While in all likelihood you will not be planning your own shower, you may be planning one for a friend, or your friends may need some guidance & you can refer them right to us at montrealmom.com!

Some things to keep in minds when planning a shower

• Whether you want to serve a meal or just snacks
• Guest list: Family, Friends or a combination of both?

VENUE
While you may choose a venue outside the home for your celebration, often a baby shower in the intimacy of someone’s home makes the most sense. An idea for a venue away from home may be a favourite restaurant with enough room to move & accommodate place for gifts.

MENU
Below are some suggested menus. Click on links to get the recipe.

Brunch:
Bagels
Cream Cheese
Smoked Salmon
Sliced Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Red Onion
Egg Salad
Tuna Salad
Green Salad
Crackers
Assorted cheeses, cubed- be sure to choose cheeses with no probability of carrying listeria
Fruit
Cake
Coffee
Juice
Bottled Water

Lunch or Dinner:
Assorted gourmet pizzas
Vegetarian Lasagna
Green Salad
Juice
Bottled Water
Soda
Fruit Platter
Cake
Coffee

GAMES

The right shower games can actually make the shower a lot of fun, especially in a room where not everyone knows one another. They can be a real ice-breaker. Some favourites:

The purse game: Make a list of all kids of things that you may or may not find in someone’s purse. At the shower, call out the items one by one. Whoever has an item in their purse gets a point. Whoever gets the most points wins. You can also allot higher point values to certain items. Some ideas for your list:

• Toothpick
• Artificial sweetener
• A safety pin
• Tissues
• Hand sanitizer
• An expired driver’s license
• The invitation to the shower
• Keys
• Lipstick
• Moisturizer
• Brush
• Penknife
• Tweezers
• Scissors
• Cell phone
• Dinner napkin
• Tampon
• Phone number scribbled on piece of paper
• Business card
• Library card
• Add more of your own!

The string game: Send a ball of string / yarn & a pair of scissors around the room. Each person cuts the string as long as they feel will fit exactly around the mom-to-be’s belly. Whoever is closest wins.

The clothespin game: At the beginning of the shower everyone gets a clothespin (you can use the really mini ones- they are extra cute!) that they can attach to their clothing. Announce that a certain word cannot be used (as an example: “baby”). If someone says the word, they lose their clothespin(s) to the person who heard them say it. Whoever ends up with the most clothespins by the end of the shower wins.

You can find more great ideas for games free online at sites like babbee.com or welcomebaby.com. They have great Baby Word Scramble, Baby Bingo, Baby Animal Match & more. They are free & printable. Have lots of fun!!!!

Have a great shower!

Tanya