45+ Super-Cute Baby Shower Ideas

A traditional baby shower is held in honor of the mom-to-be and is typically organized and hosted by a close friend or female family member. The guest list of traditional baby showers tends to be small and only includes the expecting mother’s closest female family members and friends.

A co-ed shower (sometimes called a couples shower) celebrates both parents, so include both names on the invitation. Consider using ‘celebration’ instead of ‘shower’ on your invite and pick a design and party theme that will appeal to a co-ed guest list.

After their first child, some families prefer a sprinkle party instead of a full-blown shower. These tend to be more casual than traditional baby showers, with one of the biggest differences between the two types of celebrations being the amount of gifts the expecting parents receive. (Diapers may be all they need!) Set expectations and let guests know in the invitation.

The big backyard of a friend or family member is one of the best places to host a baby shower. If you choose to host your shower in a backyard, consider going with a picnic or barbeque theme, and use that to set the tone for everything from your menu to your seating arrangements and decor.

Whether you reserve an area of your local botanical garden or rent out the grounds of a beautiful estate, it is hard to think of a more picturesque venue for a baby shower. If you go with this venue, continue the theme by serving high tea and encouraging everyone to come dressed in their garden party best.

If you’re lucky enough to live by the beach, this can be a great (free!) location for a baby shower. You can make a beach baby shower as luxe or as casual as you’d like, but no matter what you do, be sure to set up some cute umbrellas to keep mom-to-be cool.

Whether you’re hosting a winter baby shower or know mom-to-be would be more comfortable indoors, a restaurant or cafe can be a great venue for your celebration! These venues are ideal because they take pressure off the hosts to organize food or outside catering as well as party rentals like tables and chairs. That said, this is one of the more expensive venue options, so be sure to keep your overall budget in mind before you book.

Adorable shower ideas like this one are both easy and affordable to pull off. Whether you’re having the shower indoors or out, there are many ways you can tie in decorations and activities to honor the “mother/queen bee”.

For a shower theme that is equal parts whimsical and sweet, take a trip to an enchanted forest. Use decorative wood slices to display food, send guests on a “pacifier hunt” around your venue, and tuck stuffed woodland creatures into your centerpieces alongside fresh wildflowers.

Babies bring a ton of joy, so welcome them in with a theme that will literally brighten your day! A “You Are My Sunshine” concept is an easy and fun party idea that allows for plenty of DIY opportunities. It is also a perfect option for a summer baby shower.

Turn a tried-and-true baby shower activity into a piece of decor by setting up a baby advice board! You could pull this off in a few different ways: either set up a few panels of butcher paper and a pot of pens for guests to use to write directly onto the “board,” or provide individual cards for guests to write on and then pin to a bulletin board. (Bonus points if the board is painted or wrapped in paper that matches your theme and color scheme!)

You can’t go wrong with a balloon arch. Whether you set it up over the chair where mom will be opening presents or use it as a backdrop for a DIY photo booth, a big, beautiful bunch of balloons is a crowd-pleaser. Just be sure to order more than you think you need, and carefully plan your color scheme ahead of time.

For a more creative way to use balloons as decor, set up a few clusters of “showers'' around the party space. Use white balloons to create the clouds, then use fishing line to hang large paper raindrops at various heights underneath the cloud. We love the idea of placing a shower cluster over a gift table or using it as a suspended centerpiece over where you’ll be eating.

Many families have traditions of giving expecting moms a handmade quilt or baby blanket at their shower. So why not incorporate those beautiful quilts into the decor? Source a few quilts to hang on clotheslines for a sweet, homespun photo backdrop, drape them over chairs for guests to wrap up in, or use them as runners on gift and guest book tables (but keep them far away from food!).

Even if you’re not expecting any family or friends to hand-make a quilt to celebrate the baby’s arrival, you can still decorate the space with decor like throw blankets and pillows, mobiles, and even custom name wall hangings that can go into the baby’s nursery after the shower is over.

There are tons of ways to set up a cute photo backdrop for guests to enjoy at your baby shower (we’ve given you two ideas already!). The simplest way to do this is to find a large open space of wall, and then frame the area with decor like balloon arches, garlands, flowers, oversized stuffed animals, and baby blocks.

Whether you’re hosting the shower outdoors in someone’s home, paper lanterns are a beautiful way to add some visual interest above tables or open areas where guests can mingle. Look for lanterns of various sizes in colors that tie into your theme and then hang them using fishing line.

Fresh flowers are always a good idea — and there are tons of ways you can incorporate them into your party space. One of our favorite DIY-friendly ideas is to go for a “flower market” approach, where you fill rustic vases, jugs, and even wicker baskets full of the same type of flower. Then cluster those vessels together into a vignette that mimics a display that a florist might have. This decor idea can also do double duty as a cute favor if you provide little flower bags or mason jars for guests to use to create their own mini bouquets to take home with them.

If fresh flowers are out of the budget, paper flowers can be a fun way to add some visual interest to your party space. Use them in centerpieces, stick them into planters, or hang oversized paper flowers from the ceiling of the party area to create a whimsical atmosphere.

It doesn’t get much cuter than teeny tiny onesies, so why not let them do the heavy lifting in your decor? Set up a clothesline of onesies, swaddle blankets, and muslins in colors that go with your overall theme to hang above food tables, use as a photo booth backdrop, and more.

If you’re hosting the baby shower in the home of a friend or family member, it could be a cute idea to swap out their usual wall art for a few sweet prints that mom and dad will be able to hang in the nursery after the party is over. Minted offers a huge selection of nursery wall art prints — so you’re sure to find a few that will match the shower’s theme!

Another sweet way to turn this classic activity into decor is to switch out a bulletin board for a garland. Simply buy or cut out paper in your color palette into on-theme shapes and ask guests to write down a wish or piece of advice for the parents/baby on them. Then, instruct them to hang their message onto the garland using a clothes pin or clip for everyone to see.

From welcome signs to signs that mark the gift table and explain games, there are tons of ways to incorporate cute and on-theme stationery into your big day. We love the idea of hanging oversized welcome signs from tree branches using pretty ribbon for more rustic showers.

Help the parents-to-be get their baby’s stuffed animal collection started with this sweet centerpiece idea. To keep things feeling cohesive, either pick a collection of stuffed animals in the same color palette (neutrals, pinks, and blues should be relatively easy to find) or look for a collection of animals that all tie into a broader theme — think safari, woodland creatures, teddy bears, or even children’s storybook characters. (A word of warning: if other children will be at the shower, be prepared for more than a few of these stuffed animals to go missing at the end of the party!)

Another great idea for centerpieces that can be repurposed after the shower is to place a few baby books at the center of each table alongside tea lights and small floral arrangements. Just be sure the books are sturdy enough to stand up on their own!

It is always so much fun to imagine what the new baby is going to look like — will they be a spitting image of mom? Or a blend of both parents? Get everyone even more excited to finally lay eyes on the baby by including a few framed baby pictures of the expecting parents in your centerpieces and other table decor.

For a DIY-friendly way to incorporate florals into your centerpieces, gather a few volunteers together the day before the shower to create bud vase arrangements. Both fresh and dried flowers work well for these sweet centerpieces — just be sure to buy enough to assemble two to three vases per table.

Don’t be afraid to take inspiration from the seasons when it comes to planning your baby shower decor! Create centerpieces using pumpkins or fall foliage for autumn showers, garlands of pine and holly for winter celebrations, or wildflowers for spring and summer parties.

Incorporating either whole or sliced fresh fruit alongside florals is one of our favorite centerpiece trends to emerge over the last few years. To get this right, go for fruit like citrus that won’t oxidize once it’s cut (or use whole apples and pears) and keep the location of your shower in mind. If you know it’ll be buggy, this idea may be best left to an indoor shower.

To up the sweet factor of any of the baby shower centerpiece ideas we’ve already shared, incorporate a pair or two of baby booties into your arrangement. Or, if you’re feeling ambitious, you can turn the booties into mini bud vases by tucking a few blooms into them.

Spelling out “baby” or the new baby’s name (if the parents have shared it publicly) using block letters is a sweet baby shower centerpiece idea that works with any theme.

You can’t go wrong by setting up a mimosa station for guests to enjoy, but be sure to also have a few mocktail options on hand for the guest of honor (and anyone else who may not want to drink alcohol) to enjoy! We love the idea of working with the mom-to-be to create a signature mocktail — so be sure to ask her if she’s had any favorite mocktails during the course of her pregnancy that you can recreate for her at the shower.

While you can have a baby shower at any time of the day, most tend to be brunch affairs. So lean into the theme by making (or catering) a full brunch spread complete with a bagel bar, quiche, muffins, croissant sandwiches, and more.

Finger sandwiches, anyone? Classic tea party fare like cucumber sandwiches, mini tarts, and scones with clotted cream and jam make for the perfect baby shower menu! What’s better is that much of this food can be bought or prepared in advance, so you have one less thing to get done on the day of. (Oh, and you’ll get bonus points for thrifting or renting a few tiered trays to display all of the food on!)

Barbeque is an easy crowd-pleaser, and especially so if you’re hosting a casual co-ed, summertime, or backyard baby shower. You can keep things as simple as hamburgers and hot dogs (though we’d recommend having plenty of fun sides like a chip-and-dip bar, fruit salad, mac and cheese…the options are endless!) or you can cater brisket, ribs, and more from your favorite barbeque joint.

They say raising a baby takes a village…so get the village involved by hosting a potluck-style baby shower! Be sure to make it clear that the shower will be a potluck on your invitation, and assign what you’d like guests to bring based on their last name. For example, you could ask those with last names A-M to bring something savory and those with last names N-Z to bring something sweet.

Think of grazing stations as the stationery version of passed appetizers. So set up a beautiful buffet of everything from classic cheese and charcuterie to easy-to-eat foods like mini bruschetta toasts, empanadas, and sliders.

Make your water station feel a little bit more festive by filling your water dispensers with a beautiful combination of berries, herbs, and aromatics to create delicious infused waters. If you have the space for it, we suggest doing a few different flavor combinations (mint, cucumber, and berry are classics) — mom-to-be is sure to appreciate it!

Nobody said grazing stations have to be limited to savory foods! Set up a sweet grazing station by stocking a dessert bar with a whole host of sweet treats — you can’t go wrong with on-theme cake pops, cookies decorated in the shape of storks and rattles, or beautifully frosted cupcakes.

If you have a little bit of room to splurge in your party-planning budget, we love the idea of hiring a vendor to set up an ice cream or popsicle cart. Your guests will love it, and it will make for a super-cute photo op!

In addition to using baby books to decorate your tables, you could also request that each guest bring along their favorite baby book (complete with a little message for the growing family) to give along with their gift. Set up a table where guests can drop off books and see what others brought with them — it’s guaranteed to be a conversation starter!

We all know that babies tend to arrive on their own schedule, so why not turn it into a friendly competition? Set up a large calendar (Minted has a great selection of designs that match every type of shower theme), and stickers that guests can write their names on. Then, ask everyone to place their stickers on the day they think the baby will arrive. Bragging rights go to whoever gets the closest!

To play this game, designate a few volunteers to go around the shower with a spool of twine or ribbon and a measuring tape. Have them ask each guest to unroll and cut the amount of ribbon that they think matches the circumference of Mom’s belly. Once everyone has their guesses, measure mom and give the person who got the closest a prize. (It should go without saying, but not every mom-to-be may be comfortable with this game. Be sure to ask her ahead of time if this is something she’d enjoy before getting the competition started!)

If you’re hosting a group of creatively-minded folks, a nursery rhyme competition could be a fun and unexpected baby shower game to play. To keep the game from dragging on too long, have people split off into small groups to work together to write a short nursery rhyme (you could give them a prompt that relates to the theme of your shower if you think having a bit of extra inspiration would help) within a set time frame. Once time is up, have the expecting parents read each rhyme aloud and pick their favorite one.

Create a time capsule for the baby to open when they’re 18 by asking guests to bring along something that they think is particularly emblematic to them or their birth year. This could look like stickers referencing pop culture, funny T-shirts, pictures, and more — just be sure to specify that everyone should keep their contribution small so mom and dad aren’t left with a time capsule that takes up too much space.

Creating a craft station is a fun and non-traditional way to get guests involved during your baby shower! If your shower is happening outside, you could set up a space where guests can tie dye onesies and baby socks, or you could swap the dye for fabric pens and iron-on patches for something that would work just as well indoors.