blonde pregnant young woman holding her belly is sitting between two brunette female friends looking at an ipad.

How to Throw a Virtual Baby Shower

Published on July 9th, 2021 and Updated on February 29th, 2024

Check out SneakPeek Gender Test to find out your baby’s gender as early as 6 weeks at over 99% accuracy1!

The months leading up to your little one’s big arrival are typically filled with stock-piling diapers, prepping the nursery, (moderately panicking), and of course, celebrating the newest member of your family with your loved ones. But after the uncertainty and stress of the past year, you may still feel anxious about throwing a baby shower, especially if guests have to travel far to attend.

If you’re not ready to be smothered by great aunts and distant cousins (or if you simply want to celebrate without leaving the comfort of your couch), you can always move the party to a virtual venue—the internet. In this guide, we’ll discuss how to host your baby shower digitally and incorporate creative ways to make it a memorable virtual event for you and your loved ones.

Virtual Baby Showers 101 

Video call technology has existed for years, allowing people around the world to connect across long distances. Prior to 2020, video calls were mostly used to keep in touch with family members or touch base with coworkers in meetings. In 2020, safety protocols and social distancing measures led to an uptick in this method of communication across larger groups, for bigger events than ever before. It’s now become commonplace to use video calls to celebrate everything from birthdays to graduations to baby showers. 

Expectant moms are seeing the many benefits virtual showers have to offer. Unlike traditional, in-person baby showers, virtual showers allow Moms-to-be to:

  • Invite all their nearest and dearest, no matter how far away they may live
  • Save money on catering, decor, and venues
  • Celebrate with loved ones (without putting on real pants)

In many ways, a virtual baby shower can also be easier to plan than an in-person event. Since the party takes place online, you don’t have to consider what weekends will work for out-of-town guests or worry about choosing the perfect catering menu.

With all the time you save not party planning, you can finally paint your nursery or figure out the complexities of your baby’s stroller (seriously, how do those things fold up?). 

To throw a successful online baby shower, all you need is internet access, a reliable video chat platform, the company of the people who mean the most to you, and our handy, 4-step virtual baby shower guide. 

Step 1: Choose a Virtual Venue for Your Baby Shower

There are many options for video calls, but to accommodate guests whose tech savviness ranges from an IT professional to elderly luddite, try to choose a simple, user-friendly platform. You may even want to ask your guests which platforms they know how to use and choose the most popular one. Technical difficulties are the last thing you’ll want to deal with on your special day.

Here are some user-friendly online platforms for hosting your virtual baby shower:

  • Zoom – Zoom has dominated many users’ professional and social lives during the pandemic, and it’s easy to see why. Not only is the platform user-friendly, but it can also accommodate up to 100 devices in one virtual room. That means there’s space for even your most distant cousins, as well as all of your mom’s friends (and her third cousin, and her favorite coworker, and her mailman). If 100 guests in one room sounds a little too overwhelming, don’t worry. Zoom also allows you to create breakout rooms to separate guests into groups.  

Although free Zoom calls are capped at 40 minutes, you can always open a new room after your time has expired, but keep in mind that your guests will have to rejoin your new meeting. Alternatively, you can pay for unlimited time.

  • Google Meet – Google’s video conferencing service surpasses Zoom with the ability to host up to 250 participants, while also allowing for separate breakout rooms. However, as of June 30, 2021, free unlimited calls on the service will be capped to 60 minutes. You and your guests will also need Google accounts if you choose to Google Meet, but luckily, these are fairly easy to set up.
  • Facebook Messenger Rooms – For baby showers with guest lists that are too extensive for standard Facebook Messenger calls, Facebook’s Messenger Rooms can host up to 50 people. With Facebook Messenger Rooms, you don’t have to go digging through old files or searching through your email to track down everyone’s email address. Simply create a room and choose which Facebook friends you want to invite! The best part? There’s no time limit, and you don’t need a Facebook account to use this service.
  • Discord – For a smaller baby shower with guests who are tech-savvy fans of virtual party games, Discord can host your celebration. This platform supports online games such as Codenames (a team-based word-guessing game) or Mario Kart (a classic racing game). It can host up to 25 people at a time and allows for the creation of breakout rooms for your virtual baby shower games. 

Discord’s game overlay feature also makes it easy to identify who’s speaking even when you’re playing a fun game full-screen and can’t take your eyes off the prize.

Step 2: Organize Your Guest List and Invites

Although your guests’ travel to your baby shower may only consist of rolling out of their beds and walking into the living room, it’s still helpful to send an official baby shower invitation giving plenty of notice rather than a last-minute group text. Ideally, send invites at least one month in advance.

By sending formal invites, you can ensure your guests have ample time to clear space in their calendars and choose the perfect gift from your baby registry. Plus, when guests have more time to order and ship your gifts, you’re more likely to receive them before the day of your party. 

To stay on the virtual train, consider sending e-vites in place of, or in addition to, paper invites. Your electronic invitations can even include a link to your virtual room so that guests can simply click on the link when they’re ready to join rather than typing in a room code manually. 

Digital invitations can be sent through platforms such as:

  • Paperless Post
  • Evite
  • Minted

Once you have a list of RSVPs, you’ll have a better idea of how many people to expect, as well as the best party games to play based on your numbers. 

Step 3: Plan Party Activities

Virtual baby showers make it possible to invite guests from all over the world to your celebration, but this unique advantage also comes with its fair share of obstacles. You may be trying to carry on a conversation with your best friend from college while your dad’s telling your uncle about his new speaker system. Or perhaps the Pacific Standard shower time you thought was ideal isn’t exactly optimal for your relatives across the pond. 

Fortunately, you don’t have to limit your guest list or host multiple showers to encourage conversation and include all your loved ones. Instead, you can organize your guests into groups, and either give each group a separate time slot to join the call, or use a platform that supports virtual breakout rooms to spend time with each group separately. 

You can sort groups based on:

  • Familiarity (for instance, grouping your college friends together)
  • Shared interests (a great icebreaker for those who don’t know each other)
  • Time zone 

By organizing your shower this way, you can ensure you spend time talking with each guest. Afterwards, you can bring everyone together for the ultimate group activity—playing games.   

Put a digital spin on a traditional baby shower with games such as:

  • Guess the Baby Food – Taste unlabeled jars of baby food on camera and have your guests guess the flavor based on the color, consistency, and look on your face. (Let’s hope you’re craving mashed carrots that day).
  • “Who’s That Baby?” – To play this game, ask guests to send baby photos of themselves when they RSVP. During the party, you can all have a blast guessing who the apple-cheeked baby in the bunny onesie is.
  • The Price is Right – Have your attendees guess the retail price for various baby items you’ve recently purchased. To create more of a challenge, mix in pictures of outrageous luxury baby items.

Keep track of the winners so you can mail them prizes afterwards. Websites like Etsy offer beautiful and unique prize ideas from vendors who can even do the mailing for you. Consider sending scented candles, handmade soaps, or packets of your favorite flower seeds (so your winner can grow their own little miracle). 

But your baby shower isn’t only about celebrating your baby. It’s also about celebrating you! (You know, the person doing all the baby making). Feel free to add nyour party as well. 

Some popular virtual party games include:

  • Skribbl.io – This game challenges your inner artist as friends try to guess the mystery word you have to draw. 
  • Jackbox TV Games – From answering trivia questions to creating the best puns, Jackbox offers various fun group party games. 
  • Drawful – Like Skribbl.io, Drawful presents each player with a unique drawing prompt, but unlike Skribbl.io, you don’t get an eraser. 
  • Cards Against Humanity – This popular NSFW card game can now be played virtually, but you may want to wait until Grandma leaves the party.  

Share the Spotlight 

While playing virtual games allows you to shower all your guests with baby shower fun, opening your gifts on camera can feel a little less inclusive. Plus, without the typical mingling that can take place during an in-person shower, you may experience lulls in conversation that can bring your party to a halt. 

Instead of gift-opening during your virtual shower, consider passing the mic to your friends and family. Set aside time for your guests to:

  • Give parenting advice
  • Share a special message for the parents-to-be
  • Reminisce over meaningful memories of your own childhood 

You can even ask attendees to send special messages along with their gifts. Then, you can open your gifts and read the messages out loud so that guests can guess who they think gave the advice or shared the memory. No matter what you choose, be sure to have a box of tissues at the ready. 

Step 4: Spice Up Your Shower 

You’re not a regular mom—you’re a cool mom. Your shower can reflect that. Check out some of our favorite in-person and virtual baby shower ideas for adding a little spice to your shower and putting all other digital celebrations to shame.

  • Choose a signature drink – Although you and your guests may not be in the same room, you can still enjoy the same drinks. Send around a tasty signature mocktail recipe for your guests to mix at home.
  • Set a dress code – Want to pretend you’re celebrating your baby on a tropical island and ask everyone to dress in their best Hawaiian shirts? Or maybe you want to feel like a queen who’s invited her subjects to an elegant tea party. No matter what you choose, setting a dress code for your virtual shower gives everyone an excuse to dress up for the big event.
  • Decorate – Consider hanging colorful bunting, balloons, or cutout letters on your wall to give your screen some festive flair. You can choose decor that matches your dress code or decor that reflects your baby’s gender. Consider reading our linked blogs on  baby shower themes for boys or baby shower themes for girls to get more ideas!

Looking to keep it simple? Take advantage of your video platform’s virtual background setting and send around a special baby shower backdrop for everyone to use.

Discover Your Baby’s Gender from the Comfort of Home with SneakPeek

As you prepare for all things baby, you’ll likely wonder about the growing bun in your oven. Through the power of our privacy-protected, DNA-based science, our tests offer a flash of your child’s future before she even arrives! First, the SneakPeek At-Home Early Gender Blood Test can determine your baby’s gender just 6 weeks into pregnancy. That’s months before your 20-week anatomy scan ultrasound, and it’s the only test on the market sensitive enough to do so! 

Even better? Our test is clinically-proven over 99% accurate1 and can easily be taken in the comfort of your own home, explaining why it’s the #1 OBGYN-recommended at-home fetal sex test. 

With science-backed, privacy-protected results you can trust, there’s no reason not to choose SneakPeek Test.

To learn more about your mini-you sooner than ever before, choose SneakPeek.

 

Sources:

  1. SlumberPod. 9 Steps for Hosting the Perfect Virtual Baby Shower. https://www.slumberpod.com/blogs/our-blog/9-steps-for-hosting-the-perfect-virtual-baby-shower
  2. Babylist. How to Throw a Virtual Baby Shower. https://www.babylist.com/hello-baby/virtual-baby-shower
  3. Parents. Virtual Baby Shower Ideas and Planning Tips. https://www.parents.com/baby/shower/idea-gallery/virtual-baby-shower-ideas/
blonde pregnant young woman holding her belly is sitting between two brunette female friends looking at an ipad.

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SneakPeek aims to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information to help our readers make informed decisions regarding their health before, during, and after pregnancy. This article was written based upon trusted scientific research studies and/or articles. Credible information sources for this article are cited and hyperlinked.

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