Tips for the Event Planner

A baby shower party is a simple yet an important event which many first-time moms would experience before giving birth. Because it should be a memorable event it should be a well-organized baby shower planning. To make the event well-organized, here are some tips that a planner should take into consideration to have a wonderful shower party for the mom-to-be. This is for the event planner.

Determine Budget

The first thing you should do as a event planner is to have an interview with the client to determine their requirements, and to provide them an idea concerning the best things that can be carried out to have a successful party.

Some of the essential things that must be finalized are the cost, venue, date and the theme. It is very important here to discuss about the budget as this would determine many factors that come into the planning such as where the event will be held, how elaborate the decorations would be, and what food and drinks to serve.

Upfront Deposit

Be sure that you have made an agreement to the total cost. Make sure that there is a written contract that is signed by both parties. You can download a sample agreement contract here.

You may want to discuss on upfront deposit which would be non-refundable. This is to cover for any cost you’ve already spent if the event is cancelled by your client. As a guideline, deposit of up to 50% can be requested before you start on any work with balance due a week before the event, with no cancellation accepted within a week of the event. This arrangement is entirely up to you but a written contract is a must.

Date of the Event

Discuss and agree with the client the date of the event and make sure the expecting mom has agreed to this date. The date of the shower should be no later than four weeks before the due date of the baby’s birth.

Prepare a Guestlist

The number of people to be invited is very essential as this would help you choose which venue is best for the event and check out if it is available on the preferred date. Be sure to grab all the guests’ emails or addresses.

Choose Venue

The number of guests, availability, and the budget are the main factors that would determine the venue. If budget allows, you might be able to splurge abit on the venue and food. For events held at a restaurant, reception, or hotel, discuss what kind of services they offer for food/catering, cleaning up, and rentals (chairs, tables).

For lower budget, you can discuss about hosting the shower at the client’s backyard or in their living room. It is also common for the shower to be held at mom-to-be’s home, so discuss this option especially if it the event is to be held in the colder times of the year where it would be harder to have one outdoor.

Pick a Theme

If your client has not yet decided for the theme, you can suggest by showing some photos of their previous clients and there are some ways to help your client pick a baby shower theme with questions like what color or animal mom-to-be likes. There are also themes that can be used which are appropriate for the time of the year. For instance, little pumpkin theme for fall, tropical theme for summer, baby it’s cold outside theme for winter, and baby in bloom theme for spring.

Send Invitation

After finalizing the main matters, you need to should focus on the processing of the invitations and should be sent six weeks before the event. The invitation should include the date, venue and time of the event. It must indicate that the event is a baby shower party and the design should be related to the party theme.

Give Attention to the Foods

You will start working on the activities, party gifts, decorations and foods. It is best to start with the food since giving priority to the food budget is very important. This will help you know how much will be spent for the other costs of the party.

If the venue is providing the meal or catering service, you are almost set, just make sure you let them know of any dietary requirements, and also find out what supplies the venue will and will not be providing eg. cutlery, plates, cups etc.

For an event at the client’s home, discuss the options with consideration of their budget and number of guests. Decide whether it’d be a sit down meal or grab and go fingerfood type of food. Fingerfood are generally easier to organize and is more budget friendly.

Creative Decorations

When it comes to decorating, the effective planning for the baby shower party must involve creativity in creating various baby stuffs like baby pillows, alphabet blocks, crib as well as extra-large safety pins as decorations. The area will also look good, if you add some colorful balloons depending on the party theme. It is also important for you to make some effort in planning the technical side like the lightings and sounds.

Activities and Games

There are plenty of games out there, but it is one of the most difficult decision making part as the games you choose depends on the crowd of people. You probably cannot expect many to participate in a game that requires a lot of running if there are a lot of elderly people attending the event, but they may enjoy doing trivia type of games. So, talk to your client about what she knows about the attendees and decide on 2-4 games. Otherwise, you can go for activities such as onesie-making or headband-making station and distribute some cards for guests to write their best advice for the parents-to-be.

Thank You Favors

Quite often the host likes to take part in creating favors for the guests to thank them for attending, so before going ahead with picking out the favors, discuss with your client if she has already organized anything. You’ll need to also keep in mind of little gifts for the winners of the games if this is to take place.

Baby Shower Timeline

Preparing the agenda for the day will give reassurance to yourself and your client that everything will go smoothly. It is also a great way to ensure that you have not missed anything especially the little things that clients may have specifically requested.

A baby shower usually lasts 2-3 hours. Here is an example of a typical baby shower timeline:

👉 welcome guests
👉 write guestbook while all guests arrive
👉 eat, drink and mingle
👉 games and activities
👉 gift opening and cake
👉 give out favors