5Tips for Throwing the Perfect Baby Shower

When it comes to party planning and styling our friend Julie over at The Style Aesthetic is the best. Her blog features parties she's styled and also the party hire range she has on offer, so of course she knows her stuff! We asked Julie for her tips so that you can plan the perfect shower.  Here's what Julie has to say:

I love throwing parties and pregnant Mumma's are always a great excuse to celebrate! I actually had a baby shower for each of my three pregnancies and I have to admit things had changed a lot in those five years!

Here are some of my top tips to throwing a gorgeous wee baby shower for that special Mumma to be……….

1 - Plan a theme
Most parties are put together well but having a theme and colours to follow, it makes it easier to narrow down choices and fine tune the aesthetic you are aiming for/wanting. Always keep in mind what you think the mother to be would love. My favourite baby shower themes are:

Milk & Cookies

Garden Party 

Donut Party

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2- Invitations

Invitations are always the beginning of planning and they should always match the party theme in some way or another (colours, patterns or theme). If you would like to create your own you can do so on Photoshop,  Canva  which has loads of free layouts, and it's easy to use. Once you've chosen your theme it'll be a lot easier to select an invitation template in Canva, this gives your event consistency, and gives your guests a hint about what to expect on the day. Another great free design site is Picmonkey.

Otherwise Etsyoffers a amazing range of printable invites which you can get cheaply printed at Warehouse stationery or your local print shop.

3 - Food
Throwing a baby shower in the afternoon allows you most of the day to prepare and means you can serve easy appetisers.  Grazing platters are so on trend at the moment and I have to admit I love them!
Food ideas:
-mini savory muffins with a slice of cream cheese slotted on top
-cheese and crackers with relishes (assortment of hard cheeses is a good idea)
-macarons or mini cookies
-mini pizza pinwheels
-About to POP popcorn in cello bags as single servings
-mini servings of granola, yoghurt and berries
-bliss balls or raw slices
-mini cupcakes

4 - Games
Party games are fun, but you can have too much of a good thing, plus you want to give the guests a chance to talk to each other too.

-Guess the baby stats
-Pin the dummy on the baby
-Advice for the mum to be cards
-Guess the baby food

5 - Thank-you cards

It's always nice to send out thank-you cards after the event, and trust me, even if you're tired and pregnant, it's still much easier if you get them out before the baby arrives! You can use the same template for your thank-you cards that you used for your invitations.

Gift Registry

Thanks Julie for your list, and all the gorgeous photos! If you're planning a baby shower make sure you check out our new Guest Registry function on our website. It makes it so easy for the host/mum to be to set up for all those items they need, and saves on all those double ups and makes it stress free for the guests to buy a fabulous gift. Here are some of the most popular items on our gift registries right now:

Bugaboo + Storksak Leather Nappy Bag 

You Simply Can't Spoil a Newborn- book by Dorothy Waide

Chekoh Original Wrap

Sleep Tight Baby- The Legs Out Swaddle