Whoever said that distance meant people couldn’t come together and celebrate one of the most exciting times in a mother’s life? We’re here with some tips, ideas, and games to make a virtual baby shower just as fun as a traditional one!
Virtual Baby Shower Etiquette
Traditional baby showers are typically hosted and “thrown” by a close friend or family member of the mother-to-be. Virtual baby showers can follow those same guidelines, or not!
Since it’s a relatively new idea, virtual baby showers are a great way to experiment with how to celebrate the brand new life coming into the world!
So many things in the world are changing right before your eyes, and there’s no shame in orchestrating an event for your friends, family, and loved ones to spread a little joy!
Our article assumes the virtual baby shower will be thrown in the same way as a traditional baby shower, but moms-to-be can easily take on the tasks themselves! They will be just as special and celebratory.
Regardless of who hosts the baby shower, standard baby shower etiquette applies! Let your guests know if the family is accepting gifts (or just truckloads of diapers), the theme of the shower, and don’t forget to circulate the registry so no one ends up with 13 breast pumps!
Virtual Baby Shower Ideas
Have A Zoom Baby Shower
The platform that seems to have taken over the virtual universe — Zoom — is also a perfect option for moms-to-be who are looking for a virtual baby shower option that allows them to interact with their guests in real-time.
When planning the shower for the special mom-to-be, take into consideration how many people will be present, how long it will last, and whether or not everyone has reliable access to an internet connection.
For a small, more intimate shower, Zoom may be a really great option. There’s a smaller chance that the platform will get overwhelmed by the number of people in the meeting and you won’t have to worry about everyone talking over one another!
You could also have a “standing” Zoom call for the virtual baby shower. The parents can carve out a few hours for the call and guests can pop in and out as they please. This makes it easy for people attending who may have little ones of their own running around the house!
It also helps alleviate the stress of organizing a specific time for everyone to attend the virtual baby shower at the exact same time. A “standing” or “open” Zoom baby shower offers flexibility for the guests, and variability for the parents!
There can be set times for games, present-opening, and mingling. Guests can choose when (and for what part) they want to join.
Make A Countdown
If a live, virtual baby shower sounds intimidating or just too difficult to organize (think of families with friends and loved ones spread across different time zones!), then you could organize a virtual baby shower countdown instead.
For this option, instead of a baby shower happening on a specific day, the events are carried across several days or a week. This might sound crazy, but hear us out!
Start with a social media platform that many people use. Facebook or Instagram are great, though we think Facebook has the most versatile options for participation since it can feature text posts, polls, pictures, videos, and even a live stream!
Each day of the week, you can organize for the mom-to-be to “release” an aspect of the baby shower for people to participate in. Add all the baby shower attendees into one Facebook group so they can see the posts as they come every day.
Day One could start with something fun and easy — a guessing game! People can leave comments guessing the baby’s weight, length, and eventual birthday. They can even guess the name (if the parents haven’t revealed that yet).
Each post would encourage interaction between the guests and the mom-to-be. The best part is that the posts never go away, so it allows people to come and participate at any time of the day! It’ll allow more people to come, celebrate, and stretch out the joy over several days!
The mom-to-be can also share all the baby updates everyone would normally get during a regular shower. Cute bump pictures are always a hit. Get creative!
There’s no need to make it several days long. It can be adjusted to best suit the needs of the parents and the guests. This can happen over the course of a single day, as well.
It’s all about whatever option allows everyone to feel like they are part of the fun!
The Best Of Both Worlds
Who says you can’t try both? For families that have loved ones in many time zones they want to keep in the loop but who also want to interact with people in real-time, consider having a split event!
For the parents-to-be, you can create a Facebook group that hosts all the participants like in our last example. You can still have posts for people to interact with if they can’t make it to the Zoom event, but include a link for people to pop in and say hello!
That way all of the attending guests, whether they’re able to attend the live Zoom or not, will still get a chance to participate!
Zoom meetings can be recorded as well, so you can post clips from the Zoom call to the Facebook page afterward for everyone to see and enjoy!
5 Virtual Baby Shower Games
1) Make A Baby Book Together
This option takes a little bit of planning ahead of time, but it makes for such a cute result. You can mail each of the attending guests a single, uncolored alphabet page.
If you want to avoid the hassle of mailing, they can also use a blank sheet of paper and draw their assigned letter — just make sure it’s legible enough for a toddler to read!
Then everyone can color, draw, and decorate an individualized alphabet page for the little one on their way!
They can mail the pages back to you. Then, once the pages are bound together, you can pass it on to the parents-to-be. They’ll cherish the compilation of love from their guests for years to come!
2) Scavenger Hunt
This game is great for showers that will happen in real-time over Zoom or another platform. Guests will be given a hint about something they need to find in their home (something pink, something blue, something that has the word baby in it).
The mom-to-be may not get to participate (it’s hard to run with a watermelon for a belly!) but she gets the best seat in the house — watching all her guests scramble around their house, giggling for their life!
3) Guess The Gift
Many people make their registries on websites like Amazon, where the majority of the boxes that get shipped out are unmarked. This can usually make it difficult for parents to pinpoint who exactly mailed them the gift, but not if it’s on purpose!
For this game, the parents-to-be can assemble any gifts that people sent them. Then, on Zoom or Facebook live, they can open it and try and guess who sent it to them!
This game works especially great if guests send the occasional gag gift, but make sure to include some essentials, too.
For example, an Organic Bath and Body Gift Set or Organic Cotton Wipes With Water are always great for new parents to have on hand. With gentle cleansing and hydrating properties, these products work to keep the whole family’s skin healthy and refreshed.
4) Storytime
Some people may find that what they really want out of a baby shower is the chance to catch up with all of their loved ones at the same time. Once the shower begins, the guests and parents may find they’d rather sit around and talk than play traditional games.
We think everyone can understand that!
For this “game,” guests can take turns telling their favorite stories about the parents-to-be. The funnier the story, the better!
5) Decipher It!
This game is easy to do on Zoom with the screen-sharing tool. You can compile a PowerPoint presentation with slides that have baby book titles — but written in emoji language!
Guests will have 30 seconds to figure out what baby-book title is written out. They have to decipher the emojis in order to figure it out. The one with the most points can win a small gift card, maybe $20 for their local coffee shop!
Some great book titles that work for this include “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie,” “Goodnight Moon,” “The Giving Tree,” and other classics!
Virtual Baby Showers Are About Celebration!
No matter which of these options you choose, we know your virtual baby shower will demonstrate all the love, celebration, and excitement of a regular shower!
We hope our tips and games gave you some great ideas for your upcoming baby shower! We hope our tips and games gave you some great ideas for your upcoming baby shower. And remember to help the new mom care for her and her baby’s skin with our gentle and effective skincare products!