Planning a baby shower doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little organization and inspiration, you can easily create a party to honor your friend or family member and her new bundle of joy. Here are some simple tips for planning a baby shower.

Your first step is to choose a date. Although showers are normally held on weekends, weekday evenings are a good option if there are schedule conflicts.

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Consideration should also be given to the term of the pregnant mother to be. Showers are typically held in the third trimester of pregnancy or shortly after the baby is born. You may want to talk with the mother-to-be about which date would work best for her and her important guests (such as her mother, mother-in-law and other close family members). Although you can’t accommodate everyone’s schedule, make sure to choose a date so that those closest to the guest of honor will be able to attend.

Once you have picked a date, get a list of possible guests from the mother to be, or work with her to create one. The number of guests will help you determine where you should hold the shower. Find out as soon as possible so you can make reservations if you aren’t going to be hosting in a household.

Pick a theme based on the baby’s gender, the nursery d?cor or something else that the mother-to-be likes. Find something that will be fun for everyone and then look for accessories to go along with the theme. Party supply stores such as iParty often have a wide variety of baby shower themes to choose from. Buy invitations in the same theme so that the guests get a sense of the party’s theme before they arrive.

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Choosing your menu is the next step. If you’re serving a sit down brunch, lunch or dinner, it requires a bit of extra planning. Many hosts will hold the party in the morning between breakfast and lunch, or in the afternoon between lunch and dinner. This way you’ll only have to serve finger food type snacks. Chips and dip, cheese and crackers, small sandwiches, fruit and veggie trays are always a good choice. It’s best to leave alcohol out of your menu, since your guest of honor can’t take part. But sparkling apple cider or another fun beverage are good ideas.

Baby shower games are one of the most memorable parts of the shower. They provide a nice opportunity before presents are opened for everyone to have some fun together and get to know each other (if they don’t already). Your game choices will depend on your guests. Word games are popular with anyone. You can print out a game card with the baby’s name and give a prize to the person who comes up with the most words with letters from the name.

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The best part of the shower, especially for the mother to be, is the gifts. Make sure to have a writing utensil and paper handy so someone can write down the gifts received and whom they came from. This makes the task of sending thank you cards a whole lot easier.

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