Unless they’re just mean, nobody really hates babies.
Even if they don’t want a baby themselves, no mentally healthy person truly hates them.
Babies are cute, they’re made happy by the simplest of things, and they brighten up any room they’re in.
They’re what almost all of human society and civilization are ultimately about.
So they’re worth celebrating.
And if you or someone you know is going to have a new baby soon, here are some heartfelt baby shower ideas to make the baby shower more fun and help get the new parents off on the right foot. 🐣
1. Decorate With a Quirky Theme
A baby shower is a party, right?
So have fun with it.
Let yourselves be a little bit whimsical and maybe even a bit childish.
After all, the ability to be selectively carefree and playful with children is a skill that parents need to have.
So why not get some practice in beforehand? Part of the fun of having a kid is getting to relive certain things with them, like your favorite childhood storybook, or bringing them to that place you loved when you were a child.
And part of the fun of a baby shower is getting to ease yourself into that mindset so that you’re ready for it when it’s time.
2. Toys and Stuffed Animals
If there’s one thing we all know about children, it’s that they love to play.
If a child doesn’t like playing, then there’s something very wrong going on, and it should be seriously looked into.
For babies, stuffed animals are pretty much perfect baby shower ideas.
They’re soft, they are squeezable, and they can give a child a sense of comfort that can help them sleep.
And that makes them a great gift for the parents, too.
New parents can never have too much sleep or time off to decompress with a relaxing hobby.
Side Note: Avoid anything with small parts that can be swallowed.
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3. Give The Parents Gifts That Will Make Things Easier
Raising a baby is hard and tiring.
So, anything that would make it easier will likely be appreciated.
That means anything that helps with cooking, cleaning, or any other household task.
There’s going to be some amount of toil and drudgery involved in raising a child and running a household, no matter what.
But the dishwasher and laundry machine definitely made their respective tasks a lot easier and quicker than they were back when everything was purely manual.
It might not be as dramatic a difference, but something like a closet organizer or plastic bins with child-proof lids can also simplify the lives of new parents a lot.
4. Start Gathering Children’s Books For The Home Library
Some classic staples would be things like Dr. Seuss, Aesop’s Fables, Hans Christian Anderson, Grimms’ Fairy Tales, My Father’s Dragon, Treasure Island, Peter Pan, and whatever else you’ll want the baby to grow up being familiar with.
You can even plan ahead by putting the picture books in the nursery now and keeping the more challenging books like Treasure Island stored somewhere safe until the baby reaches the age when they won’t damage them.
The key really is to choose books that will inspire, nurture, and teach right from wrong in a wholesome way.
In other words, it’s good to gift books that align with the values of the parents and the values that they want their child to grow up with.
So, as with the next baby shower idea on this list, the classics are less likely to cause a fuss and more likely to be well-received than some random new thing that might contain content or teachings that the parents don’t want their child exposed to at a young age.
No matter what year it is, the classics are always a safe bet.
5. Start Building a Video Library
This goes alongside the book library.
There are certain movies and TV shows that are nice for kids to see.
They’re going to be exposed to video content at some point, no matter what.
So why not make their first exposures pleasant and wholesome? Many great options that you might even remember from your own childhood fall under “Classic Disney” and other animated family films from before the year 2000.
For the most part, live-action family movies from pre-2000 are also great.
We keep saying “before the year 2000” because anything after that is likely something you won’t have seen as a kid and won’t recognize.
It’s also generally agreed that America’s creative industries peaked at some point before the year 2000.
This is especially true for children’s media and entertainment.
Things have mostly gotten less inspiring and even vulgar, or at least more controversial, since then.
Of course, we’re talking about DVDs here.
Most parents these days buy streaming service subscriptions or digital downloads.
But the principle, as with books, is to stick to the tried and true classics rather than risking controversy or argument by unwittingly picking something new that you didn’t know had mature or politically charged content in it.
Don’t Be a Stranger
We hope you’ve found this list helpful. 🙂
We know it’s short, and there are many more things that could be added to it.
But these baby shower ideas are a great place to start.
And starting is the hardest part of anything.
That goes for raising a baby, too.
So, the most important point to close this article with is that the new parents will probably benefit from some support here and there after the baby is born.
They’ll want to talk with you about things, they might want you to see the baby sometimes, and you might even coordinate to arrange play dates with your respective children as they grow up.
That continuing connection and supporting each other in the raising of your respective families is a beautiful thing.
And the fact that you’re at a baby shower would seem to imply that you’re one of the people the new parents would like to have around for that.
