Planning a baby shower usually starts with the basics: choosing a venue and date, putting together a guest list, deciding what to serve, and figuring out decorations. Once those important decisions are made, there are plenty of ways to make your loved one’s shower feel more personal!
If you’re planning a baby shower in Rhode Island, you don’t need an elaborate theme or a long list of activities to make your day stand out. Instead, focus on a few details that fit the parents-to-be and give guests something they’ll enjoy. Here are six unique baby shower ideas to consider.
1. Welcome Guests With Something Unexpected
A great shower begins before everyone has even found their seats! A welcome drink or station gives guests something to grab when they arrive and can be easily customized based on the season, location, or parents-to-be.
At Galilee Beach Club, one option we love is a Del’s Lemonade welcome station. It’s a fun Rhode Island touch for local guests — and gives out-of-towners the chance to try it for potentially the first time.
No pressure to build your entire theme around it, either. Oftentimes one recognizable local detail is more than enough!
2. Make Dessert More Interactive
Cake is always an option, but it doesn’t have to be the only one. For example, an ice cream bar is one way to turn dessert into something guests can customize themselves. Be sure to offer different flavors and toppings, and let everyone make their own combination.
Galilee Beach Club can easily incorporate an ice cream bar into a baby shower, either as the main dessert or alongside other sweets. It’s a simple addition that works particularly well for a daytime event — and gives some choice in what they’re having. We’re proud to work with local ice cream parlor Baron’s in Narragansett.
Remember: when you’re considering baby shower dessert ideas, think beyond what looks good in photos and choose something the parents and guests will actually want to eat. An ice cream bar gives you both!
3. Choose Food That Fits the Shower
There’s no hard and fast rule that says every baby shower needs the same type of menu. It’s important to think about the time of day, number of guests, and overall format of the event first. A brunch shower may call for a completely different menu than an afternoon gathering, while a larger event might benefit from a different setup than a small shower with close family and friends.
At GBC, our in-house catering team can customize menus based on what you have in mind. Instead of starting with what you think you’re “supposed to” serve at a baby shower, consider what makes sense for your particular event and guest list!
4. Let the Venue Handle Some of the Decorating
It’s easy to become overwhelmed with baby shower decorations, especially when there are so many themes and ideas to choose from. That said, if you’ve selected a venue with a setting you already like, you don’t necessarily have to decorate every inch of the space!
At Galilee Beach Club, the beach and water are already visible from the dining room — it makes for a beautiful backdrop. You can build on it by focusing on a few details such as flowers, table settings, signage, and decorations tied to the new baby’s nursery or shower theme.
Plus, we have plenty of decor ready to go for you to choose from. We also have in-house floral and stationery options to make this part of the planning process even easier… and unique to you.
5. Pick Activities Guests Will Actually Enjoy
Baby shower activities don’t have to mean scheduling a bunch of traditional games you’re unsure people will even want to participate in.
If games aren’t a good fit for your group, there are plenty of other ways to get your guests involved! You could ask everyone to write a piece of advice for the new parents, make fun predictions about the baby’s arrival, bring a children’s book instead of a card, or set up a simple photo or guest-book station. And if the parents would love some traditional baby shower games? Include one or two.
Your goal shouldn’t be to keep guests busy every minute. Choose activities that suit the group and leave ample time for people to eat, talk, and spend time together.
6. Include Something Personal to the Parents
Some of the best baby shower ideas come from the parents themselves. Maybe there’s a dessert they love, a family recipe that could be included in the menu, a flower that’s meaningful to them, or colors they’ve chosen for the nursery. Those details will make the event feel a lot more personal than simply choosing whatever baby shower theme happens to be popular at the moment.
You don’t need many of them — one or two personal details can be enough to make the shower feel specific to the people (and new baby!) you’re celebrating.
How to Bring Your Baby Shower Ideas Together
You also don’t need to use every idea on this list! Choose two or three details you really like and build from there. For example, a Del’s Lemonade welcome station, ice cream bar, and simple guest-book activity give guests three different experiences without requiring an elaborate schedule or theme.
Starting with a few priorities can also make the rest of the planning easier. Once you’ve decided what’s important, you can make choices about food, decorations, and activities around those elements.
Planning a Baby Shower at Galilee Beach Club
Galilee Beach Club hosts baby showers in Narragansett and can work with you on the food, setup, and details that fit your plans. From a Del’s welcome station to an ice cream bar, there are plenty of ways to customize the event without making it overly complicated.
You don’t have to go overboard with dozens of elaborate details to make a baby shower feel special. Focus on what the parents-to-be will enjoy, choose a few ideas that make sense for your guests, and build the rest of the event around them.
Interested in hosting a baby shower at Galilee Beach Club? Contact our events team today to start planning 🙂
