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How to Throw a Virtual Baby Shower
It’s natural to want our friends and family to gather for big life events. However, in-person events aren’t always possible. Whether your closest friends and family live far from you, or social distancing makes it risky to meet up, you might have to take your baby shower to the web.
Throwing a virtual baby shower is a fun way to replace an in-person one, and make sure you still have that loving and sentimental time with those you love most.
What is a Virtual Baby Shower?
As social distancing has made it hard to gather in-person, many have hosted virtual events to celebrate life’s big moments. Virtual baby showers are essentially the same as an in-person event.
It might be a little awkward dealing with conversation lulls, technology lagging or opening gifts on camera, but a virtual baby shower can be special and sentimental in its own way. At the end of the day, taking your shower online is a way to celebrate your big life event with those who love you.
Planning a Virtual Baby Shower
Planning an online baby shower might seem like a daunting task, but there are many technologies available to help make the event run smoothly.
Hosts
Though it is typical for a close friend or family member to throw an in-person baby shower, it’s common for the expecting parents to host their own virtually. However, a friend or family member may still decide to take on the job. Though it’s easier if the person hosting lives with you, it’s still possible to coordinate plans via text or email beforehand.
Invitations
There are many options for virtual invitations through websites like Paperless Post and Evite. These sites usually also let you link to your baby registry and send email reminders to guests about the baby shower a few days or a week before.
If you want to go simple, you can also make a Facebook event and invite your friends to it. That way, you can post the link to log into the baby shower directly into the event when it’s about to start.
You can still send physical invites if that’s your preference; however, sending a digital invitation for a digital shower makes it easier for people to click the link to join in.
Themes
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Themes are a classic and fun part of any baby shower. You don’t have to skip out on a theme just because you aren't partying in person. Pick something that is simple and easy-to-execute, then develop games, decor and outfit ideas that are virtual and fit your idea. For example: you can ask your guests to all wear a certain color and coordinate with streamers and balloons in the background, or you can go for a “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” theme and make a starry Zoom background.
Other virtual baby shower theme ideas include; Where the Wild Things Are, Sweet as Candy, Rainbows, or Baby in Bloom.
If you want to really commit to your theme, you can send your guests a small care package beforehand with a few items to help them get inspired. For example, if you go for “Baby in Bloom,” you can send each guest a floral headband, some fake flowers and a flower-shaped sugar cookie.
Tech
As more events have gone virtual, people are getting used to streaming their events with friends. There are a few options for video hangouts that each offer something different for the party. The basic technology you and your guests will need is an internet connection and a web camera. Then, pick a video hosting platform that will allow members to join the party and speak to each other in real time.
A few common options for video hosting websites are:
• Zoom: Arguably the most popular and one of the simpler options, Zoom is free to use and doesn’t require an account to join the meeting. Up to 100 users are allowed in each party, which can be password protected by the host. The con to using Zoom is that the free version only allows 40-minute calls at a time, meaning if you want your party to last longer than that you’ll either have to make a premium account or set up a new room every 40 minutes.
• Skype: Similar to Zoom, Skype is another free service that doesn’t require an app download to use. However, Skype parties can not be password protected by the host and it only allows up to 50 users per party.
• Google Hangouts: You can only use Google Hangouts if you have a Gmail account. There is no time limit on the party length, meaning you can keep it going as long as you want without having to purchase more time or recreate the room. However, Google only allows 10 people in the party at a time.
• Facetime: Though Facetime is perhaps most popularly known as a way for two friends to talk to each other on their phones, Facetime can actually allow up to 32 connected users per call. Users can log on via phone or Macbook, with the only downside being that only Apple devices can participate.
Decorations
Where an in-person baby shower will mean decorating your entire house, an online baby shower only requires the wall behind you to be decked out for your theme. So, hang wall decor and get some balloons or pin up streamers to create a fun background for the call.
If you’re hosting your shower via Zoom, you can also create a customized Zoom background that will appear on your feed. You can customize this with the name of the parents or the baby-to-be, the date, or any fun photo you want and send it to everyone so you can all have matching backgrounds.
Games
Games are another baby shower must. Just because you’re not in the same room doesn’t mean you can’t get the group engaged with fun, virtual activities. Here are a few game ideas for small, online groups:
• Quiplash: Created by Jackbox Games, Quiplash is a fun fill-in-the-blank word game that gives each user a prompt and asks them to come up with a fun answer. The group then votes for their favorite answer, and the user with the most points wins. Quiplash (and the rest of the Jackbox Games series) are all played via cellphone, so it’s a great option for virtual parties.
• Name That Tune: Play 10-15 seconds of a baby-themed song and have your guests use the chat box feature of your video hosting service to guess the title. The first person to get the name right wins a point! Some ideas for baby-themed songs: “I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher, “Baby” by Justin Bieber, “...Baby One More Time” by Britney Spears and “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice.
• Never Have I Ever: Put a parenting spin on this classic party game. Have guests hold up five fingers, then go through a list of parenting or pregnancy mishaps or struggles. Anyone who has done the listed thing must put a finger down, and the last person with fingers remaining at the end of the game wins.
Gifts
There are a few options for gift opening at your virtual baby shower:
1. Have your guests mail your gifts to you ahead of time, so you can open them during the party and your guests can see your reaction.
2. Have a gift show-and-tell, where each guest holds up their own gift and explains why they got it for you in a few sentences. The guests will mail the gifts after the baby shower.
You can pick one of these options, or do a mix of both depending on what makes your guests feel most comfortable. Make sure you help steer your guests in the right direction as they select their gifts by creating a baby registry that they can use to help pick something perfect. If you’re not sure what to put on your registry, review a baby registry checklist.
Thank You Notes
It’s best practice to send out thank you notes one to two weeks after the event. These can be as simple as sending an email to each individual guest thanking them for attending and providing a gift, or you can use a website like Paperless Post to send out decorated and themed cards. If you want to, you can also mail your thank you notes physically.
There are many ways to make your virtual shower special, from making a custom Zoom background to sending your guests a small care package with themed items inside. However, the most important and special part of the day is spending time with those you love. Thanks to video hosting technology, even those who are long distance or who can’t gather in person can still spend time together to celebrate you and your little one.