The baby showers of today have come a long way from the intimate, home-based gatherings of family members and friends they once were. While getting together with those closest to the mother-to-be or the new mother is still the primary reason for having a baby shower, oftentimes, there’s much more involved.

Some baby showers actually turn out to be elaborate gatherings with all the extras guests typically only see at wedding receptions. Sometimes, because today’s hosts are busier than ever, it just makes more sense to hire professional help than it does to try to take on all the additional tasks involved in planning/hosting a baby shower.

What Type of Talent can be Hired?

Well for today’s baby showers, anything goes. Caterers, cake decorators, interior decorators, musicians, magicians, photographers, bartenders, servers, rental agencies, planners, calligraphers, printers, activities coordinators and others can all play a role in putting together a memorable baby shower event.

The trade off for this type of professional talent is that each person who is hired will want to be paid and the rates likely won’t be cheap. Since the host is the person who ultimately will be footing the bill for these services, only she can decide whether hiring professional help is a cost-effective alternative to doing everything herself.

How to Plan for Talent

How much the host will spend on each aspect of the baby shower is something that should be determined well in advance, ideally at the time the plans for the shower are being put together. And while hiring professional help means that the host won’t have to tend to the tasks herself, she will need to work closely with the talent to ensure she gets exactly what she’s paying for.

Tips for Hiring Talent

Yes, it’s easy to open the yellow pages phone book and call someone from the appropriate category, but getting referrals from others who have actually used the talent previously is usually a more reliable approach. Word of mouth is a powerful force and people are quick to tell others about their bad experiences as well as their good. Those with solid reputations are usually going to cost more and they’re the ones who are going to get booked far in advance, too.

Prepare a list of issues to cover, so each prospective hire knows the same information. Discuss the date, time, location, type and duration of the party and what it is the talent will be responsible for. Once someone has been selected, be sure to put the details of the discussion into a contract which both parties will sign. If a deposit is required, make it and outline the payment schedule in the contract as well.

Once capable talent has been contracted, don’t assume they’ll show up as agreed. It’s always a good idea to reconfirm the details 1 to 2 weeks in advance of the baby shower, and then again, a day or two before. That way, any last minute emergencies or changes can be handled calmly.

One of the biggest dilemmas having to do with baby showers is whether it’s appropriate to arrange one for someone who already has been given a baby shower for her firstborn child. The perception is that the woman who has more than one baby shower is being a bit too greedy. It’s also the perception that by the time a second or third child comes into the picture, the mother already has all the essential baby items she needs so why bother?

De-emphasize the Gift-Giving

Unfortunately it is this way of thinking that has helped give the idea of having a baby shower more than once a bad name. Yes, it’s true that part of the baby shower is about bringing and opening gifts, but the key word here is ‘part’. A baby shower is about much more than giving gifts. It’s an opportunity to celebrate a new life and it’s a time to gather together and revel in this joyous occasion.

With that in mind, it doesn’t really matter the number of children the woman already has as long as the emphasis of the baby shower remains on celebrating new life and the mother’s good fortune and good health.

For all those who are questioning whether or not to host yet another baby shower for a friend or relative’s third child, the answer is, just do it! Only this time, be sure to put more emphasis on celebrating instead of the gift-giving.

There are many ways to have a fun, well-attended baby shower for a woman who is having another child. Just be sure the focus of the event is on being together with close friends and family. Here are a few ideas:

This time, instead of scheduling the shower before the baby’s arrival, wait to have the shower after the child is born. Everyone enjoys seeing a new baby, and why not wait and let the new baby be the guest of honor. Instead of calling it a ‘baby shower,’ call it an ‘It’s a Girl!’ shower or an ‘It’s a Boy!’ shower. Gift-giving can be optional. If guests ask about gifts, suggest they get something specifically for the baby. Everyday items such as disposable diapers, washcloths, and baby bottles are good optional gift ideas. These types of parties are increasingly being called ‘Sprinkle’ parties rather than a shower.

Call the party a ‘Mommy Party’ or a ‘Pamper Party’ and instead of focusing on the baby, focus on the mother. Bring gifts to pamper her such as spa accessories, comforting candles or manicure/pedicure tools.  

Arrange a casual get-together where the focus is on eating and socializing. Guests can bring things designed to help the mother out after her delivery. Frozen foods, coupons for baby-sitting her other child(ren) or house cleaning, and gift certificates so she and her significant other can go on a date once life gets back to normal all make great gifts.

Shopping for baby shower gifts is a lot of fun! Everything is so cute and so tiny and so necessary. It’s easy to want to buy everything for the expectant mother, and she probably would graciously accept everything that’s given to her, but there likely are some specific baby items she’d really like to have.

How do guests find out whether or not the mother-to-be has requested any particular baby gifts? Well, they can always just ask her. But a better option might be to ask the person hosting the baby shower. That way, the mother can be truly surprised and excited later on while she’s opening her gifts at the shower.

Baby Gift Registry

Most expectant first-time mothers today register their gift preferences at a store that offers such a service. She’ll spend an afternoon with a gift consultant selecting the items that she’d like to get for her baby. When guests know this registry information, the task of baby gift buying gets a whole lot easier. They just go to the store’s gift registry computer, input the mother’s name or sometimes just the date of the baby shower, and in seconds, a shopping list prints out.

The guest takes the shopping list to the baby department and looks for the items on the list. To make shopping even easier, the retail price for the various gifts is often included right on the shopping list. That way, if the shopper wants to spend a specific amount on the gift(s), it’s easy to go down the list and select the gifts that are within that price range.

Besides being an effective shopping assistant, purchasing off the gift registry cuts down on gift duplication and it ensures that the expectant mother gets exactly what she needs and wants. She can add any baby items the store carries onto the gift registry – linens, clothing, car seats, bottles, diapers, nursery accessories, photo albums, monitors, whatever!

Although having a shopping list of baby gifts makes shopping so much easier, there are a lot of people who do not like to shop this way. They believe it’s a rather impersonal experience, preferring instead to shop for something they feel to be more appropriate for the mother-to-be. This is a fine approach as well and is a perfect option when neither time nor money is an issue.

Engraved Baby Gifts

Baby gifts can be made even more special with the addition of personalized engraving. Engraving is popular especially when the baby shower is going to be held after the baby is born, because guests know all the birth details including the baby’s full name, birth weight and height, and birth date.

Hostess Gifts

Typically the person who hosts the baby shower does not give the mother-to-be a gift. Instead, the bridal shower is her gift. Anyone who has ever hosted a baby shower knows first-hand that this is an elaborate (not to mention expensive!) gift.

Regardless of how the gift idea originated, there’s definitely nothing else that compares to shopping for baby gifts!

Celebrating the upcoming arrival of a new baby is exciting but at the same time, it’s often a situation in which both parents can feel much anxiety. These feelings of anxiety are especially strong for first-time parents. There is so much to know and so many different items are needed to provide proper infant care.

The idea of the baby shower came about as both a special time for family and friends to be together before the baby’s arrival and also to help relieve the financial burden on parents-to-be by supplying them with many of the new gadgets, furnishings and accessories they’ll need once their baby arrives.

And even though today most people prefer to break out of the ‘traditional’ mold, when it comes to a baby shower, these events for the most part still adhere to traditional guidelines. Probably one of the biggest changes to the baby shower format is that they’re no longer exclusively for women. Plenty of men make it onto today’s baby shower guest list and those who are invited don’t come grudgingly. While they might not play in all the baby shower games, men do enjoy the opportunity to give their regards to the expectant mother- and father-to-be.

In some cultures however, a baby shower is considered a sign of bad luck. If there’s a chance the expectant mother might feel this way, be sure to check with her before proceeding with the baby shower.

In some parts of the world the baby shower is actually held after the baby is born. This makes sense since a baby shower is a celebration of the baby and guests enjoy actually seeing the one who is being celebrated. It’s also easier to select gender-appropriate colors and gifts and should the gift need engraving, guests have all the delivery details they need.

Having the baby shower after the baby’s birth does make sense, but it’s a very busy time for new parents. Plus, many of the baby items the expectant parent(s) need are needed as soon as the baby arrives home. That’s why scheduling the baby shower before the baby’s birth is the more common option.

The baby shower itself is traditional and for the most part, every shower involves the same activities. Guest lists and invitations need to be created and mailed. The shower location needs to be decorated. Guests expect to be entertained so food, drink and games need to be coordinated. And because it’s a special occasion, there might even be a photographer and/or videographer, musician and other special talent participating in the festivities.

A baby shower can be a big to-do with lots of little details to coordinate and every detail is going to cost money. That’s why it’s highly advisable for whoever is hosting the shower to put together (and stick to) a workable budget.

Pulling off a successful special event like a baby shower doesn’t take special talent, it takes a well-thought out plan that includes a timeline and a budget.