Baby showers can get expensive, yet they don’t have to. So, how do you plan a baby shower on a budget?
Well, we did the research and gathered everything for you!
But I’ll let you in on a little secret first.
Baby showers can be fun, but they can also be utterly boring. So, what’s the secret to planning and having an amazingly fun baby shower everyone will talk about for years to come?
It’s the people and the atmosphere.
Having the right people, in the right atmosphere, will bring your baby shower from an “okay” to a “wowzah”.
So, keep this in mind while you go through these amazing tips and ideas on how to plan a baby shower on a budget!
Have a Small Number of Guests
Keep your guest list on the smaller side. This will help cut down on costs and provide a more private and personal atmosphere.
Hence, the more comfortable people are, the more open and fun they will become. Giving you that fun and amazing vibe you are looking for.
Even if the honorary mother has lots of friends, see that none overlap. If they are already giving her a work-shower, all those friends and people have already celebrated, so inviting them will be unnecessary on your part!
Create a guest list, and go through it not once, but a few times. Really thinking about the people, their characters, and if they can even make it on time.
Ladies Only!
Keep it to the ladies! Cutting it down to the basics will really help cut your costs. All the boyfriends, husbands, and children can survive on their own for a little while.
A little tip: Have somebody organize a get together for the “outcasts”. This way they won’t feel left out and will have a great time spent together!
So, even though co-ed baby showers are becoming more popular nowadays, keep it traditional and only to the ladies!
Send Digital Invites
Skip the old school paper invites and go digital. This can bring your costs from over $100 for invites to $0.
Plus, digital invites are so much more “mainstream” and “hip”. Plus, think about all the paper and ink you are saving. It’s a win-win situation, right?
Not a designer and dread the idea of designing your own invite from scratch? Using a design space such as Canva will make your life 100 times easier with pre-planned out templates.
Once you are ready to go, use Evite or Paperless Post to design and send out all your invites from one website!
Get Co-hosts
One of the easiest yet most rewarding tips is to get co-hosts to help plan. Get other relatives or friends involved and use their strengths and talents to plan the baby shower.
Somebody loves cooking and is amazing with food planning? Have them in charge of the food.
The sister of the honorary mother is very outgoing and absolutely loves party games? Ask her to be in charge of games and such.
Somebody so talented in decorating and DIYs? Get them to help with the décor.
You get the idea…
Using people’s strengths and distributing the tasks will make your job easier, plus this will automatically distribute the cost of a baby shower on multiple people, bringing your expenses down.
Let People Help
Most people genuinely want to help, so let them! Get them in on the action, even if it means they bring small things like napkins, plates, cups, and cutlery.
Getting co-hosts will also enable people to help. If they are too afraid to ask you, they might ask somebody else to get in on the action.
Host at Home or at the Park
Hosting the baby shower at a home, in a backyard, or even at a nice park will cut your costs greatly. If your house isn’t big enough to host a gathering, consider asking a co-host if they would be up for providing the space.
Most venues will come out to around $100 per hour, including the time needed to set up and get everything ready. If you have a baby shower that takes 3 hours, plus set up and take down, can you imagine the bill?
Phew, no thank you.
Hosting it at home will make it easier for you with transporting all the food and décor, plus it will give a homier and comfier feel.
For hosting it in a park, continue reading for some more perks of doing it outside!
Determine the Time of Day
Consider what time you will be hosting the party and the outcome on the type of food, décor, and everything else needed.
If you host in the afternoon, people most likely be needing a full meal. Especially if they know they will be coming over in the afternoon, people tend to stay light on lunch to be fully indulged in the yummy food. Admit it, you’ve done this.
If you host the party more during the morning or brunch time, small appetizers and snacks will suffice as most people won’t be hungry as they have just eaten breakfast. So, you can be sure that most of them had at least something little at home before coming.
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Potluck Style
This is my favorite tip out of all of them, as I am such a huge fan of potlucks. Everybody brings their best recipe and favorite food, and you get to try a huge variety of new foods and recipes you might never even have considered.
For me, this was a homemade bean dip for nachos. Never wanted to try it until I was at a potluck, but now I love it and truly enjoy the recipe!
Having a set theme such as “pregnancy cravings”, “BBQ”, or “tea party” lets you keep all the foods in the same category and keeps it looking more put together.
Simple Build-your-own Buffet
If a potluck is not an option, having a simple build-your-own buffet-style meal will make it easier for you and everybody involved.
Having a taco, burger, sandwich, or hotdog bar will enable everyone to prep their own food to their liking. And all you must do is provide the necessary ingredients! It’s as simple as that!
Shop Food at Warehouses
If you are providing food for the guests, shop in bulk at warehouses such as Costco or Sam’s club. This will give you more food at a lesser price and is one of the top ways I can save huge amounts of money on bigger parties.
We recently hosted a baby gender reveal for a family member, with over 10 adults and all their children. Buying everything in bulk at Costco enabled me to save over $40 on food, with a huge number of leftovers that fed my family for 3 more days!
Visit Local Dollar Stores for Décor
Dollar stores are my go-to place for anything small and party-oriented. They have amazing deals at such an amazingly low price. For one time use you won’t need top quality, and most of the time people don’t spend too much time staring at the décor.
Check out your local dollar store before buying more expensive party props at the general store or online.
DIY your Décor
Even better, search up DIY’s relating to the décor you were wanting. This lets you get high quality, amazingly cheap décor, and is fun to do in the process.
There are so many ideas on Pinterest and YouTube, where with simple materials and a few minutes amazing creations are the outcome!
Not crafty? That is where the co-host thing comes into play, hint hint.
Use Venues with no Decorations Needed
Choosing venues where little decoration is needed lets you save on the cost of décor.
Having the baby shower in a garden gives you a beautiful background, pretty flowers, and the beauty of nature as décor.
Choosing a pricier venue such as a party room that is pre-decorated might drop your price of décor. Do some investigating and see if it will be worth it. Really depends where you live and what venues are available.
DIY or Foodie Favors
Whether you are wanting to provide favors or not, making them a DIY activity or providing foodie favors such as cookies will enable you to save huge amounts of money.
Baking a batch of chocolate chunk cookies or even fancier, macarons, turn out to be cheaper than buying certain favors such as candles or makeup samples for everyone.
Look at your guest list, see the people who will attend and go from there, their likes, and what they will be happy about.
Feeling more prepared? Hope these tips helped get you set up on how to plan a baby shower on a budget.
If you have any other ideas or suggestions on how you cut the costs on your baby shower, feel free to let me know in the comments below!
Until next time,
Celina
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These are some wonderful tips. I totally agree with doing DIY decor as they add up to the cost. Love the photos in the blog
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Hello Sushma, thank you for your feedback. I totally agree, there are so many brilliantly cheap ways to make decor easily at home. Even for those non crafty people!