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Baby shower photos online can make it look like you need a party planner and a balloon budget. These real showers, shared by the moms-to-be and the friends who hosted them, prove otherwise. Most were brunches at home, many were pulled together by family the day before, and every one has a detail worth copying.
Each photo belongs to the blogger credited under it. Click through for the full recaps, menus and supply lists.
How we chose these showers
- Real showers, hosted for real parents.
- A mix of boy, girl and gender-neutral themes.
- At least one idea in each that costs little or nothing.
1. A brunch shower built for mingling
Casey Finn’s shower was thrown by a close friend and former neighbor, together with Casey’s mom. Casey did not want guests stuck at a table all afternoon, so the party was set up for eating and mingling instead, with a brunch menu and a signature cocktail (plus a mocktail version for her).
The colors were sage and blush to match the future nursery. In the hallway, a chicken-wire frame she already owned held clipped baby photos of Casey and her husband, which guests loved looking at.
Worth borrowing: a frame of the parents’ own baby photos is free if you have a frame at home, and it gives guests something to talk about as they arrive.
2. An April Showers party with umbrellas over the porch
Heidi’s mother, sisters and friends took the word “shower” literally. Open umbrellas hung from the porch ceiling to greet guests, and flower arrangements sat inside yellow rain boots (a slim vase inside each boot does the trick).
Guests were offered champagne from a bar cart under a garland of paper clouds and raindrops, and white balloons stood in for clouds. It is a gender-neutral theme, and as Heidi points out, it works in any month if you change the rhyme.
Worth borrowing: flowers in rain boots are easy, cheerful and can go home with the parents afterward. Hang a few umbrellas if you have a porch or a high ceiling.
3. A low-key Sunday shower with a sage balloon arch
Olivia’s mom and sister hosted a simple Sunday shower with brunch food, three games and gifts. She wanted it short and easy for guests, and she was honest that being the center of attention stresses her out.
Her notes are full of small, practical lessons. The balloon arch kit looked great but meant filling a lot of balloons. The game prizes had backups in case of a tie. And the disposable camera on the entry table barely got used, because nobody hung around there.
Worth borrowing: put the guest camera, or anything you want people to use, where they actually gather, like the kitchen or the living room.
4. A blue boy shower with a budget balloon garland
Chelsea co-hosted this shower at her house for a friend who was having her third baby but had never had a shower. Three hosts split the food: spinach dip, a spring salad, chicken salad croissants, taco dip and fruit and veggie trays.
Her hosting notes are the good stuff. A 1 p.m. start means guests expect lunch, so move it to 2 p.m. if you only want cake and punch. Label the food with tent cards. And buy serving tongs before the day, because you always need more than you have.
Worth borrowing: split the menu between co-hosts by dish, not by budget. Everyone makes one or two things well and nobody is stuck cooking for twenty.
5. An OH BABY brunch with a mom-osa bar
The Fashion Hour’s shower was thrown by her mom and a close friend, with a few hints from her. She wanted it simple and feminine with a slightly bohemian feel, and a brunch menu to match.
Family members each brought a specialty: twisted brown sugar bacon, empanadas with homemade chimichurri, strawberry rolls with cream cheese icing and a donut tower dressed with flowers. Drinks came from a “MOM-osa” bar.
Worth borrowing: a donut tower doubles as dessert and decoration. Stack donuts on a platter, tuck in a few flowers and order some in your shower color.
6. A family-made brunch shower with tissue pom-poms
Natalie, her sister and her sister-in-law threw a 10:30 a.m. Saturday brunch shower for her brother’s wife. They shopped at Target and the grocery store the day before and pulled everything together in an afternoon.
The pom-poms were made from packs of tissue paper, the flowers came from the grocery store, and the table linens were family heirlooms their mom brought along. The menu was donuts, cinnamon rolls, muffins, prosciutto-wrapped melon and Nutella croissants.
Worth borrowing: borrow the family linens. Heirloom tablecloths make a shower feel personal in a way that new decorations cannot.
7. A simple, elegant shower around the fireplace
Giustina at Domestically Blissful hosted an intimate shower at home and kept the decor focused in one spot: the fireplace. Simple floral touches and a garland on the mantel gave the room a focal point without decorating every surface.
Her post also shares the brunch menu and a few easy DIY decor ideas, so it is worth reading if you are hosting at home on a modest budget.
Worth borrowing: choose one focal point (a mantel, a window or a dessert table) and decorate it well. The rest of the room can stay as it is.
Planning a shower?
Our baby shower and gender reveal hub has themes, centerpieces and food ideas, and the food and drink calculator helps you work out how much brunch to buy.
Credits and sources
Every photo in this roundup belongs to the blogger credited under it and is shown with a link back to the original post. Please visit them for the full story, supply lists and many more photos. If you are one of the featured bloggers and would like a photo changed or removed, email [email protected] and we will take care of it.
- A Recap of Our Baby Shower by Casey Finn, The DIY Playbook
- Baby Shower Recap: April Showers by Heidi, heidiology
- My Baby Shower Recap by Miss Olivia Says
- Blue Baby Shower for a Boy by Chelsea, Two Twenty One
- #BUMPLIFE: My Baby Shower by The Fashion Hour
- Baby Shower for my Sister-In-Law by At Home With Natalie
- A Simple Elegant Baby Shower by Domestically Blissful
