7 Tips for Hosting a Virtual Baby Shower

My family has hosted a virtual first birthday party for my toddler and a gender reveal and a virtual baby shower for my sister in my family. By now we have our virtual party game down pat, so here are our seven pointers for hosting a successful and fun virtual baby shower...

1. Get familiar with breakout rooms.

What makes any virtual gathering awkward is that you can’t freely mingle with the people you know without rudely alienating another group of friends present. To allow your guests an opportunity to comfortably chit-chat with their smaller friend group, organize a breakout room activity so friends from a particular friends group can catch up and swap inside jokes. I recommend assigning the groups for any games or partner activities so you can pair friends and acquaintances accordingly.

2. Consider skipping the gift opening.

Maybe it’s me being a Debbie Downer, but opening gifts at an in-person baby shower is boring for guests. There are only so many ways to squeal and sigh, “Omgggg, so cute!” and if you can’t physically touch the ultra-soft baby blanket, what’s the point?

To keep the virtual baby shower moving at a nice pace, forgo opening gifts on camera, but follow up with a thank you card or even text a photo of you with the gift to the sender.

3. Expand the guest list to include significant others and kids.

While traditional baby showers are usually just for the ladies, it may be easier scheduling-wise for guests to virtually attend if their partner and kids feel free to peek on the screen, too. 

4. Keep the baby shower short. 

The average in-person baby shower is 2-3 hours, but asking for people to sit on their laptops for that long is a bit much. Scale back the length of your virtual baby shower to be a more manageable 30 minutes - an hour. 

5. Send a token of appreciation.

The best part of any baby shower is the delectables: the delicious brunch foods, the cookies in the shapes of prams, and the free-flowing white wine. If your budget and time allow, ship out a thank you gift ahead of or immediately after your baby shower, so guests can have a physical token of the day. A pack of sugar cookies and a mini-bottle of champagne for guests to crack open once they hear of the baby's arrival is a fun gift for everyone to enjoy.

6. Organize a run of a show and have some words prepared.

Pull together a short agenda for your virtual baby shower, so there is not too much dead air. You don’t need to formally circulate it but have it handy so you can keep an eye on the time and have the next activity queued up. Also, ask the expectant mother or parents to have some words prepared to say thank you to their guests, share their excitement, and introduce any games. 

7. Have a sign-off.

Unlike a party in which people can discreetly kiss the expectant mother goodbye and dip out, virtual baby showers can be tricky to leave without a loud proclamation or everyone assuming you lost an internet connection. So help your guests out by having a clear sign-off that lets everyone know, “You can sign off now…” Having the expecting parents or mom say a few final words is a great way to wrap the whole party up.

For more tips on throwing a virtual first birthday party, check out our blog post to make a children’s Zoom birthday memorable and fun for all your guests!