My friends are doing their best to address the issue of declining birth rates in Queensland … and so I am in the baby shower zone.
I take my role as friend to expectant mothers very seriously, and have been doing my research on the current baby shower trends. If you’re new to the world of baby showers, here’s a crash course.
Traditional:
Traditional baby showers remain common. These are typically hosted by a friend in the 7 to 8th month of pregnancy with guests restricted to females. Afternoon tea is served and various baby related games are played. Games can be silly such as guessing the foodstuff on the nappy or guessing the measurements of the mother’s pregnant tummy or more civilised such as a celebrity baby quiz. Cake is eaten and guests ooh and ahh as gifts are opened.
While games remain popular, activities are becoming more common at these celebrations, such as guests decorating onesies for the new baby or participating in a craft activity (eg. quilting, necklace making). For my friend Lee’s recent baby shower, guests were divided into groups for a cake decorating contest. It was a great way to get everyone interacting, without the entire event being dominated by games.
Themes are also an important part of the baby shower. The traditional blue for boys and pink for girls remains the most popular. We had a pink baby shower for my friend Elizabeth who was having a baby girl with the theme ‘sugar and spice’. Guests indulged in coconut ice, marshmallows and gingerbread prams.
The eco-friendly trend has carried through to baby showers where gifts are recycled/unwrapped, reusable crockery and cutlery is used and invitations are emailed. We went a little green for Lee’s baby shower and recycled the wallpaper that originally lined the nursery pre-renovation into decorations including bunting and pinwheels.
Bringing a recipe to a baby shower is a great theme for an expectant mother whose a bit of a foodie. And there is no need to restrict the celebration to the afternoon. We had a brunch for Lee.
Another great idea is to ask guests to bring a favourite childhood book to the occasion.
Sip ‘n’ See:
A new trend emerging is mothers forgoing the baby shower in favour of a sip ‘n’ see. This involves guests sipping champagne while they meet the newborn guest of honour. The event is otherwise similar to a baby shower, although with less emphasis on the games.
I ended up having a sip ‘n’ see for my eldest as he arrived three weeks early. We kept the original date planned for the baby shower, but instead guests were able to see my 11 day old baby whilst enjoying some sparkling wine and sampling foods forbidden in pregnancy- including soft cheeses, sushi, smoked salmon, and cold meats. My baby wasn’t too excited about the event however, and slept right through.
Baby Sprinkle:
Baby sprinkles are celebrations for expectant mothers who already have a child(/children). They are typically on a smaller scale to baby showers and are celebrated in many ways. Mothers expecting 2nd, 3rd, 4th (etc.) children may enjoy a dinner with friends or indulge at a spa with close friends.
The mothers in my mother’s group always have a special morning tea for expectant mothers at one of our weekly park gatherings. I took the ‘baby sprinkle’ concept literally for my contribution to one of these events recently. We had ice-cream with sprinkles at the park’s ice-creamery, fairy bread (bread with sprinkles), and an activity for the toddlers to sprinkle glitter on a card for the new baby.
There are other trends taking off including dad-to-be celebrations, baby-cue (co-ed barbecue), gender reveal parties and even virtual parties. The rules for baby showers are changing, but the reason for the celebration remains the same- a newborn – one of the greatest reasons for celebration.