“Baby Shower” is a great way to celebrate the impending arrival of a new baby. Organizing this celebration is usually handled by a girlfriend or family member on the mother’s side. When it comes to decorating the room before the party, there are many fun options, each one better than the other. To plan the perfect decorations for the Baby Shower, all what you need is a little time and creativity!

Planning

1. Determine the location for the celebration. 

Before you start planning, you need to decide on a location for your celebration. Understanding how much space you have at your disposal and what you have to set up will help you plan your interior.

• “Baby Showers” are most often held in the mother’s home, as it is more comfortable and convenient for her (especially if the pregnancy has complications). You’ll have plenty of opportunities to decorate, but you may need to coordinate your ideas with your mother and her partner-especially if you plan to do something out of the ordinary!
• If the Baby Shower will be at a restaurant, keep in mind that some restaurants will place restrictions on decorating or rearranging furniture. So you should talk to the restaurant director before making plans.

2. Choose a theme. 

Choosing a theme for your baby shower will help you stay focused and create a professional and well-designed interior. Choosing a theme is entirely up to you, but here are some ideas:

• Jungle theme: jungle or safari is a popular theme for Baby Shower. Rooms are decorated in a combination of yellow and green hues with stuffed lions, monkeys and elephants for decoration.
• Cartoon theme: choose your baby’s mother’s favorite childhood cartoon and use it as a theme. For example, for a “Wizard of Oz” style party, you can make a “yellow and brick road” leading to the party room decorated in green colors like the Emerald City. You can also hand your mother some comfy ruby slippers when she walks in!
• Carnival/Circus theme: a carnival or circus theme can be decorated in bright colors, prepare popcorn and candy strings and have games such as throwing rings on a bottle and duck races.

3. Choose a color scheme. 

If the theme seems too complicated, you can simply choose a color scheme for your decor.

• Preparing a specific color scheme will help you focus on your holiday planning, and it’s easy to choose the color of decorations, from tablecloths and napkins to flowers, candles, cakes and confetti.
• You can follow the classic “It’s a boy!” or “It’s a girl!” theme by making the room completely pink or blue. Some moms like this traditional approach, while others may prefer something different.
• In this case (or, if the baby’s gender is unknown), go for more gender-neutral colors like yellow or green, or decorate the room in a combination of pink and blue.
• Another cool option that’s perfect for outdoor porches or elegant restaurants is an all-white theme.
• You can also make the color scheme of the party match the tones of the baby’s room.

4. Plan your budget. 

The next thing to look at is your budget, as this will determine (for the most part) how much you can afford to spend on decorations.

• Make sure you consider all the details – food, drinks, gifts, holiday balloons, games – the more thoughtful your budget is, the less likely you are to overspend.
• When shopping for decorations, go to every store in the area. There can be huge differences in the price of decorations for Baby Shower, depending on the store you buy them from. Compare options at holiday stores, dollar stores and online before you make your final decision.
• Think about what you can save money on – borrow cake stands, candle holders or other dishes from friends and relatives. Maybe your grandmother has an old porcelain tea set that you can use for an English tea party theme.
• Or, if you’re even a little creative, you could make some decorations with your own hands. You could sew baby booties, crochet a baby blanket, or make a collage of baby pictures of mother and father.
• Even if you’re on a tight budget, you can still have an amazing Baby Shower – you just need to store around a bit, finding solutions and borrowing the right items!

5. Carve out some time for yourself.

All of this planning and preparation takes time, so make sure to get everything organized ahead of time first, not on the last day. The last thing you’d want is to go through the stress of leaving everything to the last minute.

• Dominating and pressuring while shopping will only lead to unnecessary stress, and you will inevitably have to spend a lot more money than you originally intended. You may also find it difficult at the last minute to find the things you need, without which you can’t recreate the whole theme of the holiday.
• You also need to be sure that you will have enough time right on the day of the party. Arrive at the venue well in advance. If you decide to have the party at your mother’s house, try to get her out of the house or at least go to another room.
• Keep in mind that you may need to ventilate, clean dirt, dust, or clean the room (or hire someone else to do it) before the event, you don’t want to make your mom clean the house.

Decorating the room

1. Start outside. 

In addition to the room where the celebration will take place, you should consider decorating outside (or in the restaurant, if possible) to create a festive atmosphere from the very entrance.

• Make a cute sign, something like ” This is the way to the Baby Shower” or even “It’s a boy/girl!”
• Tie a pile of colorful balloons (decorations with your party theme) around the sign, or on the front door.
• Hang banners over the front door and the door leading to the party room. You can order personalized signs with the mother’s (or child’s, if she chose it) name from a local store.

2. Place the guest book and gift on the table by the door. 

You will need two things at the door for the party – the guest book for the Baby Showers and the gift table.

• The Baby Shower guest book (which you can buy at the Baby Shower specialty store or just make a cute notebook) is an important feature of the party. In it, each guest can write their wishes for mother and child, along with any parenting tips or funny stories about their own feelings about being a mother, too.
• Put the guest book, along with well-written pens, on a small table in front of the door. Leave it open so guests will understand its purpose (or you can even make a small designation to make it clear).
• Cover the table with a pretty tablecloth and decorate with confetti for the Baby Showers with a vase of flowers, lots of floating candles, a few baby toys or decorations that fit the theme of the party.
• You’ll also need a separate large table on which guests can stack their gifts as they go inside. You can decorate this table as you see fit – just leave enough room for gifts.
• As an alternative to the gift table, you can place a crib or stroller near the door for guests to stack their gifts in. The crib or stroller can be borrowed from someone or you can make such a gift from yourself to your mother.

3. Decorate the walls and ceiling. 

The walls and ceiling are the next thing you need to think about. Things like streamers, wall decorations and baby supplies can really transform the look of a room and especially for the Baby Shower.

• Baby shower themed stretchers in a variety of colors and designs are sold at most holiday supply stores. Alternatively, you could make your own garland of flags from scraps or colored fabric for a more personal, traditional style.
• Another very cute idea is to string a clothesline from one part of the room to another and use safety pins or old-fashioned clothespins to hang baby clothes such as onesies, booties, socks and bibs.
• Another option is to pin baby supplies to the ceiling. These can be real baby things, or drawings on paper in the form of flowers, hearts or baby accessories, rattles, baby bottles and pacifiers.
• As for the walls, you can hang more banners or garlands of flags, framed baby pictures of mother and father, posters with frames from certain movies (for movies) or images of baby animals (jungle themes).
• Another great idea is to hang tiers of tulle along the walls, floor to ceiling. This will create a cute, almost ethereal effect that will transform the entire room. Garlands of colored lights along the tulle will enhance this effect even more.

4. The table should be the center of attention. 

The table should be the focal point of the entire event, so make a special effort to make it beautiful.

• Make sure the table is large enough to comfortably accommodate all the guests. Cover it with a nice tablecloth and you can top it with a nice napkin in a contrasting color. Sprinkle confetti on the tablecloth for the Baby Shower.
• Place pre-made cakes and desserts on the table, setting up a buffet. Use tiered stands to arrange any cakes, muffins, cupcakes or other treats. A tiered cupcake stand with frosted cupcakes should be in the center of the table.
• In addition to the food, you can decorate the table with flowers and candles. You can order flowers from a florist or use simple but beautiful flowers from the garden, depending on the theme of the party and the time of year.
• If the party is serving hot food, another cute idea is to fill baby bottles with all the necessary condiments, such as mustard, mayonnaise or salad dressing. Just cut off the tops of the nipples for easy use.
• Make sure you have enough plates, knives, forks, spoons, glasses and napkins. If necessary, polish the silverware. Then you can either formally set the table or move everything to one side until you need it.

5. There should be a special place for the mother-to-be. 

Since mom is the guest of honor, it’s important that she sit comfortably at the head (or center) of the table.

• Seat mom in a large, comfortable chair – preferably one that reclines or has a footrest. Put plenty of bolsters and cushions for her. She will be very grateful, especially if the pregnancy is already on the long term.
• Tie serpentine ribbons around the legs of the chair and tie a couple of helium balloons to the armrests. If you prefer, you can throw a baby blanket over the back of the chair.
• Another thing that is often done on the Baby Shower is to hang or place an open umbrella over the mother’s chair. Then blue streamers or ribbons are attached to the edges of the umbrella to make it “rain.” It is a baby “shower,” after all!

Add the finishing touches.

1.  Create the right atmosphere. 

In addition to the visual effect of the decorations, it is important to create a good atmosphere with sounds and smells.

• Soft, soothing music tends to work best for Baby Shower. Classical music is always a win-win, although some country music will also work well. You can even buy or download a CD of music specially selected for the party on “Amazon.”
• You can match the music to the theme of the celebration. For example, play the soundtrack from a movie for the party in the style of that movie. Or you can play sound effects instead of music, such as animal noises for a jungle-themed party or the sound of waves and seagulls screaming for a beach theme.
• You can create pleasant smells with burning candles, incense or with oil-based products, diffusers or air fresheners. Again, try to match the scent to the theme of the party, whether it smells like exotic flowers, sea breeze or fresh cotton linens.

2. Prepare cute holiday incentives. 

Holiday incentives are small gifts you can send home to your guests to thank them for coming. Gifts can be anything, although how fancy and expensive they are will depend on your budget and the number of guests at the event.

• If you want to make more personal homemade keepsakes, start collecting glass jars well in advance of the party. Then you can fill each jar with a set of candy (preferably wrapped in pink or blue foil), tie a colored ribbon around the top and attach a label with the guest’s name written in calligraphy or cursive.
• As an alternative to candy, you can fill glass jars with colored bath salts. This would make a nice gift as well as a beautiful table decoration during Baby Shower.
• Another idea is to give each guest a fancy soap wrapped with a ribbon with a note, “From our shower to your shower.” Such a gift will surely make all the guests “ooh” and “aah”.

3. Decorate with toys. 

A good way to complement the children’s holiday theme is to decorate the room with toys and other accessories for children.

• Scatter items such as rattles, plastic keys, bottles and cups, pacifier pacifiers and tooth rings around the room. Not only will all of these create a cute decor – they will come in handy for the mother when the baby arrives.
• You can also use things like alphabet cubes, trains, teddy bears and dolls. These toys will come in handy for the baby when he grows up!

4. Buy disposable cameras. 

When you’re busy hosting Baby Shower, organizing games, handling gifts, and making sure everyone has enough food and drink, you’ll have a hard time finding time to take pictures.

• Thus, it’s a great idea to buy a pile of disposable cameras and place them in strategic places around the room. At the beginning of the party, invite guests to feel free to take as many pictures as they want.
• This is a great way to get all the guests in the “photos” and also take the hassle out of getting everyone together. Since no one will be able to delete bad shots from these cameras, you can also be sure of fun results!
• After the festivities, you can collect the cameras and develop the photos. Choose the best ones and paste them into a photo album. Hand the photo album to your mother as a last gift that will be a treasured treasure of her holiday memories forever!

5. Don’t forget the diaper cake! 

A classic feature of most Baby Schauers is the diaper cake, a tiered masterpiece made almost entirely from diapers. It’s not edible, but it will certainly come in handy when the baby arrives!

• You can buy a very elaborate diaper cake online, but it can be quite expensive. You can actually make a diaper cake with your own hands. All you need are diapers, elastic bands and some decorative ribbons and bows. See the tutorial here.
• A similar idea is to create a bouquet out of baby socks. This is done by stringing tiny baby socks onto pieces of wire wrapped in green tissue paper to form a “rose.” Like a diaper cake, a bouquet of baby socks will be the center of the fun. See the tutorial here.

Tips

If you’re hosting a Baby Shower at your house and you have young children, make sure they’re unaware of the decorations. If you’re afraid they might notice the preparations, start early on the day of the celebration, and decorate everything right on that day, rather than the night before the day of the celebration.

Tutu Gilbert