The Covid-19 pandemic has led to the cancellation and postponement of countless events, from graduations to weddings to birthday parties. And for expectant parents, the idea of having a traditional baby shower is pretty much off the table right now.
Of course, families are prioritising health and safety, but just because we all have to stay home for a while doesn’t mean parents-to-be can’t have memorable baby showers. We asked the HuffPost Parents Facebook community to share their ideas for socially distant ways to celebrate this pregnancy milestone right now, and they delivered. Read on for some creative baby shower inspiration.
Send Gifts To The Parents-To-Be
“Use Amazon to purchase and deliver the gifts. People could always drop something off at the house, keeping proper distance.” ― Dana Larmore Hlusko
“Our neighbourhood did a sprinkle shower. Everyone signed up for a spot, and the women gave a gift to the mum-to-be every hour on the hour throughout the day. And then on every half hour, the men dropped off a gift for the dad. So every half hour, the doorbell rang, and we dashed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. We put a sign out front. It was a fun little surprise for the couple.” ― Amber Scharf
“Have gifts delivered to the house of the mum!” ― Barb Cza-Bla
Organise A Zoom Shower
“I just had a Zoom baby shower/birthday party and it worked out a lot better than we all thought! The organisers posted decorations to our place, and my husband and daughter decorated the room. They also ordered cupcakes to be delivered. They made a guest book with messages printed and posted to me, and I received it the day before. And then we played some games. It was all just a bit over an hour and it was great!” ― Tiffany Chang
“We did a virtual baby shower for my sister-in-law. We used Zoom, and she opened gifts for us to enjoy. We talked, and it’s been the best part of the lockdown thus far.” ― Jessalynn Porter
“We did a fun Zoom shower for my sister-in-law. Games, a toast and saw her nursery.” ― Daniela Lopez Barragan
“Planning on having a virtual shower, even if stay-at-home lifts in June. Going to use Zoom and Webbabyshower.com to do the planning. Saved a ton of money, too, not having to book a venue. I will miss my family, but their health is very important to me. I would rather have them see their new addition to the family than the inside of a hospital, traveling cross-country.” ― Amber Hartman
“I just got invited to a Zoom baby shower. Gifts sent ahead of time so she can open with us. I think we’re playing games, too.” ― Lisa Price McDonald
Host A Facebook Live Event
“My husband and I hosted our own shower on Facebook Live. Everyone that would have been invited to the actual shower was invited to a private ‘virtual shower’ on Facebook. (If they didn’t have an account, there is an option to save the video and share it later.) When it was time for the shower to begin, we streamed live video, and everyone that was watching was able to comment or chime in at any time. The nice part is that we didn’t have to worry about people talking over each other like in a traditional video chat. ... We then opened gifts via live stream. We hosted the whole thing in our nursery, and it was over in an hour and 40 minutes. Afterward, all that was left was to clean up all of the tissue paper, put items away, and start writing out thank you cards.” ― LeRae Hinz
“I’m due May 4th. Our shower was cancelled, so we are opting to have a virtual one instead. We posted our baby needs list and then we will open the gifts we get in the mail on a determined date over Facebook Live. I am also planning on a few fun virtual games during the shower; a virtual shower is great for those who don’t have family within driving distance.” ― Jessica Wilkes
“Create a Facebook event. On the day/time you choose, they can open all the gifts people sent ahead of time and stream it, so people can still see and make them feel celebrated.” ― Kristina Hermanson
Play Games
“We played a couple of games where people could just type in their answers ― guess the circumference of my belly in inches, and ‘The Price Is Right’ with baby items like bottles, diapers, etc.” ― LeRae Hinz
“You can make a virtual trivia game using Kahoot. Add questions such as when the baby is due, how parents met, what is the baby’s room theme/decor, and whoever gets the most points gets a gift like an eGift Card.” ― Wanda I Betancourt
Arrange A Drive-By Shower
“We did a driveway/drive-by baby shower. We placed two boxes by the curb, one for diapers and one for gifts, and I sat up by the garage and waved as people went by or stopped to drop off gifts. We asked everyone who left diapers to write their name and number on the box, so we could enter them in the diaper raffle. For the family and friends that wanted to walk up, we had ‘no touch activities’ like guess the date and time the baby will arrive and how many diapers are in the diaper cake tower. Hand sanitiser was everywhere, as well as disinfectant spray if needed.” ― Kristina Savoy
“I own a Yard Card business. Set up a Yard Card with your local business and do a drive-by shower!” ― Christen Forsyth Garrett
“Send invites out, include advice cards, cards to guess baby’s birth date and weight (prize is a gift card for the guest), do a diaper raffle so everyone who brings diapers has a card with their name on it. The day of the shower, set up tables at the end of the driveway with boxes for the raffle tickets for the diaper raffle, birth date and weight guesses, and advice notes. Have bottles of juice and cookies in baggies for refreshments. People drop off all the games and advice cards and gifts, and get a refreshment.” ― Jenny Milburn Seitz
“Maybe mum can make a wish list on Amazon and have friends and family send items? Drive-by parades are great!” ― Amanda King
Send Supplies To The Guests
“We’re doing a Zoom ‘cheers baby!’ toast with my family this weekend. We passed out bottles of champagne on doorsteps.” ― Michelle Lorentzen
“My aunt has thrown great virtual baby showers for my cousins using Google Hangouts. She sends each guest a small cake, decorations, party favours, and games. We all ship our gifts to the mum-to-be, and she opens them during the party. Then we play games, chat and eat cake. It’s a lot of fun!” ― Kate Thornton Wert
“Have the host send out a meal to guests from where the shower would have been held anyways!” ― Barb Cza-Bla
“I am dropping off favours to the guests since we already had the favours done.” ― Daniela Lopez Barragan
Consider Charitable Giving
“Consider using this time to support mums in need as well. The New Mum Project is a registered charity that supports mums in Toronto. You can donate through a site like Wish & Give to give some of the funds to mum and donate some to get favourite charity.” ― Gwen Broda
Plan A “Sip And See” Or “After-Baby Shower”
“We had to cancel a baby shower for my husband’s cousin. We requested gifts be mailed to her home so she can use them, and will host a sip and see in the fall.” ― Clare Herlihy Dych
“Please consider having an after-baby shower ― wonderful for multiple reasons! I had other reasons for having an after-shower! I had high-risk pregnancies (I lost four babies at different stages from three months to six months) and finally carried my beloved ones to term! So I really enjoyed having an after-baby shower ― it was a fantastic time with friends and family when my babies were a month young!” ― Diane Gabrele
“We were going to do a sprinkle for No. 3, our first boy. But I think we are doing a meet-the-baby party after instead.” ― Lauren Sanford
“We had to cancel my baby shower because I ended up delivering seven weeks early, so we did a meet-the-baby party about two months later.” ― Nickol Correa
Quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.