Katie Sanders introduced her friends Hilary Lehman and Aaron Sharockman and later officiated their wedding. Naturally, Sanders also wanted to host a baby shower for the couple expecting a child.
In early March, Sanders, a St. Petersburg, Florida, resident, was scouting nearby breweries as possible venues for the celebration, but concerns about the coronavirus made it clear she’d need to change course.
She quickly adapted and arranged a virtual baby shower over Zoom — complete with trivia, updates from the parents-to-be and a peek at the nursery. Local guests staged a drive-by parade to offer their good wishes before the online gathering began.
“People said they really had a great time,” Sanders recalled. “I was very happy with how much joy it brought people. [My friends] felt so cherished by the end of the day.”
Even though some states are easing COVID-19 restrictions, a virtual baby shower remains a sensible option for many expecting parents. It reduces the risk of exposure during pregnancy and enables distant loved ones — who might be unable to travel — to join in celebrating the new arrival.
Additionally, a virtual event can be far more economical. A conventional baby shower might cost a few hundred dollars for a simple at-home gathering or exceed a thousand dollars for an upscale affair at a rented space with catering.
Sanders noted she saved a lot by skipping a venue, catering, mailed invitations and numerous party favors and decorations. It’s even feasible to host a virtual baby shower with no expense at all.
If you’re expecting or tasked with planning a celebration for someone else, use these steps to put together an affordable virtual baby shower.
1. Pick a Date and Time
Even though guests won’t travel physically to your virtual baby shower, it’s still important to provide plenty of notice. Aim for a date at least two weeks away. Remember that guests who plan to mail gifts may experience shipping delays.
Limit the event to no more than an hour or two. Virtual gatherings typically take less time than in-person parties. Be mindful of time zones if attendees will join from across the country — you don’t want the start time to be too early, too late or conflict with mealtimes.
2. Choose a “Venue”
By venue, we mean which video-conferencing tool you’ll use to host the baby shower.
You may already be familiar with several platforms from remote work or keeping in touch with family, but consider the event’s needs and how comfortable your guests are with technology.
Are you inviting friends who enjoy experimenting with camera effects? Are some relatives likely to resist downloading a new app or creating an account? Is the guest list intimate or should it include everyone who attended the couple’s wedding?
If you’re unsure, recruit a couple of friends to test options. Below are popular platforms that are free or offer free tiers:
Zoom
Zoom’s free plan lets you host up to 100 participants on a video call with a 40-minute limit. Guests do not need Zoom accounts to join — they can use a link to the scheduled meeting. Common Zoom features include screen sharing, group chat, virtual backgrounds and a gallery view that displays 25 people at once.
Sanders used Zoom’s polling tool to have attendees guess the baby’s due date and the breakout rooms to let guests converse in smaller groups during a trivia game. The parents-to-be were able to pop into different breakout rooms to chat more privately with guests.
Facebook Messenger Rooms
Facebook’s Messenger Rooms lets you invite up to 50 people to your virtual celebration. You can even include grandparents who don’t have a Facebook account — an account isn’t required to join.
Messenger Rooms has no time limits for meetings, so you don’t have to adhere to a strict schedule. Features include playful camera filters, 360-degree backgrounds, mood lighting and more.
Google Meet
Google Meet supports up to 100 participants for up to an hour. Through Sept. 30, 2020, Google was temporarily providing premium features to all users, allowing meetings of up to 150 people for 24 hours at no cost.
Participants need a Gmail account, which is free to create. For smaller baby showers, Google Duo is another option — Google Duo supports up to 12 participants on a video call.
FaceTime
Use Group FaceTime to celebrate with up to 32 loved ones. Ensure everyone on your guest list has an iPhone, iPad or Mac running a current operating system.
Enjoy filters, Animojis or Memojis during the call. There are no time restrictions for FaceTime conversations.
Skype
Skype’s group video feature supports up to 50 participants. Anyone can join for free. Notable features include screen sharing and background blur.
3. Pick a Theme
Many in-person showers have a theme — and you can preserve that for a virtual gathering.
Your theme can mirror the baby’s nursery decor or reflect the parents’ hobbies. You could also base it on a simple color scheme. Browse Pinterest for ideas and inspiration.
Choosing a theme helps when designing invitations, thank-you notes or a custom video-call background. Encourage guests to participate by wearing items that match the theme — sunglasses for a beach motif or favorite team jerseys for a sports-themed shower. You could also share a themed recipe, like Aunt Mary’s crab dip for a nautical celebration.
4. Have the Parents Make a Gift Registry
Or set one up yourself if you’re organizing a shower for your own child.
No one needs to visit a store. Retailers such as Buy Buy Baby, Target and Walmart offer online baby registries. You can also create a registry on Amazon or Babylist, compiling items from multiple retailers.
When building the registry, include a variety of items at different price points. If your chosen service supports group gifting, consider adding pricier items — group giving enables several people to pool funds for big-ticket gifts like a stroller or crib.
5. Send Invitations Electronically
The baby shower is virtual, so sending digital invitations is logical.
Make sure the invitation clearly states the event will be online. Include the event link if you have it, or tell guests you’ll send joining details on the day of the shower. Offering tips on using the chosen video platform can be helpful.
RSVPs aren’t as critical as for an in-person party, but it’s helpful to have a head count when planning games and activities.
Save money on stationery and postage by using free online invitation services. Sites like Evite, Paperless Post and Canva offer suitable templates.
6. Plan a Schedule of Activities
You can’t fully replicate the mingling and small talk of an in-person shower online, so it’s wise to create structure to avoid people talking over one another or awkward silences.
Once most guests have joined and introduced themselves, outline the agenda and share some basic ground rules (for example, muting when not speaking). Consider recording the event, with guests informed beforehand, so the parents can revisit it later.
Start with an update from the parents about the pregnancy and the baby, and invite grandparents or older children to say a few words.
For entertainment, try virtual baby shower games. A few suggestions:
- Trivia: Ask questions about the parents’ childhoods or guess the mom’s top pregnancy craving.
- Poll: Have guests estimate the circumference of the mom’s belly or predict the due date and birth weight.
- The Price Is Right: Let attendees guess the price of various baby items.
- Baby bingo: Use a bingo card generator (like this one) with preselected baby-related words, or create custom cards and send them to guests beforehand.
- Name That Tune: Make a playlist of songs containing the word “baby.” Play a few seconds of each and see who can name the song and artist first.
- Guess the Number: Fill a container — an infant tub or oversized bottle piggy bank — with jelly beans or marshmallows and have guests guess how many are inside.
- Who’s That Baby: Ask guests to email baby photos of themselves, show them on screen one at a time and have others guess who’s who.
E-gift cards work well as prizes for game winners.
You can also invite guests to share their well wishes by offering prompts like “advice for the new parents” or “what you hope for the baby.” Instead of everyone speaking during the event, provide a virtual guestbook or ask guests to record messages in advance.
If several guests are local, coordinate a drive-by parade with signs and balloons to show support.
Near the end, the mother-to-be might open gifts on camera. Some attendees may leave at that point while others prefer to watch their presents unwrapped. As with in-person showers, some parents might prefer to open gifts after guests depart.
7. Send Thank-You Notes
After the shower, use the same service you used for invitations to send thank-you notes. Choosing e-cards saves on printed stationery and postage. If the baby has been born, you may also want to send digital birth announcements.
Hosting a virtual baby shower is a convenient reason to skip party favors, though you might send small tokens of appreciation such as e-gift cards to coffee shops. If local friends plan a drive-by celebration, set up a table on the front lawn with small treats or individually wrapped baked goods.
Nicole Dow is a senior writer at Savinly.
