When Is The Best Time To Have A Baby Shower
Baby showers are a wonderful way to spend some time with your family and close friends and being showered with a lot of super gifts for your new baby is also good fun. Another wonderful thing about a baby shower is that it is reasonably easy to plan, although deciding exactly when you ought to have your party can occasionally present problems.
For first time parents having a baby shower before the birth makes perfect sense as you almost certainly will not yet have any baby gear and you are going to require all sorts of things as soon as the baby arrives. But, a shower is also the ideal time for friends and family to see the new baby and so having the party after the birth also makes perfect sense. So, here is some advice which you might find of help when making your decision on timing.
One advantage of holding your baby shower after the birth of the baby is that the guests are going to know the gender and name of the baby. A knowledge of these details makes it a lot easier to buy gifts, especially if the gift is going to be something that you want to have engraved. Also, having the party a month or two after the birth allows you time to get back to looking your ‘best’.
Holding the shower after the birth also works particularly well when the baby is a second or third child as usually you will already have all of the basics on hand and your family and friends can concentrate on buying essential everyday bits and pieces like clothing and diapers.
However, having your party before the new baby is born means that you can be the focus of attention instead of the new child. All eyes will be trained on you and you can get all the pampering. In addition, having looked through all of the gifts you are still going to have another month or so to shop for the bits and pieces you still need to have. Of course a lot of expectant mothers know the gender of their child and have already chosen a theme for the nursery so gift giving can still be specific. Planning for your shower before the birth also provides you with something to look forward to at a time when you might well simply be wishing that your pregnancy was over.
Yet another thing to think about is what you want to play in the way of unique and different baby shower games. For a lot of people games are an important element of any party and the games which you select might well change depending upon whether the party is held before or after the birth. There is an enormous range of games available including things like a pass the parcel baby shower game and these should also be considered when thinking about when to hold your shower.
Deciding just when you should have your shower is really something that has to be done on a case-by-case basis, although you must not delay your decision as no planning can be done until you have decided upon a date. If you are going to hold it before the baby is born then you should think about scheduling it during the seventh or eighth month of your pregnancy and, if you decide to hold it after the birth, then it is a good idea to wait at least four to six weeks after the birth to allow you time to bond with the new baby and for you to get used to each other.