Nothing screams, “I’m having a baby!” quite like a good old-fashioned baby shower. A baby shower isn’t just a fun way to celebrate your incoming babe with your loved ones; it can also go a long way towards helping you get ready for everything that motherhood requires: Bibs and bottles and bassinets, oh my!
In the past, baby showers were an exclusively in-person affair. But in our increasingly online world, virtual baby showers are becoming more and more common, especially since they allow friends and family from all across the country to join in on celebrating the new mom.
If you’re considering hosting a virtual event, you’ve come to the right place. We’ll walk you through everything you need to know to make your party a success.
Step One: Choose a Platform and a Date
Like an in-person baby shower, the first thing to do is pick a date and time. The joy of hosting online events is that without travel time, they tend to be more accessible to people — meaning more of your loved ones can make the special day. Long-distance baby showers let everyone get in on the fun.
Instead of choosing a venue for the event, you’ll choose a platform to host the party. Options include Zoom, Skype, Google Meet, and more. Chances are that you already have a preferred platform after the past few years of Google Hangouts and virtual meetings, but if you aren’t sure, test each option out beforehand to familiarize yourself with the features.
One of the best parts of a digital shower is the virtual background. Let’s face it: being heavily preggo makes us tired. So, if the only streamers you hang from a JPEG you’re using as a Zoom background, we 100% support that. You can also go all out and decorate the space behind you to match the baby shower theme or your hobbies. Basically: You. Do. You.
With a date and platform chosen, you’re ready to send out your invitations. You can go the traditional route by mailing out paper invitations (either custom-made or printables, or roll with the online theme and create an e-vite. Digital invitations allow you to customize even more — plus eco-friendly!
A virtual baby shower invitation can be as creative and charming as a physical copy.
Step Two: Make a Registry
One of the most shocking things about parenthood is realizing how much STUFF even the tiniest newborn requires. A baby registry is crucial not only to celebrate your impending motherhood but also to help the parents-to-be prepare for it in a tangible way.
If you’re a first-time mama and aren’t sure what to include on your registry, we’re here to ensure you open gifts that you actually want.
Registry Essentials
Let’s start with the big-ticket items: a crib or bassinet, baby carrier, stroller, and high chair are all must-haves during the first year. Be sure to research different brands and styles to find the right option for you — maybe portability is your biggest concern, and you want a compact stroller to fit in your car.
Or perhaps you want a baby carrier that pairs well with your favorite quilted maternity bomber jacket. Just because you’re about to pop doesn’t mean you can’t waddle around in style! Whatever the case may be, take your time adding these more expensive items to your registry. You deserve baby items that you really love.
Other important items you’ll want to include on your baby registry are diapering essentials, like diaper wipes, a changing pad, a stylish diaper bag, and, of course, diapers.
New parents run to the store at 2 AM to pick up diapers waaaay more than they’d like. Having as many diapers on hand — in different sizes — is smart. Plus, if people send you diapers ahead of time, you can turn them into classic baby shower decorations — aka — the diaper cake.
Baby bottles, bibs, and onesies are also important. Trust us: You’ll go through more of these items than you ever expected.
Lastly, add some items for yourself. Maybe you’ve had your eye on a beautiful summer maternity dress or the coziest nesting set. You’re doing the hard work of growing a new little human, and you deserve some gifts on that list.
Step Three: Plan Some Party Games
No baby shower is complete without games. An online baby shower still offers all the games you know and love.
Baby Bingo
One of our favorite trending virtual baby shower games is Baby Bingo. There are a couple of ways to play bingo at a baby shower.
First, you could use your baby registry and have guests fill it out while the guest of honor opens her shower gifts. Or make it an ongoing game throughout the whole event, with guests filling out their sheet every time someone says a buzzword (think “big sister,” “due date,” or “morning sickness.”)
Guess the Celebrity Baby
Another classic baby shower game is “Guess the Celebrity Baby.” With the screen-sharing function available on nearly every video chat platform, it’s easy to set up this one. All you need to do is create a slide deck of celebrity baby photos and share your screen while guests try to guess the answers.
Guess the Baby Name
If you haven’t shared your baby’s name with your family members and best friends, ask your guests to guess the name. In an in-person, traditional baby shower, you might ask everyone to write it on a large poster board on a slip of paper.
For a Zoom baby shower, you can ask everyone to guess the name in the chat bar or ask the guest list to submit their name guesses ahead of time. The mom-to-be might want to read the name guesses aloud and then perhaps reveal the name of her new baby!
How Well Do You Know My Mommy
Finally, we love “How Well Do You Know My Mommy?” a trivia game in which guests compete to answer questions about the mom-to-be. Questions might include:
- Mama’s parenting plans (How is she decorating the nursery?)
- Pregnancy experience (Which pregnancy symptom has hit the hardest?)
- Her life story (Where was she born?)
Step Four: Choose an Outfit
It’s your time to shine. Decide which adorable baby shower outfit gets the honor of making an appearance on your big day.
If your baby shower is upcoming, go with a breezy springtime dress, like the luxe cotton viscose Carolina dress in pink and purple plaid. The pretty tie on this dress creates an empire waist for an easy-breezy maternity style.
Or maybe a jumpsuit is more your style, in which case you should check out the Heidi jumpsuit instead. This jumpsuit features a flattering sweetheart neckline, comfortably wide legs, and is cut from our favorite fabric, a Tencel/linen blend.
Don’t be afraid to ask your guests to dress nicely as well. Typical baby shower dress codes range from casual to cocktail attire, and it’s totally your call what sartorial code you want to request from your guests, virtual party or not. (After all, dressing up is half the fun, no?)
Step Five: Refreshments
Hosting a baby shower online provides an opportunity for creativity. You can rethink your purpose and goals for the shower, make it more inclusive to loved ones across the country, or adapt the structure of a typical baby shower for the digital age.
For example, rather than providing food and refreshments in person, you might mail out care packages with snacks or ingredients for mocktails that you can all enjoy together on the video call. You may send digital UberEats or DoorDash gift cards to those who RSVP’d ahead of time. This way, they can enjoy a bite to eat as they watch the mom-of-honor open presents.
Or simply ask guests to come prepared with their drink of choice beforehand. There’s no reason to forego food and drink at a virtual baby shower: You might have to get a little creative, that’s all.
Step Six: Have Fun!
The last thing — and in our opinion, the most important thing — to remember when planning a virtual baby shower is to have fun, just the same way you would at an IRL event. Baby showers are meant to celebrate the mom-to-be, and we can’t think of any party more special and exciting than that.
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