One of the very best things about T3 is your baby shower. Fun! Here’s a quick run-down of 5 things to consider when planning a baby shower…

1. When to have it?

The short answer to this is not too early and not too late! Too early and you won’t be looking “properly” preggers for the photos and too late can especially be a bit fraught given the unexpected arrival of the (other) guest of honor!

But things are never that simple. It’s finding a time that suits both the mum-to-be and the host with their myriad of other obligations.

The ideal time is around seven months. The bump is right out there, but you’re not too big so still comfortable. More practically, you still have ample time to find a home for all the beautiful gifts and time to buy whatever is still needed to complete your nesting before the big arrival.

2. Who should host?

Believe it or not, tradition says that your direct family (sister, mother etc) shouldn’t host your baby shower! This was meant to avoid the appearance that the family was simply on a mission to collect gifts.

How times have changed!. Someone who loves you (friend or family) will usually offer to host your shower, organising (with your input), the list of guests, invitations, catering, theme and games.  There’s no doubt that hosting is a major undertaking, so a special thank-you gift is always a good idea.

If no-one offers, simply tap one of your friends or family on the shoulder – don’t be shy. Or organise it yourself, it you feel up to it – why not break another tradition!

The venue can be just about anywhere – a restaurant, your home or theirs. I know this is a girl-fest, but one thing that was missing from my first and only shower was the father-to-be of the baby. It would have been nice to have him come along at the end to enjoy a bit of the fun and to be included in the love in the room.

3. To theme or not to theme?

If you decide to theme your shower, the most important consideration depends on whether the baby’s gender is known or not.  So aside from the traditional pink and blue, the theme is limited only by your imagination. Themes are great if you want everything to match, but they’re certainly not the most important thing about your shower.

A growing trend is to reveal the gender of the babe to be at either a shower or a separate gender-reveal party. This is done by cutting a neutrally iced cake (e.g. white) showing a pink or blue cake inside, or by opening a big box to reveal either pink or balloons that float up to the ceiling.

4. Catering

This usually matches the theme in terms of colours and cuteness. I recently went to a totally girl themed shower which included pink food such as lemonade from bottles with pink striped straws, rose champagne, pop cakes, coconut ice and watermelon.

It’s always good to have a mix of sweet and savoury and of healthy and wicked to appeals to everyone’s palate and diets.

5. Games

The role of games is to two-fold. They break the ice to help guests who don’t know each other to chat. They also provide some entertainment that isn’t present-oriented.

I personally didn’t want any games at my shower which was just as well as there would not have been time in-between the chatting  as everyone basically knew each other. However, I have been to showers with really great, fun games (matching the celebrity to their baby’s name, changing the nappy with a blindfold, guessing the number of jelly babies/nappies to make a cake, spitting the dummy etc.).  The games you pick from the many available will match your personality and it they’re not your thing, you don’t have to have any.

Pregnancy Panache has lots more to read for those with great expectations in T3. You’re welcome to pop over any time!