How to Host a Virtual Baby Shower
After the year we’ve had, virtual baby showers *just make sense*. In this blog post, we will cover exactly how to host the perfect virtual baby shower and give you the tools you need to succeed. We have descriptions plus FREE DOWNLOADS of zoom backgrounds, virtual baby shower games, how to prep for opening gifts and more!
Jump Ahead:
Jobs to Delegate
Before you can even plan to host a virtual baby shower, you will need to assign some roles. Whether you are the mom-to-be, dad-to-be, the future grandparents, or the best friends, you are going to want to assign a few jobs to those that are closest to you. We recommend giving a few of these jobs to people who will be in person at the shower but most of these can actually be done virtually to stay safe!
Here are a list of duties / jobs we recommend you assign to help you host your virtual baby shower:
- Invite list with email address’s AND mailing addresses
- Tech Support
- Games Creator
- Host / Emcee
- Gift Opener
- Gift Tracker (who sent you what)
- Decorator (optional)
- Caterer / Snack Creator (optional for guests who will be in person)
Invitations
You can go the traditional route and mail out an invitation as you would if you were hosting an in-person event, however to save money and create a seamless process, we recommend digital invitations.
For digital invitations, we have used Paperless Post for Baby Showers, Bridal Showers, Birthday parties, and more!
Paperless Post makes it simple by storing email addresses and mailing addresses in one place. You can chose from countless designs and of course customize the design with your colors and even a picture!
What makes this very convenient is that not only is it perfect for you, but your guests will have an email that they can refer back to with the event information, Zoom link, and where you are registered. They can also add the event to their calendar directly and you can send them an email reminder when the event is approaching.
Technology (Free Virtual Background Downloads)
Working from home for the last year, most of us have become accustom to using platforms like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, or even Facebook Messenger. You are able to host a virtual baby shower with any of these sites however Zoom is our platform of choice. Zoom is what we have used to host all baby showers and is s seamless process when it comes to baby shower games!
You can even go above and beyond by creating a “virtual background” for guests to use! We actually made 4 gender neutral backgrounds that you can download and customize (if you prefer) with your mommy-to-be’s name or the baby’s name if that is known. To customize, simply download and add to either Powerpoint or Canva to add a text box for a name! We recommend placing the name in the top corners so users head do not block the name on the image.
Games (Free PDFs to Download)
Now onto the FUN part, the games! There are a handful of variations of baby shower games that you can turn virtual but these 3 are the ones that we found success with. Let’s dive into our recommended Zoom Baby Shower Games!
Baby Predictions & Advice:
This is fun for everyone! While we know the “winner” won’t be announced until the baby arrives, it’s an easy game for everyone to get started with as you wait for stragglers to join your zoom. You can mail this PDF out to everyone in advance or you can email it with your digital invite. People can then download it and edit it on their computer.
If you want to take it a step further, you can great a Google Form like this one and share this with your guests in advance or in the chat as they join the call.
Diaper Raffle:
This is our favorite way to ensure the soon-to-be parents have more than enough diapers! First, we recommend that the parents register for a lot of diapers. Then when you send out your invitations, mention that for each pack of diapers that is bought, the guest will be entered into a raffle. Then when the diapers arrive, you can keep adding names to a list and pull the winner out of a fish bowl to start the shower! Oh and it will help eliminate the opening of gifts as diapers to speed up the virtual process!
The Price Is Right:
The few times we have played this, we have seen that expecting mothers, current moms, and people who recently bought gifts off the registry are the ones who win this game however everyone loves to play along.
It’s as simple as it sounds. You will share your screen and ask your guests to grab a piece of paper or open up notes in their phone. We will go 1 by 1 with the products and your guests will guess the price of the baby item without going over. At the end, everyone will add up their totals and the closest to the total without going over is the winner!
Virtual Scavenger Hunt:
This is EXACTLY what it sounds like… a scavenger hunt! We recommend setting some ground rules so your guests don’t get hurt but this is a very fun and interactive game to get people moving around at home and can even get the kids involved!
Disney Guessing Game:
Last but not least, this is for all our Disney fans out there! This game started because Courtney’s best friend is a HUGE Disney fan much like Courtney so why not create a “Guess the Disney Baby Game”!
We recommend you ask guests to number their paper 1-20 and show the baby pictures! If a guest wants to see one of the slides again, simply go back to that number.
Prizes
Depending on how many games you have, we personally recommend a prize for the winners. Could be a $10 gift card to Amazon, a bottle of wine or a personalized gift from the mom-to-be. Doesn’t have to be fancy but it is a nice way to reward those for participating and goes a long way to your guests.
*This is not mandatory. Just a kind gesture that many appreciate.*
Your Registry & Opening Gifts
Registry: If you went the digital invite route, your registry should be linked to the invite which makes this easy. It is also awesome because as your guests place orders, the gifts will arrive to your door. This is where your designated gift opener comes in handy…
Opening Gifts: We recommend having the designated gift opener “pre-open” the gifts. This doesn’t mean unwrapping ones that came wrapped and decorated. This means, they take the time to open the Amazon boxes or BuyBuyBaby boxes and tape the card to the outside so it’s easy for the mom-to-be to know who the gift is from.
Place the gifts near where the mom-to-be will be sitting and the opening process should be smooth and fly by!
To Recap: Run of Show
- Host / Emcee welcomes everyone
- Send out link to Baby Predictions while you wait for all guests to join
- Start with Price is Right Game and continue with other games as time allows
- Mom-to-be thanks everyone for coming and let’s them know they don’t have to hang around while she opens the gifts since it’s virtual
- Friend/family member passes pre-opened gifts to mom-to-be while virtual/in-person designated friend/family member writes down gifts
- Event concludes and mom-to-be relaxes! 🙂
