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oh baby! the clueless quasi-adult's guide to hosting a baby shower by Yee-Fan Sun | 1 2 3 4

As with weddings and housewarmings and other grown-up social rituals, I attended baby showers way before I ever experienced one of my own. Heck, I even hosted a couple, each time feeling like a bit of a fake because, well, what the heck did I, a girl who’d never changed a diaper in her life, know about babies? And so I must blame any inadvertent faux pas I’m sure I made on my sincere cluelessness at the time. Pregnancy and impending motherhood, see, are one of those things that can seem wholly mysterious for the uninitiated – beautiful and wondrous, sure, but a wee bit on the scary side as well. Which is why it can be a slightly intimidating thing, when your best friend or beloved sister announces she’s expecting, and you realize that despite your lack of knowledge regarding all things baby, it’s up to you to host that baby shower. Have no fear: we’re here to help…

who
Though baby showers were traditionally hosted by non-relatives, these days, just about anyone other than the mom- or dad-to-be themselves should feel free to organize the big fete. Don’t think you have to bear the burden all by your lonesome either; get a friend or friends to help out with the planning, and you’ll find that putting the party together is as much fun as the party itself.

Once you’ve decided who’s hosting, it’s time to start thinking about who to invite. The easiest way to come up with a guest list is to just ask the guest-of-honor herself. This, of course, nixes the potential for surprise, which might seem like a bummer, but hear me out. Though surprise showers can be fun, bear in mind that how your pregnant pal/sis/officemate is feeling, both physically and emotionally, can vary a lot from month to month, day to day, even hour to hour, and advance notice of major events like, oh, the baby shower, will likely be much appreciated.

Coordinating with your guest of honor as you begin planning the gathering will certainly make it easier to come up with a guest list. Find out whether she has a preference for the traditional all-girls’ thing or a more modern, co-ed shower; ask who she thinks she’d like to have invited. Oftentimes, there are separate, smaller showers hosted by different people from the mom-to-be’s life; figure out whether this will be a big shower encompassing all the important folks in your guest of honor’s life, or a more intimate gathering consisting of just the family, just the office, just your local friends, or whatever.

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