Baby Showers Revealed

PART 3: INSIDER’S TIPS
Ah yes. What would a how-to book be without insider’s tips?
These are the tried, tested, and sometimes regrettable
details that you really need to know in order to create,
management, and complete a perfect baby shower.
You’ll likely find some of these to be common-sense; though
a few may surprise you. It’s these strange ones that are the
most important to you, because heeding the advice – to do
or not to do them – can be the difference between making
your baby shower memorable for the right reasons, or for
the wrong ones. These are all from the great website
www.mamabebe.com.
As you plan and roll-out more baby showers (because you’ll
be so good at this one people will want to consult your
services!), your list of dos and dont’s will increase. Keep a
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journal handy to jot these insights and experienced down as
you go.
Things to Do: Plan
It goes without saying (but let’s say it anyway, since we’re
all here together!). PLEASE PLAN AHEAD!
You may be one of those very talented people who tend to
do things without a lot of planning; you just have a flair for
pulling things off, and often, for pulling them out just in the
nick of time. If this sounds like you, then you should really
heed these sage word: PLEASE PLAN AHEAD!
The thing about a baby shower is that there are a lot of
variables that come together to determine whether it
succeeds or doesn’t succeed. As you know from reading the
first section in this book, everything from choosing the time
of year for the shower, to the amount of time to “RSVP” the
invitations, are elements that can influence the shower. Or
to put things more frankly: if something is wrong in any of
these elements, then they will almost certainly negatively
influence the overall baby shower experience.
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So how do you deal with this? Simply by planning ahead.
Have a plan – write it out! – and see what you have to do,
and in what timeframe. If you need help, then talk to the
mother-to-be and recruit some deputies. If you need
assistance making a decision – such as who to invite – then
get the help that you need. By planning, you’re able to see
what you need to do, and therefore, you can go ahead and
do it.
On the flipside, when you don’t plan, you are almost
certainly going to overlook a detail or two. At the time, they
may seem minor (“do I really need to follow-up with people
who haven’t RSVP’d the invitation?”).
Yet once the shower actually happens, it’s kind of like racing
a car in the Indy 500: if there are flaws, they will be
exposed. So don’t let your little details come back to bite
you, or any of the other guests (including the mother-tobe).
If you aren’t a good planner, then here’s your opportunity to
become one. It’s not that hard at all; it just requires a little
effort (that goes a long way!).
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Things to Do: Decorate
One of the most memorable things about the baby shower
will be the decorations. They might seem like yet another
minor detail in a sea of details, but they will be something
that people notice, appreciate, and indeed, remember.
You don’t have to go overboard on the decorations, and you
don’t have to spend a lot of money. In fact, the biggest
investment here will probably be your time. Simply choose
the decorations that reflect the theme that you’ve chosen.
You may want to consult the mother-to-be on the
decorations.
For example, if the mother-to-be is deathly afraid of spiders,
a Charlotte’s Web theme with giant spider decorations
probably isn’t the wisest decision to make.
Things to Do: Cater Accordingly
Perhaps more than ever before, people are very serious
about what they eat; and what they don’t. In the past, it
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was somewhat safe to make catering decisions based on
religious or cultural understanding.
For instance, many Catholics don’t eat red meat on Friday.
As such, if the guest list included people who you knew
followed this practice, you would simply include non redmeat
alternatives, such as seafood. Or if your guests were
Jewish, you wouldn’t serve pork.
While these cultural catering rules still certainly apply, more
people these days are choosing to eat based on lifestyle
choices, not just religious or spiritual ones. Many people, for
example, don’t eat foods that contain trans-fats. Or many
people don’t eat foods that are high in carbohydrates, or
proteins (it’s hard to tell which one is good these days.