What I loved about our baby shower was the special details that my friends incorporated into everything food, decorations, games, gifts and more! They knew that the theme for the nursery was trains and the colors were navy, grey and orange. So what did they do? They incorporated that in the shower! Invitations, decorations, and cake shared these colors and theme-even the venue, which made it pretty neat to take some things home to add to the nursery! I also loved the creativity of my friends. I didn’t have the boring or cliché games that EVERYONE plays at their baby shower, and I loved it! It’s funny because my auntie and cousin were like “this is a PH.D. baby shower! We ain’t never played games like this!” And I loved it! You guys we learned how to say baby in different languages! Ha! When you have a committee of women who love you, they take care of you and boy did they! From preparation to pack up at the end of the event, they did it all and I never lifted a finger! So here are some suggestions for you when you are considering planning a baby shower for you bundle of joy:
Whether you are doing it yourself or have friends taking it on, it is always great to do it with a team. I had a group of ladies that I loved and who I knew loved me and had my best interest at heart and they planned and orchestrated our shower. All we had to do was provide a guest list, complete a registry, and we offered to pay for the food! Please don’t have a shower without a registry. You stiffen your guests’ creativity when it comes to buying gifts for your little one, and you miss out on items that you will need for the baby, because stores have great suggestions and merchandise. Choose a location that is convenient for your guests OR that your guests wouldn’t mind traveling to for you.
Make sure someone is keeping track of who gifted what, as it helps tremendously when you are writing thank yous months later. My sissy had a pre-printed list that she just filled in. Perfect! Have a station next to where gifts are dropped off for your guests to fill out an envelope with their address on it for the thank yous! I learned this from a friend’s bridal shower and it made so much sense, and can save you a lot of time of texting, messaging and calling people for addresses!
Which means you need to purchase thank yous/envelopes early! Co-ed baby showers are great because the husbands can be the clean-up crew! Lol But Seriously! Always have a TV and beer or other drinks for the fellas. They won’t care about the games and fellowship that the ladies do at baby showers. Unless they are super competitive for the prizes (husband’s friend) or want to be a part of EVERYTHING concerning their little one! My husband was the silly daddy that played all the games and provided the side humor for his responses and involvement. I loved it!
Organization Crew: Shout out to my line sister Shannon and sorority sister Jay, who packed all of our gifts up like a premium moving company! You guys I am talking down to boxes being labeled with what was inside (blankets, toys, clothes, bath supplies)! All my husband had to do was organize how he would put what bag or box in the car! It was a huge help when my sister and I inventoried everything later and we placed everything in its correct spot in the nursery.
Speaking of inventory, it isn’t a bad idea to do for two reasons: so you know what you have and to know what you still need to purchase. Write it down on paper or go through your online registry and delete anything that wasn’t taken off at purchase. Shout out to my sissy for doing inventory with me! We had a diaper raffle and boy am I glad we did! My husband wasn’t a huge fan of it at first, as he thought we may not get other items we needed, but I kept reassuring him we would be fine and we certainly were! Do a diaper raffle mommies, you won’t regret it! We have YET to buy diapers for Duce and he is 3 months!
Now you may get wild sizes or brands you didn’t request, but don’t fret! You can take them to Wal-Mart or Target and exchange them for the right size WITH OR WITHOUT a receipt! The only thing we are buying like crazy are Diaper Genie bag refills, breast milk storage bags, and wipes for the little one.
Designate a photographer. You don’t want to miss out on all the amazing moments, joys and laughter because you are too busy experiencing them. My best friend since high school took really good care of us and put her photography AND cooking skills to good use that day!
BONUS #1: Everyone who RSVPs won’t show up. Don’t get upset, just be prepared going into the shower with that knowledge and cut back on your food numbers a tad because of it! Things happen! Trust…I know, now as a mommy! Ha!
BONUS #2: Don’t be afraid to RE-GIFT! Especially when there is no gift receipt. =)
~Soli Deo Gloria💜
Copyright © 2017 by Da’Quisha Whitaker
All rights re served. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer.
Her-Shey Mommy Chronicles 