How to Host a Baby Shower at Home - The Ultimate Checklist

Is this the first time you’re hosting a baby shower at home? Whether you live in a rental villa in Dubai or have your apartment in the city, throwing a baby shower can be tricky and even stressful. A lot of people are lost for ideas when it comes to deciding the party theme or menu or games to play.

If you’re one of them too, you’re in luck. We’ve compiled a list of baby shower ideas for you to arrange a party that is fabulous and effortless. Just follow these simple tips to arrange a baby shower at home and you’ll breeze through it.

Host a Baby Shower at Home: Things to Consider

Let’s start off with the best baby shower ideas and then we can move on to other tips on how to host a baby shower party at home that is fun and unforgettable.

pregnant woman at baby shower — Make sure the expectant mother is the star of the show!

Focus on the Timing

The best time to host a baby shower at home for an expectant mother is around the end of her second trimester. It’s usually comfortable for her to attend and enjoy parties at this stage without getting too exhausted.

Once you decide a date and time, send out the invitations – at least three weeks in advance. This will give everyone the time to schedule their plans around the party and make it in time, even if they don’t live in the same city.

The Theme is Important

While the theme is one area where you can unleash your creativity, going overboard will only complicate things. There are plenty of baby shower theme ideas for you to explore. Whatever theme you pick, make sure you have a go-ahead from the mom-to-be or it revolves around something she really likes. You don’t have to be restricted by the traditional blue for boys and pink for girls – unless that is exactly what the expectant mom wants.

Your theme influences all your baby shower decoration ideas at home

Instead of specific baby shower ideas for boys or girls, experiment with colours and choose baby shower themes that call for simple decoration. Think winter wonderland, a sunflower field, candy land, ready to pop or similar themes to make your job easier – plus they work great for both baby shower ideas for girls and boys. As for baby shower décor, go for elements that have the most impact with minimal effort. A balloon arrangement, a decorative photo booth, banners, and streamers – think of little things that make a big impact.

Use Disposable Plates and Cups

You’re already hosting a baby shower at home, you don’t need additional work on your hands, especially after the party. Doing the dishes once everyone leaves will be a nightmare. Skip all that with disposable plates and cups. You can always get the ones with a festive design. Once the guests are gone and the party is over, just chuck it all into the trash and you’re done. Cleaning up would be easy breezy for you even if you’re doing it alone.

Set Up a Buffet

baby shower food — Your menu should always have the mom-to-be’s favourite foods

One of the best baby shower ideas is to set up a buffet like food arrangement. Put out everything on the table and allow the guests to help themselves. Think finger food, bite-sized servings to make it easier for everyone. Your best menu options for baby shower food may include a variety of sandwiches, mini pizzas, stuffed croissants and scones. Looking for more baby shower food ideas? Keep tacos, dips and crackers or fruit and salad platters.

Don’t forget the sweet treats though. Keep mini desserts if you’re serving any or you can just resort to customised sugar cookies, muffins, cupcakes, marshmallows and candies. Instead of making everything at home, order catering. If you want an intimate baby shower affair, ask the guests to bring one dish each and contribute to the preps. A couple of delicious mocktails can keep the party hydrated!

The Games Should Be Easy-Going

Women enjoying the baby shower — Let there be fun and joy throughout the party with games everyone can participate in

Baby showers are supposed to be fun and easy-going. The games you choose play an important role in that. Most traditional baby shower games bring the party to a halt, making the guests go through an ordeal of embarrassing tasks (read games). Don’t do that to the people attending the baby shower in your home.

Think of games that are simple and fun. If you are looking for baby shower games ideas, try these:

Have them list down all the strangest celebrity baby names they can along with the celebrity parent names. The one who lists down the most, wins.
Set up a onesie-designing station. All you need is a plain white onesie for each guest, some fabric pens, paints and stamps. The guests can get creative and decorate the onesies whenever they like. The expectant mother gets to stock on personalised onesies and her favourite design wins.

Managing Gifts

gift corner for baby shower — Make your life easier with a gift corner that is clearly visible and adequately set up

Gifts are an important part of baby showers and it’s always better to have a game-plan to tackle them. Set the table with a sign that tells your guests where to deposit the baby shower gifts. Also, gift opening can be tedious for the guests and the mom-to-be. Always keep the gift opening for the end of the party when most guests have left – that way, only the ones who are really interested in sharing the moment will stay behind.

But before all that, sit down with the mom-to-be and discuss the things she needs to prepare for the arrival of her baby. Maybe she wants to decorate a unisex baby room or put together the baby’s wardrobe. Create a reasonable baby shower gift list and share it with the guests. This way everyone, even those who have no idea what to buy for a baby, will know what they need to get for a gift.

It’s Okay to Have Party Rules

women chatting at a baby shower — Sometimes, rules are good for parties too

When you host a baby shower at home, it is your job to ensure nobody gets bored, find themselves out of place or feel awkward – especially the mom-to-be. So set some party rules – things that shouldn’t be mentioned (poop smell, labour pains, diaper changes) and basic etiquette that each guest must follow.

You can even include rules for gifts too, like asking guests to bring them unwrapped to cut down the trash. For those who have kids, ask them to share valuable insights into baby-proofing the house instead of talking about stressful baby-related things.

Put it all in the baby shower rules and suggestions and send them out to the guests along with the invitations and then post them on the entrance on the party day. This way, you can eliminate the uncalled conversations and discussions while keeping the celebration joyous.

Additional Tips to Plan a Baby Shower on a Budget

When planning a baby shower at home, the most common mistake people make is going overboard with the expenditure. It doesn’t always have to be that way. In addition to the aforementioned baby shower checklist, just keep these budget-saving baby shower tips in mind:

baby shower cookies — Who says you can’t have customised sugar cookies in a baby shower on a budget?

Always make sure the expectant mother is part of all major party decisions. If you’re planning a surprise, give special consideration to her likes, dislikes and preferences.
Keep the decorations simple. Sometimes, that’s all you need to make an impression. Consider setting up the place with flowers, balloons, DIY glitter jars and confetti.
Think of baby shower favours that can be double up as decoration for as long as the party goes on. Succulent plants or customised decorative candles are also great options.
Even if you’re renting a furnished apartment in Dubai, you may run out of space to seat the guests. Don’t spend money on rental chairs if you don’t have enough of your own. Instead, create a floor seating arrangement using rugs, throw pillows and floor cushions.
Instead of buying expensive baby shower invitations, make use of printable ones available online. You can even go paperless and forward the invitations via email or your favourite messenger app. You’ll save a good buck, we promise.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to bake or order a cake for the party. Simply search for baby shower cake ideas online and you’ll definitely find something that goes well with your theme. It doesn’t have to be anything grand – keep it simple and flavourful. You can always add some baby decoration to it to match your theme and honour the baby.

We hope these tips on how to host a baby shower at home prove helpful for you. Whether you plan a garden party for the baby shower or host it in your living room, ensure that the mom-to-be and everyone else has a good time. Keep the party mood lighthearted and fun. Most of all, have fun at the party you host and celebrate the joy of impending motherhood with the expectant mother.