Welcome your newborn with a baby shower to remember

Ideally, the party should be anywhere except for the house of the mum-to-be! Many hotels and restaurants now hold high tea baby showers, which can be great but bear in mind that this option can be expensive and may not suit everyone’s budget. If you are going to play baby shower games, you will need a room or space where all the guests can fit at the one time.

Ask the mum-to-be for a guest list and send the invitations by post or email. The usual time to set a baby shower is between 2-4pm on a weekend. Don’t forget to ask for an RSVP for any children who will attend so you can allocate kid’s snacks and play space. If there is a gift registry list the details, if not be prepared to offer suggestions of things the mum-to-be may need (make sure you leave your phone number).

Afternoon tea or high tea usually consists of sandwiches, tea, sweets and cakes, especially chocolate (a fondue is fun), accompanied by a glass of champagne. Remember, it is not lunch so you don’t have to go overboard. The sandwiches can be cut smaller with simple fillings like cream cheese and cucumber and you can bake (or buy) little cupcakes or cut a cake into small servings. You could always ask everyone to bring something sweet and savoury so you have an enough of both.

Don’t go overboard with streamers and balloons – a few colourful flowers and bowls of coloured sweets strategically placed can create a great atmosphere. This ‘nappy’ cake could be yor centrepiece.

If the baby’s sex is known, colour-theme it, for example pink and white for a girl, or for a boy purple and blue flowers (iris, lilies, lavender). Yellow is a nice option if the sex of bubs is unknown but there is no reason you can’t have something more ‘grown up’ and sleek like black and white.

If you don’t have someone nominated to video or take photos of the event, at least have a book that people can write their names in on arrival – you can even use this to record the gift that each person brought to help the mum-to-be if she wants to send out thankyous after the party.

It is a nice gesture (but not mandatory) for the prospective grandmothers to be honoured, especially if they will be a grandmother for the first time. It is important to introduce the guests to the grandmothers.

Another nice touch would be to give them each a corsage in the colours of her shower theme. Remember, if advising guests on gift ideas, there are many items that can be doubled up, for example a high chair can be kept at grandma’s house.

It is suitable to have between one and three shower games. There is an old favourite where you blindfold each willing guest and try and move cotton balls from one bowl to another with a very heavy spoon in 30 seconds, the person with the most balls wins a prize. Prizes can be appropriate to the party, for example a cake of soap, body lotions or bubble bath in the colours of the decorations you have chosen.

Guess the sex. If the baby’s sex is not known, guests can write in a baby book/album their reasons for thinking it it is going to be a boy or a girl.

You can always combine a few games together and make a pass the parcel, with each layer containing instructions for the guest to follow. Other games include changing the nappy on a teddy bear blind folded, guessing how many centimetres the mum-to-be’s stomach is, racing some wind up toys and having a competition to sing a nursery rhyme, along with appropriate actions.

If you are not having a gift registry, here is a way to help your guest think outside the square when it comes to getting the gift. You could make the theme of the party ‘Babies in the house’ where guests are asked to pick a room in the house, (or the garden) and bring a present that would be used by baby in that room. This is especially appropriate if the sex of the baby is unknown.

Gift ideas for baby in the bedroom: nursery decorations, infant suits, wraps, cot sheets, nursing pillow, nursing shirts for mum, breast pump, change table, cuddly toys, night light, rocking chair, nursery monitor, room temperature gauge, baby mobile, baby music CD, board books, or children’s piggy bank or book ends.

Gift ideas for baby in the kitchen: baby plate, baby spoon, baby cup, feeding bottles, and steam steriliser, bibs, teething rings, high chair, floor mat (for messy bubs) and recipe books for toddlers.

Gift ideas for baby in the bathroom: natural/organic bath wash, bath seat, bath toys, wash cloths, towels, change table, baby bath, nappy disposal unit, baby wipes, natural moisturisers (almond or jojoba oil is good), thermometer (to check the bath water temperature), bath stool (to save mum and dads backs), baby nail kits, baby scales.

Gift ideas for baby in the play room: play mat, play gym, play pen, safety gate, infant rocker or swing, bouncer seat, blocks, educational toys, musical toys, safety appliances, picture frames or baby photo shoot voucher.

Gift ideas for baby outdoors: travel nappy bag/change cloths, stroller, car seat, car seat mirror, baby on board sign, car sun screen, port-a-cot, shopping cart cover, baby sling/hug a bub/baby carrier, baby backpack, bottle and food carrier, stroller toys, warm baby hat, head and neck support.