A baby shower is a charming tradition that welcomes a new baby into the world and also prepares the parents-to-be for an exciting time ahead. There are a lot of expecting mothers that think of this time as the last time they can have a bit of enjoyment sans the responsibility of family, so it's a very special time indeed.
The baby shower usually is the responsibility of the couple's friends, not of their family. That's because if the family is giving the party, it looks like they are trying to solicit gifts for the expecting mothers.
Now, with that said, the friends are bound to be every bit as busy as the parents-to-be. That makes for pretty difficult party planning and execution for just one person. Thank goodness for such things as potlucks. Actually, if each part of the baby shower is shared, it makes all the guests feel that they've contributed a lot for the main celebrant and they'd be more apt to enjoy the party, too. The first thing to do is to settle on the theme of the baby shower and then everything can be taken from there.
If you want the theme of the party to be potluck, an old and fun way of adapting that concept completely was to go from one house to the next for a course in the meal, a game, and finally opening the gifts in the mother-to-be's home with coffee, tea, and something sweet. This type of baby shower is bound to take most of the day, for sure, but it's a playful and diverting excursion. It also takes the expecting mom out of the house, something she'd be bound to appreciate.
What other parts of the baby shower can be done in the potluck way? Not the invitations, certainly, but food, decorating, games, and music can all be bits of work divided among the guests. For example, each person can be assigned to bring a dish based on the theme, and then straws can be drawn to see who will help in the decorating, take charge of the games, and bring the music.
Let's say eight guests are showing up for a baby shower. Divide the food among six of them – four savory types and two sweet. The other two guests bring two different types of drinks, maybe one alcoholic and one not, or two different kinds of non-alcoholic drinks. Four people can take care of the decorating, maybe just simple centerpieces on the table, coordinating tablecloths, napkins, and tableware, and a few pretties for the food table. Two people can take charge of thinking up a few interesting or funny games and bringing whatever will be needed to play them, and the other two can look for great music – one slow selection to listen to during mealtime and a faster selection for the games and fun time.
See? An easy baby shower can be had with the help of potluck. And
it didn't really take that much time than personally getting ready
for the shower itself.