Showing posts with label planning baby shower. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning baby shower. Show all posts

Monday, August 8, 2011

How to Stay Organized When Planning a Baby Shower

Planning a baby shower is certainly fun but it also involves some stress and havoc. The hostess will have to keep track of various aspects, including the guests, decorations, menu, baby shower favors, activities, games and cake.

Getting organized includes some preliminary steps that will make the process easier to follow. Monitoring progress is achievable through the creation of lists and a rough budget.

Use Checklists
Checklists are used for various purposes. They contain all the activities and preparation steps that have to be completed for a successful and entertaining baby shower.

You can easily come up with your own baby shower checklist. Making it by yourself will help you list all of the specific items related to your party.

Start by including all the items you will have to take care of. Step one will be putting together the guest list and the invitations. Underneath that step, list all of the materials that you will need including paper, decorations, printing services and mailing. When you complete this step, you can note that in the checklist and move on to the next item.

In case you are clueless concerning where to start, you can discover baby shower checklists online. These feature all the basic steps and you can modify to include any party aspect that is uniquely related to the baby shower you are hosting.

Know What Materials You Will Need
Apart from listing the major preparation steps you will be involved in, make sure that you write down all of the items and materials that will be needed for the decorations, favors and food.

If you are making the decorations and food yourself, make a list of all the ingredients. In case you will purchase decorations and use catering services, make a list of the items and menu that you are interested in.

The ingredients and materials list can be very useful when it comes to determining the preliminary baby shower budget.

Draft a Preliminary Budget
Planning is also connected to calculating expenditure in advance so that you have an idea about the financial resources that will be needed.

Search online for the price of invitations, favors, finger foods and other items that you will have to purchase. List all the prices and add the figures together. The sum you get will be your preliminary baby shower budget.

The actual sum that you will need could be smaller or larger than your rough calculation but you will at least have an idea about your expenditure. Having some preliminary calculation can help you get the financial resources you will need.

Keep Track of Progress
The aim of all the lists you draft is to help you keep track of progress. Make note of every step that you manage to complete.

Tracking progress is the best way to stay organized and to know how much time you will need to get ready for the baby shower. Try to set realistic deadlines in your checklist and see if you will manage to keep up with those.

Baby shower planning will be as stress-free, as you want it to be. You will have to pay attention to all details before you even get started. Drafting a complete list of tasks will show you how much work you have to do and how much time will be needed to manage everything.




Jamie Highland writes about various family and baby topics. For more baby shower party planning tips or to check out some baby shower gifts, visit My Baby Shower Favors. If you want more articles, visit our site and click on the Contact Us link.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Baby shower planning tips – 3 ways to decorate

When you’re planning a baby shower for a friend or family member, decorating the place is one of the most important aspects of the whole party.

Your main goal is to make the mom-to-be as happy and comfortable as possible. Don’t wait with the baby shower until the last weeks of the pregnancy, because the future mom will be uncomfortable and tired and she won’t enjoy the baby shower, as she should. Talk to her and choose the right date for the baby shower, the guests list and the menu. She is the celebrated person there – everything has to be perfect for her. Don’t try to organize a surprise baby shower unless you are completely sure that the mom-to-be will appreciate your gesture and you know everything there is to know about her preferences. So, once you settle on all these things, it’s time to think about decorations.

First, you should pick a theme. The theme can be almost anything, but try to find something significant for the mom-to-be. For example, if she particularly loves a certain actor, dress-style, cartoon character, music or anything else, build all decorations around that theme. What you need to keep in mind is that you organize the baby shower to celebrate the mom, so you don’t have to pick the kind of decorations you would choose for a children’s party, for example. Since you are organizing the shower party, your certainly know a lot about the mom, so come up with something special and original. You can get as creative as you want: if the mom-to–be dreams about a holiday in Hawaii, organize a Hawaiian party. If she loves being in the nature, make the party look like a picnic, with lots of wild flowers on the tables and rustic decorations.

Most people, when planning a baby shower, tend to pick all decorations with the baby gender in mind. So, most of those parties are either a pink explosion or a blue one. Isn’t that a little too much? Try to avoid such common decorations and predictable colors. Make a surprise for the mom-to-be and decorate the place with her favorite colors. If you don’t know her favorite colors, you still have a lot of options. Trendy colors for baby showers are green, orange, and light purple. So, you can trade the classic pink or blue for other colors, if you want to prepare an unconventional baby shower and original decorations.

Baby showers are all about pampering the mom-to-be. So, a great idea would be to organize the baby shower like a day to the spa. Get soft, white robes and fluffy slippers for all guests and allow them to change when they arrive to the party. Decorate the room with perfumed candles and flowers, put relaxing music and prepare some delicious snacks. Hire one or two massage therapists for all guests. This will be a baby shower every one will remember - the mother and all the guests. Of course, it’s not something you can set up in a restaurant, for 40 people. It’s the kind of intimate party you should organize in your own home, only for the closest friends and family.



Jamie Highland is an events planning writer. To check out some baby shower decorations and other baby shower supplies, be sure to visit My Baby Shower Favors.