Whether you’re the grandparents, best friend, or close relative, hosting a baby shower fun, but also demanding. This is especially true if you’re hosting the event at your home. There is a lot that needs to be done in order to ensure that your guests are comfortable while having a great time. Before freaking out, however, you should know there are simple solutions to ensure your event is one everyone will enjoy.
Get the Couple’s Opinion
While you want everyone to have a good time at the baby shower, the guests whose opinion matters most is the expectant couple. Before you begin making plans, be sure that you have had a conversation with them. Find out if it is okay for you to host a baby shower, how many people they want to invite, what kinds of foods they want, and more. If they know the sex of the baby, find out if they want this displayed in the decor or if they’d like to do something fun like hand out Chinese calendar gender 2018 for people to guess the sex. Chinese Calendar Genders are a wonderful way to pass the time and have fun trying to guess what the sex of the baby will be! Or if you want to raise the excitement use a gender reveal baseball at the end of the event to share the news. You will absolutely want to have your phones ready to capture the moment. Watching the gender reveal baseball explode with a cloud of pink or blue is something you will want to share with everyone!
Don’t Overdo It
Now that you’ve heard from the couple you’re ready to begin planning for the baby shower. Though the pressure is on when you have people coming to your house, don’t overdo it while planning. You’re worried about meeting their expectations and, of course, making the expectant couple happy. That being said, you should never bite off more than you can chew. Don’t overextend your budget or health to make things happen. The truth is, you’ll only make hosting the event more stressful.
Create a Budget
To prevent yourself from going over the top with the planning of the baby shower, create a budget. Decide how much you can comfortably spend on the shower without bankrupting yourself or causing issues with your personal expenses. If you need assistance financially, see if other close friends or relatives will chip in to foot the bill or cover certain expenses so you don’t have to.
Keep the Guest List Under Control
Your home (and budget) can only accommodate so many people. Therefore, you want to manage the guest list carefully. Sending out digital invitations or using event management apps makes this easier to accomplish. For example, when you send an invite via social media platforms like Facebook, you get real-time updates on who is coming, who isn’t and who may or may not show up.
Enlist Help with Food
Depending on how many people you’re trying to accommodate, making all the food yourself is going to be very time-consuming. On the other hand, however, catering it all can be costly. You can find balance by making some staple items yourself and hiring a caterer for more complex dishes. Another option would be to enlist help from friends and family. Having each of them prepare a dish for the baby shower lightens your load and saves you money.
Clean and Setup in Advance
Don’t wait until the last minute to try and clean your house for the baby shower as this only adds to your stress. The moment you know you’re going to be the host and have ironed out a date for the event, start cleaning up. You especially want to clean the rooms where the festivities will take place, along with common areas like the kitchen and restroom.
As for setting up your home for the baby shower, make sure that you have it done the night before. Rearrange furniture to create more space, put away any valuables you don’t want on display, set up chairs and tables, treat the lawn (if having an outdoor ceremony), and set up all the decorations the night before. This way, the morning of it’s finishing touches and waiting for the guests to arrive.
Celebrating the upcoming arrival of a newborn is supposed to be a joyous occasion. Though it is a lot of pressure to host such an occasion in your home, it doesn’t have to be stressful. If you start by prioritizing things like the interests of the expectant couple and your budget while also utilizing resources like other relatives and catering services, you can reduce your stress and plan an event that everyone will be amazed by.
