While the list of celebrations COVID-19 has ruined could go on and on (or, rather, the lack of proper public health measure implementation that could have meant things would be better by now), it's also meant finding new meaning in a lot of these experiences. Although it meant not being able to throw the baby shower I would have liked for family, it did give us an opportunity to make things more intimate in an unexpected way. A virtual baby shower does not sound as fun as an in-person one, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have to be. The cons are obvious, but the pros can mean more flexibility (more guests can make it virtually than in person) and less party-planning hoops to jump through. With more time to actually shower and celebrate the parents-to-be, a virtual baby shower can end up being a really warm and tender event.
Don't believe me? I don't blame you. Read on.
For the invites, Paperless Post is the way to go- no-contact and endless options! The shower was donut themed, so I went for an invite with sprinkles. I tried to change things up and not go with the traditional pink color theme for baby girls, so the color scheme was pastel multicolor. Both families were instructed to wear pastel colors, while the parents-to-be wore pink.
The three things you really need for a virtual baby shower are a backdrop for your virtual platform, said platform, and games. We used Zoom which proved to be more challenging than anticipated (coordinating a crowd is no easy feat and I now have even more respect for teachers), so I recommend familiarizing yourself with group functions on the platform before the event. The games should be ones that are easy to explain and relatively simple so that your guests can follow along and engage without getting confused or caught up in technical difficulties. The decor just needs to be a large backdrop for the virtual platform and for photos. You could really even just go with a green screen and use an image as your background if you're crunched for time and resources. We drove up to visit the parents-to-be for the weekend and hosted the virtual baby shower out of their apartment, so we decorated it.
A large part of the decor came from a donut themed decor pack, which was very convenient. It included the balloons, wall sprinkles, "sprinkled with love" banner, decorative hanging spheres and lanterns, and donut cut outs while I used to decorate the table. It also included some mylar donut-shaped balloons which I sadly forgot about. The metallic foil curtains were purchased separately and added more dimension to the backdrop (plus, I'm a sucker for foil curtains). The custom pink "baby ____" banner was purchased from Etsy and featured the baby's last name (the couple is keeping the first name a surprise!). The baby shower bear balloon was a last minute pick-up I got from Party City while out inflating the other balloons.
Feeding a crowd and menu-planning is another thing you don't have to worry about with a virtual baby shower. We had donuts from Kane's Donuts to keep with the donut theme. The donut toppers were special touches for the treats at the shower. After the shower, we ordered in Carmelina's for dinner.
We ended up playing three games. For the first, named Glazed and Confused, we had collected 4-5 childhood anecdotes and memories of each of the parents-to-be from family beforehand. We then shared the anecdotes while guests guessed whose memory it was. It was a funny way for family to reminisce on when the parents-to-be were kids themselves and for guests to hear the stories.
For the second game, named Whoa Baby, guests were presented with a Powerpoint through the screenshare function on Zoom. Each slide featured a movie or song that included the word "baby" and guests had to fill in the blanks (for example, "Baby" by Justin ______). Answers were only counted if entered through the chat and with the correct spelling. This way, you didn't have chaos with everyone yelling at the same time and a running record of who said the right answer first. For the last game, we played the traditional game of guessing the mother-to-be's belly size. Guests entered their guesses in the chat and we confirmed with a measuring tape.
After the shower and before dinner, we took advantage of the wonderful weather and afternoon glow and took photos outside (with a few photos of the parents-to-be wearing masks, of course).
