Although life in parts of the world is starting to go back to normal, there are many of us who are still dealing with strict lockdown measures which make getting together for something like a baby shower near impossible.
That is the situation I found myself in this month.
My dear friend is expecting her first baby. Although she lives here in Europe, she is from Canada, and had always really looked forward to having a baby shower of her own. As we began planning for the festivities, the lockdown measures started to change weekly, and we found ourselves up against the date, but under restrictions that would not allow public gatherings. Additionally, my mama friend is naturally trying to stay healthy leading up to her due date, and so we were trying to avoid any unnecessary risks before her big day.
So, rather reluctantly at first, we switched gears, and decided to make it a "Zoom Baby Shower".
I wasn't sure that we could pull it off, but it ended up being incredibly successful, so I though that I would share with you some of the things that I did, in the hopes that if you find yourself in a similar situation, that you will be able to create your own fun, and make the sweet mama-to-be feel special and loved.
1. Scheduling a Zoom Meeting
The first thing you are going to need to do, is decide on a date and time for your Zoom call. If you don't already have one, create a free Zoom account, and follow their very easy steps to create a meeting. Once you've done that, you can send the link to any invitees. You could create an e-invite, or an invitation PDF and send the link along with it.
2. Party in a Box
One of the main components of the Zoom Baby Shower was something I called "party in a box". Basically, the idea was, that the box would contain everything the person would need to have a party at home. You (or mama-to-be) can choose a theme, and go crazy!
Mine included:
1 paper plate
1 napkin
1 balloon
1 themed cookie
1 white onesie cookie
1 edible marker
1 cakesicle
Other ideas:
stickers, BINGO cards, "mommy or daddy" questionnaire, candy, juice box, etc.
I made elephant cookies following the recipe steps I used for my llama cake, as well as onesie ones. For the onesies, I only iced them in white, so that every one could then "design" a onesie with the marker I included in the box. It made for a fun activity we could all do "together" on Zoom.
For the cakesicles I made two 9-inch cake layers using this chocolate cupcake recipe. I love it, because it tastes almost like a brownie!
I also saved about 2 tbsp buttercream frosting from the last time I decorated a cake. I found some cakesicle moulds on Amazon, watched a lot of tutorials on Youtube, and set to work. Leave a comment below, if you'd like to see a more in-depth tutorial for the cakesicle! That might be a fun follow-up post!
I baked and prepped everything ahead of time, kept them in the freezer, then packaged everything in boxes the day before the party, and my friend and her husband delivered them to her friends the day before the party. We asked them to keep their boxes in the fridge to avoid anything getting melted and ruined.
I made personalized labels for each box, tied them with some yarn, and added a tassel that matched the garland (see further down) I made, to really make it feel like the party came to them.
When mama-to-be delivered the cookies, the guests also gave her any gifts or cards that they had for her to open at the party.
3. "Setting the Scene"
This is my friend's first baby, so I really wanted her to get the full baby shower experience. The wall that we normally have our TV on is a great dark gray color and gets good light, so it's where I decided to set up some sort of backdrop.
My backdrop included:
1 ballon arch
1 tassel garland (tassels are super easy to make, and are fun and whimsical)
2 elephant pull toys (the company sent on damaged one and sent a replacement, but didn't require me to send the chipped one back, so I used them both as decor)
gift section
2 chairs
some flowers (I decided to go with potted calla lilies, because my friend also just moved, so they are a great housewarming gift, too)
desserts
computer
Other ideas:
banner, poster, maternity photos, a screen with a slideshow going, etc.
4. How to actually HOST the Zoom Baby Shower
Think about who your guests are, and try to tailor the meeting towards them. Here are some examples of what I tried to think about and be mindful of.
- For this baby shower, I had people calling in from 3 different countries, and the attendees were of different nationalities/traditions. So, I couldn't do things like "the baby name game", or "the price is right", or something like "describe your favorite children's book".
- Not everyone knows one another.
- Not everyone speaks the same language. (I asked one sweet friend to please be gracious enough to translate for people. This inevitably made things a little longer, but made it so everyone felt a part of things.)
- We have about an hour.
- We have about 13 people attending.
Keeping those things in mind, this was the schedule I came up with:
5 minutes - Welcome everyone, explain the "party in a box"-es, invite them to open them up, and decorate their onesie cookies.
25 minutes - Introductions - I asked every lady to take turns introducing themselves, tell us how they know the mama-to-be, and one thing about her that tells them that she will be a wonderful mommy!
10 minutes - "Help Mama" scavenger hunt. (I knew I didn't want our party to be game-heavy, what with the translation, and different cultures mingling. BUT I did want to engage our guests, and this game was perfect!) Explain to your guests, that the purpose of the game is to help our mama-to-be! In each round you will be describing an imaginary "emergency", then they'll need to go find the "thing" that mama needs. At the end of each round, the last ? people (we did 2) were out, and did not advance to the next round. The person who successfully helped mama with each emergency (i.e. made it back to their screen with the needed item in each round) wins!
These were our scenarios:
"Oh, no! Baby is hungry find him a bottle! It can be any kind of bottle!"
"Okay, now baby is cold, find him a blanket!"
"Baby is getting bored, quick, get him a toy!"
"We're on the move, find something to carry baby in!"
"Baby's skin is getting dry, lets get him some lotion!"
"Oops, baby has a blow out diaper, he needs a bath! Quick, find him some soap!"
It was AWESOME! Everyone got involved, they were super creative with their solutions, and it was a fun way to create a party atmosphere.
10-15 minutes - opening gifts (don't forget to have mama hold them up to the camera)
5 minutes - Close time together and pray over mama. (Of course, if you aren't religious, just skip that last part.)
This was my first time hosting a Zoom meeting at all, so I was a little anxious about how it would all go, but honestly, it could not have gone better! Everyone had a lovely time, my friend felt celebrated, and some very sweet memories were made!
Although a "Zoom Baby Shower" may not be ideal, for many of us these types of compromises are a reality, but that doesn't mean we can't have fun with it!