Dora, Pink, or Lavender?

Planning your friend’s baby shower? It is better that you be well prepared for this occasion, as this is one event you do not want to goof up. It is surely hard work to organize the perfect baby shower these days. Ten years ago, it was all about sweets and biryanis, blessings and well wishes. Not anymore though. Today, baby showers require staying in touch with the current trends and themes. Themes are so very important. To stay on the good side of your friend, make sure you get the theme just right. Babies are special; the incessant joy of having a baby deserves a befitting celebration. Not knowing the gender of your unborn child is not chic anymore. By now, your friend has probably ascertained the gender of her unborn child, and the graphic ultrasound is proudly displayed on the refrigerator door for all to see. That God for technology, or else how could you have possibly color-schemed her baby shower. After all, neutral colors are so not in fashion any more. The old standards are still pretty commonplace. Blue for boys, and pink for girls. However, if you want to be on top of your game, be bold and choose teal for boys, and definitely, lavender for girls.

It is time now to set a date for the baby shower. Setting the right date is very crucial. If it is too early, there is no fun, as your friend won’t be showing much. However, be sure not to wait too long. For one, she may be showing a bit too much, and second, her baby may decide to be a spoilsport and jump ahead of schedule. The trick is to pick a date in between the morning sickness and the ‘any day now’ zone. Keep close tabs on the progress of your friend’s pregnancy and you should be able to time the event perfectly.

After setting the date, hand out the invitations to all her family and friends. Remember the way to invite is through the mail. Don’t be a regular and call up the guests. The impact of receiving an invitation in the mail is unparalleled. If there is a poet in you somewhere, churn out a stanza or two, which both reads like an invitation, and brings out an ‘awwww….cute!’ from the reader. If however, you are poetically challenged, feel free to refer to the professionals. If you crave to be different, at the expense of looking weird, send out copies of the friend’s ultrasound to go along with the invites. How you get hold of the ultrasound is for you to think about. With the baby’s image on the invitations, it would be like the unborn child calling out from within. How cool is that!

The most arduous phase of the baby shower is the shopping. Plates, forks, cups, and napkins: everything on the table has to match the theme color. If you really want to go off on a tangent, you can opt for a ‘character-driven’ theme, as opposed to a color theme. Pick one of the characters some kid is obsessed with, and you are likely to find a lot more matching items. This may also turn out to be an economically wise decision if you have a toddler whose birthday is coming up in the near future. However, be warned that this strategy could backfire on you, as it is common knowledge that ‘character themes’ are reserved for kids’ birthdays, and if you introduce that in a baby shower, it is most likely to gather scorn. On the other hand, if your friend and her cohorts are the simple kind (very few left worldwide), they may earnestly appreciate the gesture and miss out on your dual intent. Nevertheless, just like most men would frown if you gift them a ‘One Man Show’ cologne, chances are, your friend will not be too pleased walking into a room full of Dora or Wiggles, thrown just about everywhere. Therefore, I highly recommend the color scheme instead. Also, I’m not too sure if you can easily get a Wiggles maternity suit yet.

You will definitely need a new dress for the expectant mother. Your friend, supposedly, will have no clue about the occasion, and may be dressed completely out of theme. If there is no matching dress that she can be thrust into after the surprise is over, it will be the most boring thing ever. Be sure to get something that brings out the child in her (I don’t mean it literally, of course). She may have put on 30 pounds during the pregnancy, but everybody else does not need to see that. Look for something that masks the extra pounds around the hips. Don’t worry too much about the bulge in front. This is the only time she can show it gracefully and be proud of it, so let her make the most of it. Even though she will not be able to see them herself, matching shoes are not to be neglected. They could be anything comfortable, but keep in mind the color scheme.

Now this takes care of most of the stuff. I am sure you don’t need any pointers on the food. No qorma and taftaan. Baby showers call for Russian salad, sandwiches, tiramisu, and punch. Each item should be scarce in quantity, but preciously presented; to make them all look like delicacies. Baby showers are perfect occasions for games, so scour the Internet for innovative games for your guests to play and get embarrassed at the same time. They could be asked to cry like a baby, guess the circumference of your friend’s belly, or walk like her for 30 seconds. While all of this is going on, you can put your feet up and relax. You deserve a pat on the back for hosting such a wonderful baby shower… and aren’t you glad you stuck with lavender?