Online Baby Shower

Online baby showers, as the name imply, is a shower that happens online or via the Internet. Depending on the extent of activities that will be included on this online shower, and how close a connection among all the "attendees" is preferred, an online baby shower can include a webcam, a chat room, a website or forum, and the like.

There are many reasons why online baby showers are becoming more attractive. One is that since mom-to-be's friends and relatives can be scattered all over the world and it's impossible to get together under one roof, then an online baby shower is the next best thing.

Another reason is that maybe for one reason or another, mom-to-be cannot attend the actual party, so an online baby shower or/and a video shower is better than having no shower at all.

Of course, if we're still on the pre-Internet era or even during those times when having an Internet connection is only among the privileged, having an online baby shower is not an option. But nowadays, having a fast Internet connection is quite normal, communicating using Yahoo Messenger and other similar software is so easy, seeing other people online using webcam is pretty common, hence choosing not to throw a shower at all just because everybody's so far away from each other is no longer a sound decision. And the following content intends to prove that by compromising on some things here and there, we don't see any reason why an online shower will be inferior when compared to an actual shower.

Before there's a baby shower:

Somebody must decide to host a baby shower, an online one, before any preparations can start. We don't see a reason why an online baby shower cannot take place 2 months before mom-to-be's due date, which is similar to a face-to-face shower.

Baby shower Timeline and Checklist

Creating a schedule and setting the milestones will come next. The good news is, you don’t have to create one yourself, since we have a standard checklist right here for you to print. Though many of these is not necessary (be sure to customize this checklist to something that will fit your needs), you will find our baby shower checklist in PDF format a useful guide to your baby shower preparations (download Adobe Reader from this site, if you don't have one).

Guest List

Similar to an actual shower, you also have to define a guest list with mom-to-be. We still suggest that you limit the number to at most 20 people, since we don't want this shower to be more complicated than it is, and with more than 20 people vying for mom-to-be's attention in the chatroom, the more chances of one or two being unintentionally snubbed by the new mommy. And we definitely don't want that to happen.

Location, Location, Location

You still need to do this, although location here will be a virtual one. This is the portion where you need to decide how and where to hold the party via the Internet. Do you want to have a chat room via IRC (so you need to create a channel) or just hold a chat via Yahoo Messenger? If you choose the former, then you need to inform everybody about the location of the chat. If the latter, then be sure to get all the nicknames of the attendees for easier chat setup on the day itself. You might even need to create chat names for some people not so familiar with this medium.

Another thing to decide is whether to have a website for the new mommy. The website can be interactive where each attendees can still chat together. Although IRC or YM is more chat/gossip-friendly, since it is mainly created for chatting purposes, a forum-type of website is recommended especially if you want every message saved for later review and if you expect the host or each guests to upload photos during the shower. Another advantage of having a forum site is that you can make preparations beforehand, like setting up game materials, uploading some photos of the new mommy, doing "decorations" before the actual shower, and the like. And the good news is, there are lots of website offering easy and free service to setup your very own forum.

If you are not that techsavvy but still have every intention of throwing an online baby shower, we suggest you avail a web baby shower service. We found this site that provides a service for online baby shower throwers. By availing this, you can get all the services (chat, forum, etc) at one location, and they even provide help for online shower newbies. Here's a sample online baby shower that you can look at.

Shower Theme

Even though this is an online shower, we don't see any reason why you cannot have a specific theme. However, instead of showcasing your theme around your shower room, your theme can be visible on the website you've created/picked. Your games, favor, food (if you're "serving" any) will still showcase your chosen theme.

Having trouble what theme to choose? Our baby shower theme ideas will definitely help!

Invitation & RSVP

Of course you still need to tell everybody to save the date! And you can do this by sending an email invitation or the real thing. Since an online shower might be something new to your "attendees", be sure to send detailed instructions when you send your invitation. This will be very helpful especially for those who are not Internet-savvy.

Whether you intend to email your invitations or sending the real deal, our baby shower cards are a MUST-SEE.

Days before the party, be sure to call (or assign somebody to call) to ensure that everybody understands how to "attend" your online baby shower.

Food and Drinks

What's a party without food? Depending on your budget, you can have food delivered to your guests. Another option is to ask each of your guests to prepare/buy a special type of food to be enjoyed during the party. The long distance feeling will surely be lessened when each of the guests see their fellow guests eating the same thing via their webcams!

Games

By choosing games wherein questions and answers can be easily called out, we don't see any reason why you cannot play baby shower games via the Internet, to be specific, from your forum or chatroom. Here are some of the games that can be easily played online:

Guess baby's birthday

Guess baby's weight

Guess mommy's waistline

Word scramble

Guess what nursery rhyme

Match baby animal with its mommy

Name Race (what name starts with the letter...)

You can find more baby shower games here.

Gifts and Favors

Since online shopping is as easy as 1-2-3 nowadays, picking out your baby shower favors and have each delivered to your guests should not cause you any problem. Choose a vendor that provides free shipping so as to lessen your baby shower cost.

Likewise, online gift shops are scattered all over the net. Lots of stores provide gift registry services so be sure to take advantage of this feature so that the new mommy can enjoy different gifts that she and the baby really needs.

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