A guide to planning a Luxury Baby Shower in The Lake District

Whether you or someone close to you is expecting a baby there’s no better way to celebrate than with a bespoke Baby Shower at The Daffodil Hotel & Spa in the heart of The Lake District. Celebrate the new arrival in a gorgeous lakeside location with Luxury Afternoon Tea and the opportunity to indulge Mum-to-Be with relaxing Spa treatments.

Keep reading our handy guide for lots of Baby Shower inspiration and all our top tips on organising a fun day filled with memories! Check out Pamper’s Baby Shower Checklist to help keep track of everything and make sure you’ve got everything ready.

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THE GUEST LIST

Choosing who to invite will be one of the first things you need to organise as this will give any guests plenty of time to respond to your invitation and arrange their plans accordingly. Traditionally, only women attend Baby Showers, but a new addition is an exciting time for both new parents so we would recommend you consider including Dad-to-be in any party plans! If the Baby Shower you’re planning is a surprise for someone else then make sure you invite their closest friends as well as family members.

TOP TIP – As families grow it’s important to consider that guests may want to bring their kids along. Have a read of The Spruce’s top tips on Hosting a Baby Shower with children as guests for ideas on how to keep the little ones entertained.

BABY SHOWER THEME

Choosing the Baby Shower theme is one of the most vital steps of planning the celebration because it will help bring everything together. One of the simplest ways of doing this is by working with a minimal colour scheme. Interestingly, it is becoming more and more popular to throw a Baby Shower and Gender Reveal party together which instantly creates a ‘Guess the Gender’ party theme! Another easy theme idea is to go with something seasonal – if you’re hosting a Baby Shower in October why not go with a Halloween inspired theme?

For more up to date Baby Shower Trends make sure you have a look at our Pinterest board. Once you’ve decided on the theme it will be much easier to plan the Baby Shower decorations, refreshments and games.

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INVITATIONS

Once you’ve decided who’s coming, it’s time to let them know! If you can, try to send out the invitations after you have a theme so it can be reflected in the design. Here’s a quick checklist of what to include on the invitations:

• Names of the Parents-to-be (if it’s a surprise shower)
• Date
• Time
• Place (perhaps add a map to help guide people to the party)
• RSVP contact information

DON’T FORGET – Make sure you send the invitations out a few weeks prior to the Shower to give guests plenty of time to RSVP.

PARTY DECORATIONS

When it comes to the Baby Shower decor, we think it’s best to keep it simple. Even if you have a theme to bear in mind, you’ll find sticking to a simple colour scheme easier when looking for decorations and after a quick browse through Pinterest you shouldn’t be short of ideas!

In the age of Instagram, we especially love the idea of having a dedicated area to snap a few fun photos. For extra entertainment, you could try adding a few photo booth style props.

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FOOD & REFRESHMENTS

When deciding whether or not to provide refreshments it’s important to consider the time you’re throwing the Baby Shower and the number of guests coming. Most of the time Baby Showers take place in the afternoon which lends itself quite nicely to a small buffet. Providing a few nibbles at any party is easy and allows you to offer a little something everyone will like.

On the other hand, you could leave the refreshments to The Daffodil and host something a little bit different. If the weather is on your side you may want to treat the parents-to-be to an outdoor Baby Shower including Afternoon Tea. We can also accommodate more intimate Baby Shower parties with our private dining options.

THE CAKE

No Baby Shower is complete without cake!
Often the cake is part of the decoration, so you may want to consider your theme or colour scheme when planning this.

BABY SHOWER GAMES

Having games to play at your Baby Shower is a great way for people get to know each other and share advice with the parents-to-be.

GAME #1 | GUESS THE BABY FOOD

Number a small selection of baby food jars and let guests try and guess the flavour. Perhaps offer a sweet treat as a prize for those who can guess correctly!

GAME #2 | BLINDFOLDED NAPPY RELAY

Divide guests in to small teams and give each one a blindfold. Teams take it in turns to remove the nappy from a doll and put a new one back on whilst blindfolded. The team who complete the challenge the quickest are the winners!

GAME #3 | THE BABY NAME GAME

Set a timer for 1 minute and get all guests to write down as many baby names as they can before the minute is up. The guest with the most name ideas is the winner! Plus, if the parents-to-be are yet to decide on a baby name, then this game will give them lots of ideas.

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MAKING MEMORIES

Baby Showers are all about getting loved ones together, celebrating new life and sharing tips and advice. Here a few ways you can make the day more memorable for the parents-to-be.

• The Baby Bucket List – Get all guests to write down one thing they think the new parents should do before their baby turns 1. These ideas may be things every new parent does or things your guests wish they had done with their own children. When everyone has had their say you may want to read through the suggestions or give them to baby’s parents as a gift.
• Guest Book – Create a meaningful keepsake by taking a scrapbook to the Baby Shower for all guests to write their best wishes, tips and advice in for the new parents.
• You can if you want to, but you don’t need to hire a photographer to record special moments throughout the day. Alternatively, ask everyone at the Baby Shower to share their photos using a personalised hashtag of your choice.