How to Host a Baby Shower: A Planning Checklist and Menu Guide

Figuring out how to host a baby shower mostly comes down to a handful of decisions made in the right order, and the rest of the day tends to fall into place once those are settled. We cater baby showers out of our kitchen in SeaTac, and the hosts who seem to enjoy the party most are rarely the ones with the most elaborate plans. They're the ones who picked a date early, kept the guest list honest and didn't leave the food until the morning of. Here's how to host a baby shower that feels like the parents-to-be, with a planning checklist you can work through week by week.

When should you have a baby shower?

Most baby showers happen between 28 and 32 weeks of pregnancy, late in the second trimester or early in the third, when the parents-to-be are past the early appointments but still comfortable spending an afternoon on their feet. That timing also leaves room to use the gifts, return the duplicates and get the nursery set up before the baby arrives. If you're still deciding when to have a baby shower, it's worth asking the parents first, since some families would rather hold a sip-and-see after the birth so everyone can meet the baby. Send invitations four to six weeks ahead, and a save-the-date earlier than that if a lot of guests are coming from out of town.

Who hosts a baby shower?

A close friend, a sister or a coworker usually hosts, though the old rule that family shouldn't throw the shower has mostly faded, and plenty of mothers and grandmothers host now without anyone blinking. Two or three co-hosts splitting the work is common, and it makes both the budget and the day easier on everyone. And yes, you can host your own baby shower. It's more common than it used to be, especially for a second baby or for parents who would rather plan the party they want than wait for someone else to guess.

How long is a baby shower?

Two to three hours is the usual length, which leaves time for food, a game or two and opening gifts without wearing out the guest of honor. Late morning or early afternoon on a weekend is the most common time, and a brunch or lunch spread fits that window without much effort.

Pick a theme that actually sounds like them

The best themes start with the parents-to-be rather than with a color scheme. A couple who spends every weekend on a trail might want greenery and an outdoor brunch, minimalists usually prefer a few good flowers on a clean table, and if they love tacos there's no reason the whole party can't be about tacos. Once the theme is settled, it quietly makes a lot of the smaller decisions for you, from the invitations down to the favors.

Your baby shower planning checklist

Knowing how to plan a baby shower, or how to organize a baby shower with a few co-hosts, is mostly knowing what to do first, so here's the order we'd work in if we were throwing one ourselves. Treat it as a baby shower checklist you can adjust, not a set of rules.

Two to three months before

• Talk with the parents-to-be about the date, the guest list and anything they'd rather skip, like games or opening gifts in front of everyone
• Set a budget with your co-hosts
• Choose the date, the time and the place
• Settle on a theme

Six weeks before

• Send invitations with an RSVP date and a link to the registry
• Book catering if you aren't cooking, since most caterers need at least a week's notice
• Order anything custom, like cookies or a sign

Two weeks before

• Share the headcount and any dietary needs with your caterer
• Plan the games and buy the prizes
• Pick up the favors

The week of the shower

• Confirm the final headcount
• Write a simple timeline for the day and decide who's handling what
• Plan where the gift table and the guest of honor's chair will go

The day of

• Start setting up an hour before guests arrive
• Put one person in charge of writing down who gave which gift, so thank-you notes are easy later
• Send the leftovers home with the parents-to-be

Set up a space that feels like a party

You don't need a picture-perfect setup to make a baby shower feel special. One focal point, like a balloon garland or a big arrangement of flowers, does more than a dozen small decorations, and a dedicated gift table keeps presents from piling up on the food. If you're hosting at home, clear enough room for people to mingle and give the guest of honor the most comfortable seat in the house. At a venue or a park, a few personal touches like framed photos or a hand-lettered sign make it feel like theirs.

What food should you serve at a baby shower?

A baby shower menu doesn't need to be complicated, but it does need to work for a room full of different eaters. Plan on something substantial, like a grain salad, a frittata or roasted chicken, alongside something green, something sweet and at least one dish the vegetarians can make a meal of. The parent who's pregnant has a list of foods to avoid, so leave out unpasteurized soft cheeses, cold deli meats and raw fish, or label them clearly so nobody has to ask. Brunch is a natural fit for a late-morning shower, because most brunch dishes hold up at room temperature for a couple of hours and people can graze between games.

Should you cater a baby shower?

If you're hosting more than a dozen people, catering is usually what lets you enjoy your own party instead of spending the morning assembling sandwiches and the afternoon refilling platters. Baby shower catering from Maven starts with your headcount, the date, the theme and any dietary needs, and from there our kitchen builds a menu for your group rather than handing you a set package. We cater for groups of ten or more across the Seattle area with at least five business days' notice, and everything is cooked in our kitchen near Angle Lake in SeaTac, the same kitchen that puts 25+ new dishes on our weekly menu every Monday. To start planning, send us the details through our catering page or email catering@mavenmeals.com, and we'll get back to you within one business day.

Baby shower games people actually enjoy

Shower games get a bad reputation, but the right one or two can end up being the part everyone talks about afterward.

• Baby bingo. Guests mark off gifts on their cards as they're opened, which keeps the whole room paying attention during the longest part of the party.
• Guess the baby food. Peel the labels off a few jars and have guests taste and guess. It gets competitive quickly.
• Wishes for baby. Set out cards for advice, wishes and predictions, and the parents go home with a keepsake they'll actually keep.
• Name that tune. Play a few seconds of songs with "baby" in the title and see who gets them first.

Prizes and gifts they'll use

Game prizes don't need to be big, but they should be something a guest would want to take home, which rules out most of what comes in a party store bundle. A small Maven gift card works well as a prize, since the winner gets to pick a few dishes off the next week's menu.

For the parents-to-be, a meal delivery gift card for new parents is one of the gifts that gets used most in the first weeks home, when cooking is the last thing anyone has energy for. Maven gift cards arrive by email and never expire, so if the parents live in our delivery area they can save it until the baby is here and order whatever sounds good that week.

Don't forget the favors

Favors are optional, and a lot of hosts skip them now, but a small one is a nice way to say thanks for coming. Cookies, a jar of local honey or jam, a small succulent or a bag of coffee from a nearby roaster all go over well, and each one is easy to tie back to the theme.

Bring it all together

A good baby shower comes from a few early decisions made with the parents-to-be in mind, not from getting every detail right. If you remember one thing about how to host a baby shower, make it the short version. Pick the date, keep the guest list honest, take the food off your own plate if you can, and let the rest of the day happen. If you're planning one in the Seattle area and want help with the menu, tell us about the party and we'll take it from there.