Plan an Unforgetable Baby Shower

Baby showers are joyful get-togethers usually including four main activities: socializing, playing games, eating, and the best one of all, opening all the baby gifts! Planning a baby shower is part of the fun.

Most baby showers last about 2-3 hours, so having an outline for the schedule of activities is a good idea so that the party does not lag at any time.

Planning Details: The beginning of the baby shower is a fun time for socializing. The majority of the guests will need to greet each other and talk with the mother-to-be to find out the details of her pregnancy.

Something to eat is always expected at a baby shower and it needn't be intricate. It's just got to be planned. Finger foods are simplest and guests can eat throughout the whole shower, with a special time, customarily towards the end, dedicated to serving the cake.

Perhaps the most popular activity in most baby showers is the game time. There is no end to the variety of baby shower games you can play. Practically any game can be remodeled to make it acceptable for a baby shower.

If the guests are a fun group, plan on playing a variety of several baby games. Just be sure to decide on the games about 3 weeks prior to the shower so you know what games that may be played as the host will have to make certain she has lots of game pieces and mandatory supplies. And she'll need to get a prize to award the game winners, too!

Figuring out the rim of the expectant mother's belly is a standard game that's played at most baby showers. A simple game involves filling a baby bottle with jelly beans or q-tips and having each guest estimate how many the bottle holds.

There is also baby Bingo, baby tic-tac-toe, pin the pacifier on the baby, and so many more.

If games don't appear appropriate for the group, for whatever reason, plan a group project instead. When the project is finished, it will be given to the honored guest as a way to remind her of this big day.

Ideas for projects include quilting, making a hand-painted floor mat or wall hanging, making a scrapbook, or making a video.

Making an advice book is straightforward. Get a notebook full of blank pages and pass it around to each attendee. On a separate page, each guest writes down a little bit of parenting advice and signs the page.

If you are inviting men, plan the baby shower as more of get-together, perhaps an outside BBQ. The guys can cook the food and assemble the baby gifts as they're opened as the women sit back and have fun!

Keeping the Best for Last: The highlight of the baby shower (at least for the new mom) is opening the baby gifts.

Be sure someone is writing down each gift and the giver. Save the bows, too so that when it's all over, the guest of honor can be topped with a silly bow hat!