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“ A baby is teddy bears, rattles and pins, meals at midnight…. giggles and grins”
If you would like to throw a special Indybel Baby shower for a friend simply email us at
babyshowers@indybel.com
telling us where, when, for whom you would like to throw a shower and how many people approx you would like to invite.
What is a baby shower?
Throwing a baby shower is an honour for the mum to be and lots of fun. It is an
 excuse to celebrate the awaited arrival and offer mum to be lots of support and shower her with gifts before the onset of many a sleepless night.
Often the lead up to the birth is a stressful time for mum with a growing bump and endless lists of things to buy, borrow and prepare. Friends and family although often desperate to share in the cost of purchases are often unsure of what to buy and worst of all buying a gift that mum already has.
This is how we at Indybel can help to relieve the stress for mum, friends and family. Book a baby shower with us and we will come to your home or office with a selection of unique products and gifts for both mum to be and baby. This takes the hard work out of deciding what to buy as you can see the products on the day and make your gift selection.
After the baby shower we will arrange for all of the gifts to be beautifully wrapped and delivered as a gift hamper to the home of mum to be or to a chosen hospital. Also our baby showers work in conjunction with our gift registry service, so if friends or family live abroad or are simply unable to attend the baby shower they can log on to mum to mum to be’s wish list and select gifts they know she will really want.
Tips and Advice
It is most common for the best friend or sister to hold the baby shower as the last thing anybody wants is to have mum to be worrying about cleaning the house, what to cook etc. It is a time for mum to be to be truly pampered, put her feet up and just enjoy the attention. Its also very fashionable right now for co workers to organise a lunch time shower as a farewell before mum to be embarks on her maternity leave.
2.When to hold a baby shower?
Traditionally 6-8 weeks before the baby is due. Its important not to leave it too late in case mum delivers early! Also she may need time to order or purchase items she did not receive that may have been on her baby shower or gift registry.
 3.Welcome to the world baby showers
These take place after the birth of the baby and as a guideline are thrown a month or two after the baby is born, as the new parents need time alone with their precious new bundle, and to adjust to parenthood. Its a great opportunity for a new mum to let friends and family know what she still needs for the baby or perhaps stock up on those future essentials and of course for the baby to meet all his or her new friends!
4.What do people do at a baby shower?
Eat, drink, talk, have fun, play games and of course give presents!!!
Please feel free to host your baby shower in any way you wish but should you feel a little guidance is necessary here is an example of a typical Indybel baby shower. Generally showers last an average of two hours, less if its in an office lunch hour or more if you so wish....... . Invite guests to arrive before mum to be if possible to create a party atmosphere. Greet your guests and offer them drinks. Recognise the guest of honour . Play a game to break the ice and help introductions. ( We can organise games if you prefer and discuss suitable ideas with the host before the party, you can choose the games which most suit your circle of friends and which you think mum to be will be most comfortable with ) .
Indybel will show the range of products . Serve food or snacks whilst guests have the opportunity to purchases gifts. . Invite guests to write in the Indybel baby advice journal at their leisure. Offering tips for the new mum, funny stories about raising children etc. . Play a second game . Present the journal to mum and leave guests to enjoy the shower. . Remember to take lots of photographs!
6. Baby Shower Food and Drink
A baby shower is never meant to be a stressful event for the hostess. Keep the food and drink as simple or as elaborate as you wish, some prefer to go for party nibbles whilst others enjoy playing the hostess and planning three course meals. If you enjoy baking why not bake some biscuits or cup cakes with pale blue or pale pink icing. When choosing your food options remember mum to be has many foods to be avoided right now so it’s best either not to serve the following or have tasty alternatives on offer.
Foods to avoid: Soft mould ripened cheese such as camembert and blue cheese .Undercooked or raw eggs, remember not to use homemade mayonnaise for those egg mayo sandwiches! .Seafood, pates, liver products and raw meats. So no smoked salmon canapés for mum to be. If you don’t feel like spending hours in the kitchen how about asking all of the guests to bring one dish along each as this saves on time and gives you a good variety of foods and desserts to try. Just make sure all the guests know what to expect, there is no point cooking a huge meal if all the guests have eaten lunch so include on the invitation the food situation especially, if you need people to bring their own dishes along! Make sure you have plenty of soft drinks as not everybody is able to drink alcohol!!!
Below are a few suggestions of non alcoholic cocktails.
Watermelon agua fresca
Half a large watermelon
2 cups sparkling or still water (plus more if needed)
Pinch salt
Generous squeeze of lime juice
Cut watermelon flesh from rind.
Put flesh (seeds and all) in a container with 2 cups water and salt. Blend until smooth and strain into a pitcher. Add lime juice to mix. Pour into glasses with ice and top with sparkling water. Makes 6-8 glasses .
Madras (Alcohol free)
4oz Cranberry Juice
1oz freshly squeezed orange
Lime wedge to serve
Pour juices over ice in a small glass. Squeeze in lime and drop into glass.
Makes 1 drink This is great served in pitchers filled with ice and very easy for people to help themselves.If there are those who want to stray from teetotalling it’s also great with vodka or tequila added! .
Fresh Lemonade
6 tbsp sugar syrup
12 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
16oz still or sparkling water
Measure into a container, stir well and pour into glasses. Makes 4 glasses. This is a really refreshing hot sunny afternoon drink and again great served in pitchers with sliced lemons and lots of ice simply by increasing the quantities.
Suggested Games
Aside from chatting, eating, drinking and patting the bump games can be a great fun. We at Indybel would like to offer a few suggestions to help get your baby shower off to a good start.
Ask everyone to bring along a baby photo of themselves, pin them up on a board and see who can guess correctly.
Guess the pregnant celebrity
Cut out some celeb pregnancy pictures and remove their heads.
See how many pieces of toilet roll it takes to go around the bump- Normally more than you would expect!
Guess the weight, name and time. Unfortunately there will be no winner on the day but mum to be will enjoy the attention.
Remember!!!
Remember to tell guests the location of the baby shower, time date and any specific directions. Read our advice in the food and drink section especially the non alcoholic cocktails as mum to be probably isn’t drinking! Importantly if the shower is to be a surprise for mum to be make sure all the guests are aware...............you wouldn’t want the secret to get out!
If you need us here at Indybel to email general invitations to all the guests just let us know.
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