How to Plan a Virtual Baby Shower
Choose a date, time, and virtual venue for the baby shower. The first order of business is deciding when and “where” your baby shower will take place. Make sure you pick a date that works for you and gives guests enough time to plan ahead and send gifts. Then, decide how you'll host the baby shower; choose the video chat service or party hosting site that works best for you. Virtual venue options include services like Zoom, Skype, Facebook, and Google Meet. If you’re unsure which option to pick, see our in-depth guide to video chat services below!
Pick a theme and decorations for the baby shower. This is optional: you can absolutely host a virtual baby shower without a theme, but choosing one can be a fun way to get into the spirit of the occasion and get guests involved, too! So, think about what kind of shower decorations you might want to include and what dress code, if any, might be fun to encourage. For example, some theme ideas include: Twinkle twinkle little star (with star and night sky-themed decor) Nautical (think boats, water, anchors, sea creatures) Safari, jungle, or woodlands (with animal and plant-themed decor) Garden party (with lots of floral, butterfly, and bee decor) In terms of decor, think wall hangings, balloons, streamers, and other things you can easily hang up to display in the call's background. If you don’t want to decorate, you can pick a virtual background for your video call instead (and encourage guests to use it).
Set up a baby registry. Before sending invitations, make sure your baby registry is set up so guests will know where to go to pick out gifts. You can set up a baby registry at a particular store or online business or opt for a universal registry (or one mainly dedicated to cash gifts). Some baby registry options include Amazon, Target, Walmart, Pottery Barn, or MyRegistry.
Send out invitations to the shower ahead of time. You could opt for digital invitations, mail paper invitations the old-fashioned way, or send invitations through your virtual venue if applicable (with Facebook or WebBabyShower, for example). Send your invitations at least 4 to 6 weeks before the party to give guests plenty of time to RSVP and include a link to both the virtual event and baby registry. You can create customizable digital invitations using sites like Evite, Paperless Post, and Greenvelope. After the shower, send your guests thank-you notes as well! It’s usually polite to send those around 1 to 2 weeks after the baby shower.
Create an agenda for the shower, including games and activities. Time to plan the party! Figure out what games and activities you want to do during the virtual baby shower, then draw up a schedule to ensure you can fit in everything you want to do. You don’t need to stick to the schedule exactly, but it can help you keep the party running without losing track of time. For example, you might set aside around 15 to 20 minutes to greet guests, chat, and catch up with everything. Then, you might designate the next hour for games, wrap things up with a gift opening for 15 minutes, and then have goodbyes. You can make your party as long or short as you like; a typical virtual baby shower could last anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 or 3 hours. Need some game ideas? We’ve included a list below—keep scrolling to see more!
Share a drink or dish for guests to prepare, optionally. While you don’t have to share any recipes, it can be a fun way to make your virtual party feel more like a traditional baby shower! Come up with a snack, dessert, or drink recipe to share with your guests so they can make it for the party (and whip it up yourself so that you can enjoy it, too). For example, you could make adorable rattle cupcakes or baby-themed cookies for your shower. To make the virtual baby shower feel extra special, you could send party favor boxes to your guests beforehand (with snacks, ingredients, or other cute trinkets to use at the party). Some guests might not want to buy extra food or ingredients, so you might want to make this an optional part of the shower—and clarify that to your guests.
Video Chat Services for a Virtual Baby Shower
Zoom Zoom is free to use and lets you create video calls with up to 100 connected devices (which should be more than enough, though you can connect even more for a fee). You can use the Zoom website or download the free app, and all your guests will need is an internet connection and web browser; they don’t need an account to attend the shower. If you use Zoom for your shower, the host must simply set up a virtual room with an ID and password (which you can give to all the guests). The only downside is that Zoom’s free version only allows you to host meetings for up to 40 minutes, though you can always simply close that meeting and start a new one if you don’t want to purchase more time.
Skype Skype is also totally free to use and can be accessed with any computer, tablet, or mobile device. As a bonus, there’s no limit on how long your video call can be (as long as it doesn’t exceed 24 hours, which is unlikely), and you don’t have to download the app if you’re using it on a computer. Skype’s main downsides compared to Zoom is that it only allows up to 50 connected devices, and group calls don’t have password protection.
Facebook Facebook can be a super convenient site for hosting your virtual baby shower since you can create an event and send invitations to everyone in the event group, then host a video call with all your guests through Facebook Messenger’s video chat system. Best of all, it’s for free! For protection, however, make sure to set your event to private.
WebBabyShower WebBabyShower is a site dedicated to hosting virtual baby showers. It’ll cost money to use, but it’s essentially an all-inclusive baby shower package with unlimited invitations, themes, games, a virtual guestbook, a private photo and video album, and a built-in video chat feature. You can also build a site for your baby shower and customize it. The main downside here is price: it costs $79 to host a baby shower through this site. You can also try out a demo for free to help decide if it’s worth the cost!
Google Meet Google Meet is another free service that allows up to 100 devices in a video meeting for up to 60 minutes; however, you can only use it with a Google account. So, if you go this route, the downside is that you’ll need to have guests sign up for Gmail if they haven’t already (though it’s not hard and won’t cost them anything).
Facetime Facetime is a completely free video service that allows up to 32 connected devices, and you can join using an internet connection or cellular data (if you have a data plan). However, the main downside of this option is that it’s only available to Apple devices—like iPhones, iPads, and Apple computers—and requires an Apple ID to sign in. So, it’s not ideal if you have guests without Apple devices.
Virtual Baby Shower Games
The Price is Right Hold several baby items up to the camera (like a toy, a bottle, a box of diapers, a baby onesie, and so on). Then, have everyone guess the total price for all the items and write down their answers on paper. When they’re done, everyone can hold up their guesses to the camera—and whoever has the closest guess to the real total cost of the items wins the game!
Name the Baby Song Make a playlist of well-known nursery rhymes and children’s songs (like “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and “Rockabye Baby”). Then, during the baby shower, play quick snippets of each song and challenge everyone to guess which song is which, and anyone who makes a correct guess gets a point. At the end of the game, the person with the most points wins!
Who’s That Baby? Before the baby shower, ask guests to send in baby photos of themselves. Then, for the game, share the baby photos with everyone and have them try to guess who is who. The person (or people) with the most correct guesses wins!
Guess Who? Write down a list of questions to ask guests about the parents-to-be (with the correct answers, too). Then, ask those questions to shower guests and see who knows the parents-to-be best! For example, questions could include: Who suggested the baby’s name? Who will dress the baby best? Who’s going to take more photos of the baby? Who can sing more lullabies? Who already gave the baby a nickname?
Guess the Number This is a totally simple game for everyone to enjoy; just fill up a jar with your candy of choice (like jelly beans or Skittles, for example) and have guests guess how many are inside. The person with the closest guess wins the game!
Never Have I Ever: Parent Edition To play Never Have I Ever, have each player hold up 5 fingers. Then, have them take turns saying something they’ve never done as a parent (or as a child, for non-parents). Anyone who has done that thing must put down a finger, and the last person with a finger still up wins the game. You might learn some funny stories from your guests! Example statements include: Never have I ever craved something bizarre during pregnancy. Never have I ever been peed on by my baby. Never have I ever had to sing the same lullaby twice in a row. Never have I ever broken a bone as a child. Never have I ever gotten more than a dollar from the Tooth Fairy.
Baby Trivia Who knows the most interesting and obscure facts about babies? Set up a baby-themed trivia game and prepare a list of questions. Then, ask those questions and see who can get each of them right the fastest (or have guests write their answers and see how many can get them right). Trivia questions could include: How many bones does a baby have at birth? (Around 300) What's the first sense a baby develops? (Touch) What age does a baby start smiling socially? (6 to 12 weeks)
JackBox Games If you don’t mind spending money on games, JackBox games are practically built for parties! They’re all multiplayer, and you can host them from a computer, gaming console, or mobile device, with many different themed games and party packs to choose from. And, even though each game has a player limit, non-players can join as audience members and watch.
Who should host a virtual baby shower?
The expecting parents can host themselves or have a loved one help. Ultimately, it’s totally your call how to handle the shower. It’s normal for expecting parents to throw their own shower, but it’s also very common to ask a family member or close friend to help. So, if you’re busy or have a lot on your plate, consider including a co-host in your shower plans! If your baby shower co-host lives far away, you can always make plans over text, email, or social media. Since the baby shower is virtual, long-distance planning shouldn’t be much of an issue!
Can you open gifts at a virtual baby shower?
Have guests send gifts beforehand to be opened at the shower. In the invitation, simply ask guests to mail their gifts; that way, you can open them on camera so everyone can still see and participate. Alternatively, guests can hang onto their gifts and open them on camera, then mail them to you (or drop them off) later. You can also give both options and let guests decide what works for them! You may want to skip the gift opening and spend more time on games and socializing instead—and that's fine, too! There are plenty of ways to show off gifts sent to you after the shower. If you have a Facebook event, you can post photos of the gifts—or email all the guests with pictures. If you use a paid service like WebBabyShower, you can post photos and videos to your site for up to 6 months after the shower.
Alternatives to a Video Call Baby Shower
Mail-in baby shower If you don’t have the time or desire to host an actual baby shower (virtual or otherwise), you could simply have guests mail well-wishes and congratulatory cards along with gift cards instead of pre-selected presents. That way, you can still feel the love and support of your family and friends without throwing a party! And, of course, you can use the gift cards to buy much-needed items for the baby.
Baby video wish tree Have all friends and loved ones make short videos of themselves giving support, encouragement, advice, and well-wishes to the parents-to-be. Then, store all the videos together (for example, in a Google Drive or Dropbox folder). That way, even without a party, you (or the parents-to-be, if that’s someone else) can watch the videos whenever you need a dose of love!
Welcome party Would you rather celebrate after the baby’s birth? Then try throwing a welcome party (also called a Sip and See) instead of a shower. With a welcome party, you can introduce the baby to loved ones (and they can still bring gifts and well wishes for you and the baby). Of course, don’t overexert yourself by throwing a party if you also have a newborn to look after; you can always ask a co-host to help manage everything. With a welcome party, you can still play games, open gifts, chat with everyone, and celebrate—virtually or in person. However, it’s also okay to refrain from throwing any party at all. You might not be the kind of person who wants a baby shower or welcome party, and there’s nothing wrong with that!
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