Tips for Hosting an Online Baby Shower: A How-To Guide

 Virtual baby showers are becoming more and more popular. It can provide the parents-to-be more flexibility, limit the strain on an already tired mom-to-be, and can be a financially better option for families. Guests enjoy them too because they don’t require travel or take up too much time. So, whether you’re hosting a baby shower for a mother-to-be or planning on hosting a shower for yourself, there are a few things to consider before the planning starts.
 

When is the Best Time to Host a Digital Baby Shower?

Just because your baby shower is virtual doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give your guests enough time to plan for your special day. A good rule of thumb is to plan the shower 6 weeks in advance of them getting their invitation so they have time to visit your baby registry and clear their schedules.

How Long Should it Be?

While we suggest keeping your virtual baby shower somewhere between 45 minutes to an hour and a half, the timing for your specific shower can depend on a few factors. Think about how many people you want to invite and what you want to accomplish. For example, if you plan to have a shower with 5 of your closest friends that you speak to often, you may not need a whole hour. Or maybe you decide to invite 15 friends and play fun activities and start a gift reveal. That may take closer to an hour and a half. Whatever you choose, make sure to note the timing limits (if any) of the video communication site you plan to use.

What Platforms Can I Use to Host My Party?

There are many video communication companies that you can use to host a virtual baby shower. For example, you can look into Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, and Facebook Messenger Room, to name a few. Please note that some of these sites include a number of minutes with their free accounts.

Electronic Invitations or Physical Invitations?

You may be wondering if it’s better to send electronic invitations or physical invitations and all we can say is that it’s totally up to you! There are positive aspects of sending both. If you send an electronic invite, you can easily paste a calendar link with the information or just the video call link for an easy one-click option.

Some websites, such as Evite and Paperless Post, allow you to personalize the invitation and offer reminders, guest list options, and post-event “thank you” help. Paper invitations may be better for guests who are less tech-savvy and who prefer a physical reminder that they can see. Regardless of what you choose, remember to include all relevant information including the date, time, link to the video call, registry information, and anything else your guests should know.

Creating a Gift Registry: The Easy Way

UpChoose designed an easy solution to help you plan how you’ll dress your baby. Many times parents receive an influx of items that their baby never gets to wear, whether it be because it doesn’t fit or because they grow out of the size too fast. With UpChoose, you’ll receive what you need, when you need it with the ability to send back anything you don’t want to keep. Simply share the link with your loved ones on the invitation or add it to your main registry (Babylist, Amazon...). The UpChoose registry is the easiest way to receive gift contributions where you can fund up to 2 years of baby essentials for your little one.
 

Fun Activities and Games to Play

Virtual baby shower games can create a fun atmosphere for guests. It’s a wonderful way for people to get to know each other while celebrating the mom-to-be. For example, offer a spin on Trivia by asking folks to write down the answers to questions that only relate to babies, moms, and pregnancy! The person who gets the most right answers wins the game! Similarly, you can offer a True or False worksheet with real and fake facts that all relate to babies.

The Event

To prepare for the event, the host can offer the mom-to-be some decorations although it may not be necessary. A good alternative is to use a virtual background for the mom! Once the background is added, the event can begin. To make life easier, the host can create an agenda that they share with others or keep to themselves but use to keep track of the event’s activities.
 
 A sample event agenda for an hour-long virtual baby shower is below:

• 1:00 pm - Thank guests for joining and explain how the event will proceed. It may be a good idea to include some guidelines to keep the virtual event running smoothly. For example, ask guests to mute themselves when they aren’t speaking, to participate (as long as they feel comfortable), and to take advantage of the virtual controls/reactions such as the “raise hand” option when they have a question or the “heart” option when they want to express that they like something.

• 1:10 pm - Have guests introduce themselves and ask them to add a fun fact on how they came to know the mother-to-be.

• 1:20 pm - Start some games! You can choose to offer virtual prizes such as gift cards for winners if you wish.

• 1:40 pm - If the mom-to-be would like, she can open any gifts she received ahead of time to offer real-time “thank you” messages to her guests. If she does decide to do a gift reveal, the host, or a designated guest, should help write down who gifted the gift (for example, note that her mother-in-law gifted the mom-to-be UpChoose credit).

• 1:55 pm - Guests can offer the mom/parents' best wishes and any final advice or care tips. Thank everyone for joining and ending the virtual baby shower promptly at 2:00 pm.