How to have a Baby Shower during Lockdown

A Social Distancing Baby Shower

Mums to be across the world are sadly experiencing a whole host of additional anxiety and disappointment with the the Coronavirus effecting their pregnancy journey. Appointments are being cancelled. Partners are having to miss out on scans and other bonding moments. Many mums are finding their pregnancy is not what they had envisioned and looked forward too. Quite frankly, this most precious time of a new parents life is being spoiled. It makes me so sad!

Well I say SCREW YOU CORONOVIRUS! We are not going to let you take everything from us. We may not be able to see our friends and family in person right now, but that doesn’t mean we can not celebrate this precious time. Can’t have a baby shower? Host a virtual baby shower instead! After all a party and something happy to focus on is just what we all need. So if you or a friend is expecting, here is my top tips for hosting an on line baby shower.

Online Baby Shower

 

Choose a platform

You can set up a free online meeting with Zoom for up to 100 people, so that’s a good choice if there is quite a few of you. Houseparty is another good option but you have a limit of 8 people so best for smaller groups – Make sure you lock the room if you choose this option to make it more secure.
Skype is another free option that is easy to use. All members can set up an account with only an email or phone number. Here you can host a group call of 3 – 50 people.
If everyone is already a Facebook member you can create a private group specifically for your shower. It could also be a great way to announce your birth afterwards too! Once set up you can send all your guests the link to join. Mum can go live in the group while the guests view and comment in real time.

There are paid options too such as Web Baby Shower. For a fee this site will host and help you plan invites and games all in one place.

 

Guest List

Next thing on your list is to plan the guest list. One downside to a virtual baby shower, is that the guests all need to have enough technical ability to be able to join. Luckily many of the options are very easy to use and set up. I’ve recently signed my mother up to Houseparty so that we can stay in touch as a family while we are social distancing. I was initially worried she wouldn’t understand how to do the set up, but with a few simple instructions she managed very well. Trust me, if she can do it, your guests can too! Nearly all of the hosts will allow you to send a link to each guest that will walk them through how to join.

Get the mum to be’s partner involved to help decide who to invite and get contact details together. Considerations could be family members, friends, and work colleagues depending on mum and if you feel she’d like an intimate get to gathering, or a larger group.

 

Gifts

I highly recommend using Amazon wish lists. They are so easy to use and maintain. And let’s face, what can’t you get from Amazon these days!?! The good news is that delivery is almost unaffected by the Coronovirus pandemic.

 

Decoration

Some of the hosts give you options of choosing virtual backgrounds which is a great, no cost option. If you prefer real decorations, you can send balloons and banners / garlands to the mum to be and have her hang them behind where she will sit for your online party. You could also send her a mum to be sash and have her wear that.

 

Food

This is a tricky one when you’re not together. You could either order Pizzas for each house hold so that you are all eating the same thing at the same time – it’ll feel more like a gathering when eating similar foods. Or you could all source your own nibbles / party food. Just enough to treat your household but so you’ve all got something to snack on.

 

Games

There are a number of games you can easily play over a video call. My top suggestions are:

Would she rather – A game where you have a series of questions and two possible answers for mum to be to choose from. You can find examples of the type of questions on the link provided.
Name that song – See who can fill in the blanks to songs that contain the word “baby” in them.
Guess the baby – Have each party guest email the host a photo of them as a baby so that all the guests can guess who is who.
Who’s my mummy – Match the animal to the correct baby.
Baby Bingo – First to match five baby words in a row is the winner.
Mummy or Daddy? – Answer quiz questions with either mummy or daddy.

 

 

Gender reveal

There are a couple of fun ways to reveal the gender to all the guests if the parents have chosen to find out (and wish to tell people of course). In order to not give the game away until the appropriate time, you’ll need to consult mum’s partner for this one and potentially have them arrange this so that even the party planner don’t know in advance.
Cake – Arrange a cake with a local baker and have them it so that the inside is either pink or blue. During your party, mum can cut into the cake to reveal the colour.
Scratch Cards – Etsy do a lovely range of scratch cards for this. Have mum to be scratch the card away to reveal the baby’s gender to the guests.

I do hope this has been a help to help organising your perfect online baby shower. Let’s not let Coronavirus spoil this precious time. Now more than ever, let’s make it even more special.

Have a fantastic virtual party!

Much love

Lisa x