From your messages I know that lots of you are either pregnant or celebrating the pregnancy of a close friend or family member. This is such an exciting time for expectant mums and a time when they should be celebrated, now more than ever. I have very fond memories of my two baby showers surrounded by family and friends enjoying fun, laughter and great advice. It is hard to comprehend that under the current circumstances, these physical gatherings cannot take place but I believe they shouldn’t be cancelled just celebrated in a different way. Here is just a few ideas to hold a virtual baby shower, I hope this helps you to create something special and memorable. Love, Ali x
What is a virtual baby shower?
This means everyone meets up over their computers or smartphones. While everyone is not physically together the intent is the same, to celebrate the mum-to-be. In many ways this has lots of benefits as you can bring people together from all over the world who might not get to attend a physical event.
What do you need to host a virtual baby shower?
1. Pick a time and date. A few things to consider:
- Keep in mind the different time zones if you are inviting guests from around the world. Find a time that suits most people.
- It is a good idea to set a time limit. With all the excitement mum-to-be might be tired so it’s important the event does not drag on.
- It’s a really nice touch if mum-to-be can open gifts at the virtual baby shower, pick a date that gives enough time for these to arrive.
2. Create and send a virtual baby shower invitation.
If you want to send a digital invitation to your guests via email, I have created an image for you to download (at the end of this blog). You can send this to your guests with all the important details. Another option is to create an event on facebook. Either way remember to include instructions for which video-conferring platform you will use to host your virtual party.
3. Choose a video conferencing platform to host the baby shower.
Under the current circumstances, many of us have already started to use video conferencing platforms like Zoom, Skype and Google Hangouts. I would advise you to stick to the one your most comfortable with and one that can accommodate the numbers of guests who are attending. With Zoom you can invite up to 100 friends, it is free for 40minutes and you will need a subscription for longer. Google Hangouts can host up to 25 friends, you will need a google account if you are creating the event. Skype can host up to 50 friends for up to 4 hours. As some guests might not be techsavy it might be wise to test in advance or send out very clear guidelines on how to log in and participate. Allow some extra time at the beginning for everyone to log in.
How to you keep everyone entertained?
Pick a theme
It’s hard to go all out on baby shower decorations but you can still add a few nice touches. Why not ask guests to wear the same colour or a fun accessory to unite everyone attending. If you want to go a step further you could wear a hat inspired by characters from a book, movie or band loved by the mum-to-be, this will definitely get a few chuckles. It is also a nice idea to send the mum-to-be some decorations that she can place behind her screen on the big day.
Play Games
As this is a virtual shower, it's probably good to kick off the games section with a little intro from everyone to introduce themselves.
To ensure everyone doesn’t talk over each other it’s a good idea to appoint a quiz master (maybe choose different people for different games so everyone gets to play a part) and ask guests to write their answers on a piece of paper and hold it up to the screen when it is their turn to answer.
- Guess the baby’s weight/gender: This is a classic and easy for a virtual baby shower. Simply ask everyone to write down what they think the baby’s weight and gender will be. Everyone can take turns sharing their guess. It’s nice if one person captures everyone’s answer and emails or posts these to mum afterwards as a keepsake.
- My wish: This was my favourite game from my baby showers. Simply ask everyone to share their wish for the baby or a special message for mum-to-be. These could be handwritten by each person and posted to Mum after the shower so that she can keep them in a memory box for her baby or simply emailed.
- Guest baby photo contest: In advance of the shower, have your guests email baby photos of themselves. Put them together in a cute slideshow (I love using Google Slides) and have the guests guess who is who. So much fun.
- The Price is right: This is a baby shower favourite and can be adapted for a virtual party. The game leader needs a basket of common baby items, and the guests need to guess the price of the items. They can use paper to hold up their answers to screen.
The sky is the limit with baby shower games, many traditional games can be adapted for a virtual shower once you think about it creatively.
Gifting at a virtual baby shower:
I love giving beautiful memorable gifts at a baby shower and I love all the ooh-ing and ahh-ing that goes along with this part of the day. You can either give guests a firm deadline to have sent gifts to Mum in advance of the shower or guests could reveal their gift by holding it up to screen on the day.
Some of my top gifting ideas for a baby shower.
1. Baby Journal
2. Soft & cozy coming home clothes
3. A keepsake toy
4. Some must have essentials like Muslin swaddles or Bibs soothers
Check out our gift box options on Lou and Belle for more ideas. We have beautiful gift packing and cards available with purchases.
Whatever way you choose to celebrate the mum-to-be in your life, making a fuss and marking this special moment in her life will be sure to give her a smile during these uncertain times and help to create memories that she can look back on in years to come.
If you have any ideas for hosting great virtual baby shower please share them @louandbellebaby and I will share them with our community.
