The planning for a grand and perfect baby shower party starts almost 6 – 8 weeks before the actual event day. Good planning relieves you of stress and chaos on the special day and gives you an opportunity to sit back and enjoy with the guests.

The first step is to decide on the venue, date and time of the party. The next important step is to decide the duration. If it is in the evening, you may have to consider dinner time and bed time of the children so that the party gets over soon and they may be able to have their food properly before feeling too sleepy.

To make the event more special, you need to select a creative theme that would suit the occasion. Prepare the guest list early so that you do not miss out on anybody. Finalize the budget you want to allot for the party so that you can distribute the funds for every aspect appropriately. If you expect small children, make arrangement for the entertainment and babysitting of the children. Cater to all age groups so that none of them feel left out.

In case you are planning to host the party at a facility outside like a restaurant or a party hall, reserve it now. Make sure the facility has ample car parking space, emergency handling measures for safety and also enough area for the guests to be comfortable.

Finalize the beverages and menu for the party. In case you are going to outsource the food, book the caterers now!

If you want to surprise the expecting parents, talk with their family and friends and take their help to prepare the guest list and theme.

Prepare invitations well ahead. They should be ready for distributing even before 5 – 6 weeks of the party so that your guests do not plan any other schedule. Ensure that the date and time, location and directions are included properly. Prepare specially designed envelopes to enclose the invitation and address your guests beforehand on the envelopes.

Start planning on the cutleries you would need to serve the food. Keep the table decoration materials (table clothes, vases and the like.) ready. In case you need to rent or borrow any, make appropriate arrangements for the same well before.

Decide on the decorations and choose entertaining games to play. The games should be less time consuming, suitable for a crowd and cater to different age groups. It would be a good idea to distribute prizes to the guests.

Start mailing out the invitations at least 4 weeks before. Keep the decoration materials for the party ready. Purchase the prizes and wrap them neatly. Most of it would be available in craft stores. The next step is to decide on the ‘special cake’.

Finally, talk to your guests and confirm their arrival. Get the final list ready and verify all the arrangements you have made outside and see to it that the guests can be accommodated comfortably. Lastly, have your cameras and video cameras fully charged. Buy new batteries so that you are sure they would last for the party.

Mark Perry

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