How to host a virtual baby shower

Yes, we know. Hosting your baby shower online from home is not the same as celebrating face-to-face but… it does come with its own benefits! To start, it will save you and your loved ones a tonne of baking, set-up, and clean-up! Plus, anyone from anywhere can come. Family and friends who are overseas, interstate, or loved ones in care like a nursing home or hospital can all join in the fun and share your moment with you!

Baby showers are all about friends and family; celebrating with loved ones.

Like a regular baby shower, a little bit of organisation needs to take place, only most of it will be done way ahead of time. All you will need to do when you gather is enjoy your favourite drink, eat a piece of cake and celebrate!

Write your invite list

A virtual format lends itself best to small groups of up to 12 people, this gives everyone the chance to interact and chat. If your invite list is quite large, try hosting twice – once with family and another with your closest friends.

Jot down who you want to come and count your guest list.

 

Choose your platform

Choose an app that will best suit the number of guests on your list or one that you’re familiar with.

Recommended free platforms include:

Google hangouts - up to 10 participants (personal account) or 25 for a business/education account), unlimited duration

Group FaceTime - up to 32 participants, unlimited duration

Skype - up to 50 participants, unlimited duration

Zoom – up to 100 participants, time limit, 40 minutes

Webex - up to 100 participants, unlimited duration

 

Choose your date and time

Set a date and time for the event. If you are inviting people from overseas, use The Time Zone Converter to work out a time that will suit everyone. Remember, when it’s dark in one country, it’s often daylight in another.

 

Gifts

We all know that a baby shower is about celebrating with friends and family but don’t be shy about gits. The truth is, gifts are part of the celebration for your loved ones. It is an opportunity for them to participate in the preparation and excitement. Friends and family love making you feel like the valuable mama-to-be that you are. Set up a personalised baby registry at Baby List. The great thing about Baby List is that it’s virtual. No in-store visits are required – so friends and family interstate and overseas can also access and get you things you need. And the best part is, it allows you to gather products, from all websites including Snuggle Hunny Kids, in one place! And no double-ups.

Gifts can be delivered directly to your door prior to the event and when ordering from Snuggle Hunny Kids, your guests can add a gift message and gift wrapping so it is extra special.

Now back to party planning!

 

Add a sense of togetherness

You might like to choose a theme for your party to help create a sense of togetherness – High-Tea, pink/blue, or dress to guess the colour are just some ideas. Invite your friends and family to wear or display in the background something that fits the theme. If your baby is a surprise is can be fun to see who turns up in pink or blue! They would dress nicely for a face-to-face – so even more special when you’re all turning up for a party online.

 

Choose some activities

Ask some guests ahead of time, so they can prepare if they can run a few of the activities for you. It will help generate a sense of community as different people take the lead across the video format. What is essentially a conference format won’t feel like a meeting with you leading it if others also take the floor. Plus, it gives you one less thing to organise!

Not all party games fit an online vibe, but there are a bunch that do.

Here are some fun baby shower ideas that work in a virtual space:

• Measure the bump

  Before the party, a piece of string much longer than is needed to fit around your bump and pair of scissors handy. Ask guests to guess how long the string needs to be to fit around your belly and get them to write it in large letters on a piece of paper and hold it up to their camera for everyone to see. Then measure your bump with the string and cut it at where one end meets the string around your belly and measure… It will give everyone a good giggle at how close or not they each were.

• Share the best baby advice you’ve ever been given

• Share the worst baby advice you’ve ever been given!

• Baby Charades

  Have one of your organisers run this one! Send them the list ahead of time and have them write or print out each charade in large text so that when held up to the screen, viewers can see. Get them to start with you. Everyone else closes their eyes or turn their head away from the screen, except for you the game organiser. The game organiser holds up a charade for you to see.

  Have everyone open their eyes or look back at the screen. Now, you use actions (no words or sounds!) to communicate the charade to the other guests. The first person to guess the charade correctly gets to act out next charade. Everyone looks away/closes their eyes again, including you this time, and your game organiser shows a different charade to the winner of the last one. Repeat until all charades have been done!

Discovering you are pregnant

Changing a dirty diaper

Rocking a baby to sleep

Burping baby

Bathing the baby

Giving baby a bath

Pushing a stroller

Putting baby into the car

Midnight cravings

Swaddling the baby

Making your own baby food

Dressing the baby

Cutting baby’s fingernails

Reading baby a book

Feeding baby solids

Making baby laugh

Moisturising baby

Picking up toys

Taking photos of baby

Carrying baby and groceries

Learning to walk

Putting on a baby carrier

Baby’s first tooth

Add your own here…

• Baby sketch artists

  Invite your guests to grab their pen, place a piece of paper on top of their head, close their eyes and draw the following instructions:

Draw the outline of a baby’s head

Add eyes

Add nose

Draw mouth

Add some hair

Now add a body at the bottom of the head

Draw some arms

Legs

Finally, add a nappy and a dummy

Hold up your creation for everyone to see!

 

Make a simple invitation

Everything about this baby shower is virtual – so you can email, text or use Facebook events to let everyone know it’s happening!

Things to include:

• Small introduction - let your guests know they have been invited to something unique!

• Time, date, theme/dress code

• How to access your Baby List gift registry. Remember to give your guests your delivery address to use for shipping purposes so that they can have their gift delivered to you directly.

• A link to your chosen video platform for downloading the free version and any connectivity instructions like your account name or the event link

• Any instructions for arriving at the event like bringing a piece of paper and a thick black marker (for games) plus a cup of tea and a piece of cake

Use the opportunity to send out your invitation and encourage your guests to download the video platform and create their free account well before the event. Kindly ask them to test their camera and microphone ahead of time so they can get technical help if needed. Connectivity issues can take some time to solve and you don’t want this taking place during the event.

Send out your invitation with plenty of time for guests to secure your virtual baby shower in their calendar, explore your registry, purchase and post their gifts to you. Give them at least a couple of weeks.

 

Tips for your special day

Choose your location. Do you want to be inside or outside? 

Really think about your backdrop - you’ll probably want something pretty like your garden or a blank wall with some balloons and simple decorations.

Try to use natural lighting as much as possible (sun/windows) and test the camera on your device ahead of time.

Think about any noise (traffic/wind/other people in the house) and test the microphone on your device beforehand.

Virtual baby showers have their own charm and are a unique way of connecting with friends and family. They can be as relaxed and low-key as a simple lounge chat with a few besties or as lively as a room full of people at a high tea. It’s all about celebrating you and your little one coming, just like you would face-to-face.