Baby showers although originally considered a Western tradition, seem to have firmly weaved their way into Indian households. Traditional rituals like “godh-bharai” of course have existed in our culture too. Basically, a baby shower (by whatever name it is called) is all about celebrating the new life on its way!
For my sisters-in-law, we took on the task of being party planners and had a great time detailing all elements of the celebrations. And like most things in our family, we like to mix and match traditions and rituals to make sure we get the best of all worlds! For instance, when I was expecting, we had a traditional ceremony with the elders in our extended family, a fun party with relatives, and a surprise party thrown by my BFF and husband. (See what I mean – best of all worlds!)
After scouring Pinterest pages for hours, and keeping in mind my own experience as the centre-of-attraction at such an event in the past, I managed to plan a fun Baby Shower for everyone involved. Here’s a 5-step (plus 1 bonus side-step) guide on what we did, and which can help you to plan a fun evening for a baby shower that won’t be forgotten!
Step One: Invites
We had decided on the date and venue, and the guest list (a combination of family and friends). The usual baby shower theme of pink and blue felt a little too clichéd, so instead we honed in on the beautiful combination of Yellow Grey and White. The grey elements eventually ended up providing a great balance overall, which would probably have been lost if we’d just stuck to yellows.
Our invites were simple but also set the tone for the party overall. We coined the hashtag for the day as a combination of the Mom-to-be and Dad-to-be’s names, and it was an instant hit! This was going to be #BabyDiKa’s day through and through.
Step Two: Décor
Our venue had specific restrictions on dos and don’ts in terms of décor. Fortunately, the existing walls, curtains etc were in shades of yellow and afforded us the beautiful backdrop to play against.
The most basic element was to add balloons. We made sets in all three colours and placed them across the room, and along with the setups for the activities and games. The table cloths and chair upholstery were all white, and we played with colours on the other elements. Grey-Yellow-White straws adorned the bar, some streamers on the tables, and some strings and ribbons were strewn about. It all came together perfectly, without looking too over the top.
Step Three: Attire
The colour scheme was to be used by the immediate family, and we didn’t really restrict the guests. It turned out to be a great idea as the family looked wonderfully coordinated.
We also got home-made badges for the Mom-to-be, Dad-to-be, Grandparents-to-be and immediate uncles/aunts/cousins (ribbons, round badges, paper and coloured pens, made for an easy but elegant DIY).
Step Four: Games & Prizes
With a motley collection of guests, ranging from an 18-month-old to an 80-year-old, we were most apprehensive about the activities to keep everyone engaged. It turns out that everyone has a little child in them, and the most basic games are fun when we think of a party setup!
Activity 1: Guess the gender. This is one of the most popular baby shower activities. We placed some blue and pink pegs in a basket and asked guests to “wear your guess”. Of course, the smart ones picked one in each colour 😉
Activity 2: Wishes and Suggestions for baby. A good way to get everyone involved was to actually ask them for suggestions on names. We printed out little cards with a few fun questions – who will baby resemble, what will the birth date be, and any suggestions for names (boy or girl).
Activity 3: Diaper station. The mother-to-be and father-to-be have a faint idea of what’s in store for them. We decided to make it lighter and fun for them. A station was set up with diapers and markers – guests were to offer some “Words for the Wee Hours”. When the doody duty pops up at all hours of the night, they can pick one of these with a fun message which will bring a smile to their face.
Activity 4: Match the Baby to the Mommy. A basic baby animal to mommy animal match up. We printed cards with the #Baby DiKa header to keep it alive with the guests. The added fun factor was catching all the trying-to-cheat-googlers 😉
Activity 5: Guess the Mommy’s Waist. Some ribbon with baby-centric prints, and a pair of scissors. People resorted to fun ways of guessing – including a particular number of hand spreads, measuring the Grandpa’s waist as a proxy, etc etc.
Activity 6: Baby word search. These were again printed cards handed out to the guests, with a word jumble related to baby words. The first three participants to get 12 words were declared winners on this one.
Prizes: We kept 3 winners each for the last 3 activities, and handed out hampers of handmade soap. The baby theme continued on the prizes which were shaped as baby bottles, prams, infant feet, and bibs.
Step Five: Party Favours
The icing on the cake? Oh yes, it was! A delicious “Welcome Baby DiKa” cake, which was finished to the last crumb.
As favours to the guests, we made boxes of chocolate cupcakes, with little decorative elements to match the cake decorations (baby rattles, bottles, bibs etc). Each guest also got a small baby bottle filled with coloured candy (M&Ms or gems). The keepsake was one more way of weaving the boy or girl theme into the conversation.
Side-Step: Gifts for the parents-to-be
Traditional western baby shower gifts include items of utility (baby sets, blankets, bath toys, diaper cakes etc); or pampering things (body lotions, bath salts etc), for the parents-to-be. Traditional Indian baby gifts are items of silver – a spoon, glass and bowl set. Accompaniments include fruit baskets, boxes of sweetmeats and chocolates.
We mixed and matched to get them a set of silver-plated booties (one for the first lock of hair, and one for the first tooth) and a scroll to store the birth certificate in. The other guests had brought in a combination of baby goodies and some gave cash. (which is another good option by the way – just let the parents gear up for all the expenses that they’re going to face soon!)
And last, but never the least, don’t forget to scourge Pinterest for interesting theme ideas!
