Decorate for a Baby Shower

A baby shower is a fun way to celebrate the upcoming arrival of a new baby, which is usually organized and hosted by a female friend or family member of the mother-to-be. When it comes to decorating for the event there are so many fun options, each more adorable than the last. To plan the perfect décor for a baby shower, all you need is some time and creativity! Start with Step 1 below for some helpful decorating ideas, suggestions and tips for a unique and memorable baby shower!

Steps

Making a Plan

  1. Decide on the location of the shower. Before you begin planning, it is necessary to decide on the location of the shower. Knowing how much space is available and what facilities you have to work with will help you to plan your décor.
    • Showers are often held at the mother-to-be's house, as this makes thing more convenient and comfortable for her (especially if she is heavily pregnant). This leaves you plenty of decorating opportunities, but you may need to discuss your ideas with the mother-to-be and her partner - especially if you plan on doing anything crazy!
    • If you are hosting the baby shower in a restaurant, be aware that some restaurants will put a limit on how far you can go with decorating or rearranging the furniture, so make sure to speak with the restaurant manager before you make plans.
  2. Choose a theme. Having a theme for the baby shower can help you to focus your ideas and make your décor look professional and well thought-out. What theme you choose is completely up to you, but here are some ideas:
    • Jungle theme: A jungle or safari theme is popular for baby showers, where the room is decorated in a mixture of greens and yellows and stuffed lions, monkeys and elephants are used to decorate.
    • Movie theme: Pick the mother-to-be's favorite childhood movie and use it as the theme of the party. For example, a "Wizard of Oz" themed party could have a "yellow-brick road" leading to the party room, which could be decorated in green for the Emerald City. You could even present the expecting mother with comfy ruby slippers upon her arrival!
    • Carnival/circus theme: A carnival or circus theme could be decorated with bright colors, have popcorn and candy-floss makers and have games like ring toss and rubber duck races.
  3. Pick a color scheme. If a theme seems like too much effort you could simply choose a color scheme for your décor.
    • Staying within a particular color scheme can help to focus your party planning, making it easy to pick the color of decorations, from table clothes and napkins, to flowers and candles, to cakes and confetti.
    • You could go with a classic theme of "It's a boy!" or "It's a girl", where you turn the room into an explosion of pink or blue. Some mothers-to-be will like this traditional approach, while others might prefer something a bit different.
    • If this is the case (or the sex of the baby is unknown) go for a more gender neutral color like yellow or green, or decorate with an even mixture of pink and blue.
    • Going with an all-white theme is another very classy option, perfect for outdoor garden parties or understated restaurants.
    • You could also consider matching the color scheme of the shower with the color scheme in the expected baby's bedroom.
  4. Plan your budget. The next thing you have to consider is your budget, as this will dictate (to an extent) how elaborate you can afford to be with your decorations.
    • Make sure to take everything into account - food, drinks, gifts, party favors, balloons, games - the more detailed your budget is, the lower the chance of overspending.
    • When shopping for decorations, make sure to shop around. There can be a huge variation in the price of baby shower decorations, depending on where you buy. Look in party supply stores, dollar stores and online before you make a final decision.
    • Think about where you can save money - borrow any cake stands, candle holders or other tableware from friends and family - maybe your grandmother has an old china tea set you could use for an English tea party theme?
    • Or if you're particularly crafty, you could consider making some of the decorations yourself. You could knit some baby booties, crochet a baby blanket or Make a Photo Collage from pictures of the mother and father-to-be as babies.
    • Even if you're on a tight budget, you can still host an amazing baby shower -- you just need to be a little thrifty by shopping around, making and borrowing!
  5. Give yourself time. All of this planning and preparation takes time - so make sure to start getting organized well in advance of the day itself. The last thing you want is to stress yourself out by leaving everything until the last minute.
    • Being disorganized will only lead to stress-shopping, where you will inevitably spend a lot more money than you originally intended. You may also have difficulty finding the things you need at the last minute, which could throw the entire theme of the party off.
    • You should also be sure to leave yourself enough time on the day of the party itself. Get to the location well in advance of the starting time. If you're hosting at the mother-to-be's house, try to make sure she's out of the house or at least stays in another room.
    • Consider the possibility that you may need to vacuum, dust, mop and clean bathrooms (or hire somebody else to do it) before the event, as you don't want the mother-to-be stressing about having a clean house.

Decorating the Room

  1. Start outside. Aside from the room the party is being held in, you should consider decorating the outside of the house (or restaurant, if possible) to mark the location of the baby shower for guests and to get the party atmosphere started from the get-go.
    • Make a cute picket sign that says something like "This Way to Baby Shower!", "Ashley's Baby Shower" or even "It's a Boy/Girl!".
    • Place bunches of colored helium balloons (fitting with the theme of your party) around the sign, or at the front door.
    • Hang door banners above the front door and the door leading to the party. You can get personalized ones with the mother's name (or the baby's, if she has chosen it) at your local gift shop.
  2. Place the guestbook and gift table beside the door. Beside the entrance to the party you will need two things - a baby shower guestbook and a table for gifts.
    • The baby shower guestbook (which can be a special store-bought one or just a cute notebook) is an important feature of the party. In it, each guest can write their best wishes for the mother-to-be and her baby, along with any parenting tips or funny anecdotes about their own experiences as mothers.
    • Place the guestbook, along with some nice writing pens, on a small table just inside the door. Leave it propped open so guests can easily see what it's for (or maybe even make a little sign to explain).
    • Cover the table with a nice cloth and decorate it with baby shower confetti, a vase of flowers, a hurricane with floating candles, some baby toys or whatever fits the theme of the party.
    • You will also need a separate, larger table where guests can set their gifts down as soon as they walk in the door. You can decorate this table as you see fit - just make sure there will still be enough room for the gifts.
    • As an alternative to the gift table, you could place a crib or baby stroller beside the door for guests to place their gifts in instead. The crib or stroller could be borrowed from somebody else, or be a gift to the mother-to-be itself.
  3. Decorate the walls and ceiling. The walls and ceiling are the next thing you'll need to think about. Things like streamers, wall hangings and mobiles can really transform the look of the room and make the baby shower extra special.
    • Themed baby shower streamers are available from most party supply stores, in a vast array of colors and designs. Alternatively, you could make your own flag garland from scraps of colored or patterned fabric, for a more personal, traditional touch.
    • Another very cute idea is to hang a clothesline from one side of the room to the other and use safety pins or old-fashioned clothes pegs to hang baby clothes such as baby grows, booties, socks and bibs.
    • Another option is to hang mobiles from the ceiling - these can be actual baby mobiles, or paper ones in the shape of flowers, hearts or baby accessories like rattles, baby bottles and pacifiers.
    • For the walls, you can hang more banners or flag garlands, put up framed photographs of the mother and father-to-be as babies, or hang posters related to your theme, such as stills from specific films (for movie themes), or images of baby animals (for jungle themes).
    • Another great idea is to hang swathes of tulle along the walls, from floor to ceiling. This creates a pretty, almost ethereal effect which transforms the entire room. Stringing fairy lights across the tulle will add to this effect even more.
  4. Make the table the central focus. The table is the centerpiece of the entire shower, so you should put special effort into making it look good.
    • Make sure the table is large enough to comfortably seat all of the guests and cover it with a nice tablecloth and possibly a table runner in a contrasting color. Sprinkle baby shower confetti over the tablecloth.
    • Lay any pre-prepared cakes and desserts out on the table, buffet style. Use pretty tiered cake stands to display any cakes, scones, muffins or other treats. A layered cupcake stand filled with frosted cupcakes makes a great centerpiece.
    • Aside from the food, you can decorate the table with flowers and votive candles. The flowers can be elaborate arrangements from the florist's or simple but beautiful cuttings from the garden, depending on the theme of the party and the time of year.
    • If you are serving hot food at the party, one cute idea is to place any necessary condiments, such as mustard, mayonnaise or salad dressing, in baby bottles. Just cut the tops of the teats for easier pouring.
    • Make sure you have enough plates, knives, forks, spoons, glasses and napkins. Polish the silverware if necessary.Then you can either formally set the table, or stack everything to one side until needed.
  5. Ensure that the mother-to-be's chair is special. As the mother-to-be is the guest of honor, it is important to place her at the head (or center) of the table and to ensure that she is comfortable.
    • Put her in a larger, more comfortable chair -- preferably one that reclines or has a footstool -- and provide her with as many cushions or pillows as she needs. She will really appreciate this, especially if she is heavily pregnant.
    • Decorate the chair by tying ribbons or streamers around the legs and by attaching some helium balloons to the armrests. If you like, you can throw a baby blanket over the back of the chair.
    • One thing that is frequently done at baby showers is to hang or stand an open umbrella above the mother-to-be's chair. Then blue streamers or ribbons are attached to the edges of the umbrella to make "rain". It is a baby "shower" after all!

Adding the Finishing Touches

  1. Create the right atmosphere. In addition to the visual effect of the decorations, it's important to create a good atmosphere through sound and smell.
    • Soft, soothing music is usually best for a baby shower. Classical music is always a good option, though certain types of country music can also work. You can even buy or download CD's containing music specifically chosen for baby showers on Amazon.
    • However, you could also match the music to the theme of the shower. For example, you could play the soundtrack from a movie for a movie-themed shower. Or instead of music you could play sound effects, such as animal sounds for a jungle themed part or the sound of waves and seagulls for a beach themed part.
    • You can create pleasant smells by burning scented candles or incense, or using oil-based diffusers or air-fresheners. Again, try to match the scent to theme of the party, whether it's the smell of exotic flowers, the seaside breeze or freshly washed cotton sheets.
  2. Make cute party favors. Party favors are small gifts you can send home with your guests to thank them for coming. These gifts can be anything you like, though how fancy/expensive they are will depend on your budget and how many guests will be attending the shower.
    • If you're looking for a more personalized, DIY approach to party favors, you should start collecting mason jars before the shower. Then you can fill each jar with a selection of chocolates (preferably ones that are wrapped in pink or blue foil), wrap a colored ribbon around the lid and attach a label with the guest's name written in calligraphy or cursive script.
    • As an alternative to chocolates, you could fill the mason jars with colored bath salts. This makes a nice gift, but the jars will also look pretty laid out on the table during the shower.
    • Another idea is to get each guest a fancy bar of soap, wrap a ribbon around it and attach a note that says "From our shower to yours". This is a cute play on the word "shower" which is sure to have guests oohing and aahing in appreciation.
  3. Decorate with toys. A nice way to add to the baby-centric theme of the party is to decorate the room with toys and other baby accessories.
    • Scatter things like rattles, plastic keys, bottles and sippy cups, pacifiers and teething rings around the room. Not only will these look cute, the mother-to-be will also find them extremely useful once her baby finally arrives.
    • You could also use things like alphabet building blocks, train sets, teddy bears and dolls, which the baby will appreciate once he or she gets a bit older!
  4. Buy some disposable cameras. When you're busy hosting a baby shower, organizing games, dealing with gifts and making sure everyone has enough to eat and drink, it can be difficult to find the time to take pictures.
    • Therefore, it's a great idea to buy a bunch of disposable cameras and leave them in strategic locations around the room. At the start of the party, tell the guests to feel free to take as many pictures as they like.
    • This is a great way to ensure that all of the guests feature in the photos, while also saving you the trouble of trying to chase everyone down. As people won't be able to delete photos they don't like from these non-digital cameras, you're also sure to end up with some hilarious results!
    • After the shower, you can collect the cameras and have the pictures developed. Pick the best ones and put them in a photo album. Give the photo album to the mother-to-be as a final gift, then she can treasure the memories from her baby shower forever!
  5. Don't forget the diaper cake! A classic feature of most baby showers is the diaper cake - a tiered masterpiece made almost entirely from diapers. It's not edible, but it will certainly come in useful when the baby arrives!
    • You can buy very sophisticated looking diaper cakes online, but these can be quite pricey. It's actually pretty to make a diaper cake yourself - all you need are diapers, rubber bands and some decorative ribbons and bows. See a how-to guide here.
    • Another, similar idea is to create a baby sock bouquet. This is done by rolling up tiny baby socks, attaching a piece of wire and wrapping it in green tissue paper to form a "rose". Like the diaper cake, the baby sock bouquet makes a fun yet functional centerpiece. See a how-to guide Make Baby Sock Roses.

Tips

  • If you are having the baby shower at your home, and you have little children, make sure they are mindful of the decorations. If you think they may get in the way, then get an early start the day of the party, and decorate then instead of the night before.

Sources and Citations

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