Who Hosts a Baby Shower? Most baby showers should be hosted by a sister, mother, mother-in-law, or close friend. Baby showers were traditionally thrown by family members who weren't close with the parents-to-be, to avoid the assumption that close family members wanted to collect gifts for themselves.
Typically a close friend or one of the grandmas-to-be will throw a baby shower. It is acceptable to have a sister or other family member throw the baby shower.
Traditionally, close friends, cousins, aunts, sisters-in-law, or co-workers of the mother-to-be hosted baby showers. Because gifts are central to showers, having a member of the honoree's (or husband's) immediate family host appeared self-serving.
Typically, a close friend or family member will throw your shower, but coworkers or another loved one can all host the party. While every baby shower is unique, the host usually takes care of organizing everything — so you can sit back and enjoy being celebrated.
In fact, it's usually considered perfectly acceptable for a sibling, in-laws, or even the guest of honor's parents to host or co-host a baby shower. It's still unusual for a parent-to-be to host their own shower, though.
From parents to college roommates, and anyone else who plays an important role in the parents-to-be's lives. It's safe to say that those who weren't included in the initial guest list are the people you shouldn't invite.
Typically, the mother of the bride or the maid of honor hosts the shower, so final decisions should be left up to them—taking the bride's preferences into consideration, of course.
How Many People Should Attend a Baby Shower. Every baby shower is different, but most ladies agree that 15 to 30 is the perfect number of ladies at a typical baby shower or about 30-40 for a coed. These numbers change depending on the size of the family, number of friends, and even work colleagues involved.
These days, many couples use their baby showers as a way to bring together their families and communities, and the baby shower is as much of an event for a mother as it is for a father. With that said, the decision for a father to attend is usually left up to individual couples.
Most often, it's a close friend of the mother-to-be who organises a baby shower, however it could also be the expected baby's grandmother, god parent or mother-in-law.
(Think: backyard BBQ) We understand some people are guided by tradition, but it's perfectly acceptable to let him prepare, plan, and host the big event. A baby shower is meant to be a celebration of the new parents and their baby.
The average baby shower budget should be about $400, but you should roughly plan out what the shower will look like before setting this amount. Naturally, the costs will increase as the budget does; this is typically true for virtual baby showers.
As host, you'll be busy keeping an eye on the food and mingling with guests. Assign the gift-list job beforehand to a friend or family member of the mom-to-be. They'll jump into action when the time comes, and you'll remain free to be an “I've got everything handled” party host.
A typical baby shower includes playing games, watching the mother-to-be open gifts, eating, and drinking. However, games aren't a must. Some baby shower hosts and hostesses are foregoing the typical games in favor of other activities. Ask the expecting mother what she thinks about games and what she would like to do!
Traditionally speaking, the mother of the groom is responsible for planning and hosting the rehearsal dinner with the grooms' father (typically) the night before the wedding. This is one of the biggest mother of the groom responsibilities, so make sure you start planning the dinner about six months in advance.
Traditionally, baby showers are held in the third trimester of pregnancy from 28 to 32 weeks. This is because this is a great time to start planning and hosting your event. Mom-to-be is comfortable and mobile enough to enjoy herself but is still weeks away from labor.
The Guest of Honor: who do you honor on a baby shower invite? It may or may not seem obvious, but the mom-to-be or the parents-to-be are the guests of honors at baby showers. If the baby shower is more traditional where only women are invited then the guest of honor will be the mom-to-be.
While the timing of your baby shower is really up to you, the general rule of thumb is to hold a baby shower sometime after the 20th week of pregnancy and before the 38th week (unless you'd like an extra little guest!).
Baby showers last on average 2-3 hours, depending on what's planned for the celebration. Plan for enough time to enjoy all of the baby shower games and activities you have planned for the day. Factor in things like the opening of gifts, snacking on hors d'oeuvres and cake, and catching up with friends and family.
Open Gifts
First, you can have guests send their gifts to the expectant mom ahead of time. Then, during the shower, she'll open all the goodies for everyone to see.