How to Throw a Baby Shower

Any day now, I'm going to be an Aunt.  Aunt Sarah.

I wonder how long it's going to take until that sounds normal!  Maybe by the time the kid (we don't know the sex yet) can talk, it won't seem so weird.  But for now, it's a little strange.

Since you all understand how family trees work, by now you've figured out that my sibling (in this case, my sister) is pregnant.  And when you have a sister that's preggers, that means you'll be throwing a baby shower.

There's a lot that goes into a baby shower and the first thing you need to decide is what direction you want to go.  Namely, do you want games where your guests are grossed out because they're forced to sniff diapers and look at weirdly-shaped, partially-melted candy bars.  Or, do you not want to do that?  Those are really the only 2 options in my mind.

Even though you may choose not to have games, that doesn't mean you don't provide entertainment!  Here are some tips to hosting a baby shower without games that is still fun and avoids those awkward lulls in conversations:

1. Obviously, the biggest thing: have food and drinks.  Even if you're not serving a meal, there should be plenty to snack on.  The shower that we hosted for my sister was an afternoon 'tea party' with lots of finger foods, drinks, and dessert.  (Recipes will be coming your way!)

2. Decorate.  Your decorations don't have to be super intricate or expensive, but lay out some tablecloths, make some sort of signage so people know where to go, and display the food and gifts in nice way.  My mom just borrowed some of the onesies that my sister already had and hung them up on a clothesline outside our front door so people knew they were in the right place.

3. Play music!  I can't stress this one enough!  Really, this goes for any party.  Whenever you're having people over, there are going to be natural breaks in the conversation and when that happens, you don't want dead silence.  You just don't.  It makes people want to run away and hide.  So find a good playlist and have it going in the background.

4. Entertain.  This really involves everything from when you greet your guests at the door to when they leave after everything has wound down.  You need to tell them where to put their gift and jacket, facilitate the different 'activities' you have planned (games, eating, opening presents, etc.), mingle constantly, and refill food and drinks.  Especially at a baby shower, where all of the people there will probably not know each other, look for the person that's sitting by herself and talk to her, but more importantly, introduce her to another person that doesn't know anyone else. 

5. Make favors.  My mom and I made a salt scrub so the guests can have something to remember the shower...get it?!  I'll share the instructions soon!

That's all I've got for you, but I'd say the shower my mom and I threw for my sister was pretty successful.  So, I guess I'm kind-of like an expert now.

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