in some detail in the “Insider’s Tips” section of this book. Suffice it to say, try and have enough variety to account for tastes and dietary preferences. Nowadays, the wise approach is often to allow guests to do a little bit of preparing themselves.
  
  
• Game: That… Was ME?
  This is a tremendously enjoyable game! Invite each guest to bring a baby picture of themselves. Collect each picture, and then put them on a giant board. During the baby shower, allow guests to go up and browse the big board of pictures.
  
  
• Game: The Price is Right
  People seem to love this game, because it’s based on what many feel is the best game show of all time: The Price is Right!
  
  
• Game: The Winning Plate
  This neat little game involves what most people love in life: food! Simply put a picture of a baby beneath one of the plates that will be handed out to guests as they eat. Don’t tell anyone that the picture is there; just let them eat. When the eating part of the event is coming to a close, tell your guests to peek under their plate, and give the lucky guest who has the picture a prize!
  
  
• Holding The Shower
  In addition to the natural events that are going to occur at the baby shower, you want to continue managing during the shower. In other words, you want to have things for your invitees to do, and for them to drink/eat.
  
  
• Insiders' Tips
  Ah yes. What would a how-to book be without insider’s tips? These are the tried, tested, and sometimes regrettable details that you really need to know in order to create, management, and complete a perfect baby shower.
  
  
• Planning the Shower
  How to plan a baby shower.
  
  
• Post-Birth Baby Showers
  Some people are surprised to learn that many baby showers happen after the baby has been born. Actually, this is quite common because, in addition to having the shower itself, this timing affords guests the wonderful opportunity to actually see the baby (and make all kinds of goo goo gaa gaa noises that we all love to make!).
  
  
• Sending out Invitations
  Okay, here’s where things can be a little bit awkward. Scratch that; here’s where some people dread being in charge of a baby shower, because at issue is: who to invite?
  
  
• The Gifts
  This is one that most people don’t think about until someone brings it up, and then they say to themselves: ohhhh, yes, that makes sense! Fortunately for you, you’re getting a sneak-peak at that thought well before someone at the baby shower asks it!
  
  
• The Guests
  As we all know, December is a season for parties and events; both business, and personal. As a result, it may be polite to not hold the baby shower during “party season”, as it may influence whether people would be able to attend (or be able to relax when they attend, because they don’t have three more “get togethers” to go to after the baby shower!).
  
  
• The Mother-to-Be
  Let’s start with mother-to-be. She may have a preference about when the shower should be held; and this preference should be heeded. The father-to-be might also provide input here, which is wonderful and should be part of the overall decision-making process (we take a closer look at “couples” baby-showers later on in this book).
  
  
• Theme: A Tea Party
  Do you remember playing tea party when you were a child? You’d get together with your little friends, or perhaps your stuffed animals (who were alive, of course), and together you sat down and enjoyed a pleasant and lighthearted chat over a cup of tea.
  
  
• Theme: Celebrity
  Really: who wouldn’t like feeling like a celebrity every now and then? Imagine, having people around you bustling to get your autograph, or to take a picture of you for those glamour magazines…ah, what a life.
  
  
• Theme: Literary Baby
  It doesn’t matter what kind of childhood we had, or how often we found ourselves curled up reading that very first book that made such a positive impression on our growing imaginations. It could have been a Dr. Seuss book, or perhaps something a bit later, such as your first Nancy Drew Mystery.
  
  
• Things NEVER to Do: Don’t Ask People to Eat Standing Up
  Some people like eating while standing up; particularly kids, who always seem to be on the go and ready to do the next thing. Some of them even eat while doing something else, like walking or talking on the phone.
  
  
• Things NEVER to Do: Don’t Choose Awkward Games
  We’ve come a long way from charades. Now, there are shelves full of games specifically designed for adults. Some of these games, as you can imagine – or might have even enjoyed yourself a time or two – are of the… er…well, they can be a bit racy. And they can ask awkward questions and inspire awkward moments; because that’s part of the fun of the game.
  
  
• Things to Do: Cater Accordingly
  Perhaps more than ever before, people are very serious about what they eat; and what they don’t. In the past, it was somewhat safe to make catering decisions based on religious or cultural understanding.
  
  
• Things to Do: Decorate
  One of the most memorable things about the baby shower will be the decorations. They might seem like yet another minor detail in a sea of details, but they will be something that people notice, appreciate, and indeed, remember.
  
  
• Things to Do: Games
  Baby showers are ideal places to play games. They not only help break the ice and get people laughing, but since baby showers are about having fun: what’s more fun than a good game? It’s better than working, right!
  
  
• Things to Do: Plan
  It goes without saying (but let’s say it anyway, since we’re all here together!). PLEASE PLAN AHEAD!
  
  
• Things to Do: Set a Time Limit
  Baby showers are wonderful events filled with relaxing laughter and shared positive emotions. Yet all good things come to and end. Or rather, all good things should come to an end while they’re still good things.
  
  
• Things to Do: Themes
  In case you haven’t been a baby shower lately, here’s some useful information for you: themes are in!
  
  
• To Gift Registry or Not to Gift Registry
  This is another one of those fun decisions that involve the mother-to-be, and probably the father-to-be, as well. Gift registries are, generally speaking, wonderful inventions because the conveniently solve a lot of potentially confusing problems, such as: What will the parents-to-be want as a gift? What gift items have already been purchased by other invitees? What price range is appropriate?
  
  
• When Should the Shower Happen?
  This is an important question to ask, and of course, to answer. And as usual, there are a few different viewpoints on when to hold the baby shower.
  
  
• Who’ll Throw the Shower?
  There’s an ongoing debate – that can actually become quite emotional and vocal – that tried to determine whether or not a relative should throw the baby shower. Traditionally, the view has been that a relative should not throw a baby shower, because it can appear that the relative is requesting gifts. Yet traditions change, and there are times when a sibling, or a cousin, or an aunt might be the ideal and somewhat convenient choice.
  
  
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