With Covid and the current lockdown situation across Australia and the world, many families are spending milestone events apart. Couples have postponed their weddings, birthday celebrations, and holidays. Now, most of these things can either wait or can be celebrated a bit later. The dilemma is with a baby shower.
We know how special babies are for their parents. And we know that a baby will come in 9 months. So should we just leave our baby shower or celebrate with a twist? Now, if you are pregnant or have been in the past, I am sure you know that carrying a baby and all those aches and pains, nausea, vomiting etc. makes us feel tired and this is the time we love getting support. Some of you are experiencing a difficult pregnancy and lockdowns don’t help with our mental well-being either.
Thankfully, online gatherings are still allowed! So why not plan a baby shower this lockdown, for your bestie, or a colleague, or your family member because all new and old parents deserve happiness especially in these challenging times.
In this post, I’ll be sharing what to expect in a virtual baby shower and some tips about how to make it special for your friends, colleague, or family member, and I touch on some games and a lot more.
Virtual baby showers, is it a new concept?
First thing, no, it’s not a new concept. People have been doing this for years especially when their families have been overseas or couldn’t make it for some reason. With Covid, more people have started to adopt virtual baby showers, so it will be new to many.
What’s different with virtual baby showers and in-person ones?
Apart from being far away and not in person, virtual baby showers:
won’t center around food, though attendees are certainly welcome to make up a plate and eat at their leisure. What will happen is that everyone will log in at the appointed time to celebrate you and the baby from afar away;
Physical hugs are converted into virtual hugs;
You can actually have a bigger guest list 😉
Things to do for a virtual baby shower:
1. Sort out the tech for a virtual baby shower (as this will be the main venue)
Some loved ones say your elderly grandma may not be tech-savvy, so it’s smart to test the service ahead of time to work out any potential problems.
Zoom
Zoom has become quite popular and is free for everyone to use, allows up to 100 connected devices (500 for an extra charge) and doesn’t require you to download an app, though there is an app option.
How Zoom works? All you need is an internet connection and a web browser (you can use a computer, tablet or smartphone). The host sets up a virtual room with a unique ID and password, then sends out the information to guests. Guests don’t need an account to gain access to the party.
The free version of Zoom allows up to 40 minutes of meeting time per room; additional time is available for purchase, but you can also close out the room and start a new one.
Zoom US
Facetime
Facetime is the free video service for Apple devices, including iPhones, tablets and computers, and it allows up to 32 connected devices (still plenty for a baby shower). But remember to check that all your guests have Apple devices!
Google Hangouts
This service only works if you have a Google/Gmail account, which is free and fairly easy to sign up for. Keep in mind: Google Hangout video calls allow a maximum of 10 devices, but up to 250 participants if the call is audio/phone only.
Tip: Stick with something that you and your guests find easy to use.
2. Create Invitations
You can create digital invitations or just send an email telling your guests about the virtual event, date and time, and any dress codes you are planning to have.
You want to be sure you list this information out in the invitation so guests can create a login and check connections prior to the shower. If you can send a reminder email, about 30 minutes to an hour before the event, please do so. You can schedule such emails in your email software ahead of time.
If you’re inviting guests in multiple time zones, try to pick something that works for most people, if not everyone.
It might even be a good idea to ask guests to log-in 5 or 10 minutes prior to the mom-to-be to work out any connection issues. That way, mom-to-be can hop right in to see the smiling faces of her friends and family!
3. Virtual Baby Shower Games
Now you want to engage your audience and not just make it a chit chat session where a few are talking and others are just listening and feeling bored. That’s why virtual games are so popular.
Guess the number: The host holds up a jar filled with sweets (M&Ms, jelly beans, Hershey’s Kisses) and asks guests to guess how many are inside.
The celebrity baby name game: Use the downloadable template below to match celebrity baby names with the celebrity mom. I myself can hardly tell celebrity baby names but I know a lot of my friends are into this.
Who’s that baby: Before the call starts, ask guests to email photos of themselves as babies to the host. The host shares them with the group and everyone tries to guess who is who.
Name that baby song: The host plays different nursery rhymes or popular baby songs and guests try to guess the name as quickly as they can.
The price is right: The host holds up various baby items (such as a onesie, bottle or toy) and guests guess how much they cost. It can get everyone talking and laughing because of how different prices are now compared to when some of them had their own kids.
How long each animal is pregnant: Did you know that an elephant mama is pregnant for 18 months (yes, it’s double the time we as humans carry our babies..peeww…) and a dog mama is occupied with pregnancy for 2 months. You can easily find trivia games such as this one on pinterest and elsewhere.
4. Virtual Present Opening
One of the best parts of any baby shower is watching everyone ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ over sweet baby onesies and adorable gifts. The fun can continue virtually if mom-to-be is comfortable with opening the gifts on camera.
Be sure guests have mailed gifts to her in time for the shower. As host, help mom-to-be with thank you notes by quickly jotting down each gift and gift-giver.
Email her the list after the party and perhaps mail out a cute pack of stationery so she’ll have one less thing to worry about!
Hopefully a few of these tips will help you with your own virtual shower. Though it may not be ideal, going the extra mile to host a shower even when distance is an issue will mean so much to the parents-to-be!
Meg
posted on 24/08/2021
Founder of Maya's Products | Mom of Maya | Previously in market research | PhD on innovation management