You've dreamt of hosting the perfect baby shower your whole life, but we understand that it might not be possible right now. Whilst we understand this is a difficult time for expectant mothers and there's no way we can replace the feeling of being close to your loved ones, a virtual baby shower is a great idea for getting together with friends and family to celebrate your upcoming arrival - and it'll give you all something to look forward to. It's also a great solution if you have loved ones that don't live nearby! Here's our top tips for hosting a successful virtual baby shower.
Technology
There are many options for hosting a baby shower virtually, but our favourites are Zoom, Skype and Google Hangouts. You may need to purchase a premium membership if you plan to chat for a couple of hours, but it'll be worth it when you can see everyone's faces all in one place. Make sure you have a good quality webcam and a microphone, and always test your equipment in plenty of time so you can buy anything you need in advance. You could always choose to hook your laptop up to a TV using a HDMI cable if you want to see everyone on a bigger screen.
Invitations
Once you've decided on your guest list, it's important to give your guests clear instructions for how to join in - don't assume that everyone will be familiar with the software and some may need a little more guidance than others. You could either do this digitally or in the post - however we recommend doing postal invitations for people who aren't tech savvy to make it as straightforward as possible.
Decorations
Just because you won't have people coming to your home, doesn't mean you shouldn't get creative with decorations! Your guests will see your backdrop on camera, so put up banners and balloons behind where you'll be running the call. Tell people the theme in advance - they might want to get involved too!
Share the love
Everyone loves receiving an unexpected gift in the post! So why not send some treats a couple of days before the baby shower so that everyone can enjoy some themed goodies whilst on the call. There are some great companies out there that can arrange bags of pick and mix, personalised biscuits or beautifully decorated cupcakes, which your guests are sure to love. Alternatively, for something more hands on, why not send your guests a baking kit so you can all cook up a storm together? It would also be fun to send props in the post - things like selfie props, fancy dress items or decorations. It's a great way to get everyone to join in the fun!
It's Quiz Time
A great idea is to plan a quiz related to the parents of the child - include questions such as where they met, where they went on their honeymoon or even what their favourite restaurant is. It will be great to get to know the couple a little more and will be something everyone can join in with.
Another idea is to plan a music quiz - use only "baby" themed songs and ask people to guess the artist and song name. We promise you'll have people dancing and singing along!
Gifts
Many guests will want to buy you a gift, but as they can't give them to you in person, we recommend setting up a virtual gift list (much like you would do for a wedding). You can highlight things you need for your new arrival and arrange for them to be send directly to your home.
Photos
Ask your guests to take photos and selfies during the baby shower and upload them to a digital album or guestbook. You'll love looking back over at the lovely messages your guests have shared and, whilst it won't quite be the same as all being in one place, it'll certainly make for a talking point with your child in years to come!
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