Plan the perfect baby shower
Get planning tools and creative print templates for throwing a DIY baby shower
Support & Drivers
Introduction
We'll help you throw a baby shower that's fun for your guests—and the mom-to be—and easy for you. From a printable planning checklist and do-it-yourself invitations to decorations and baby shower games that people will actually want to play, we've got great ideas for a creative and affordable party.
Get started: baby shower planning checklist
Download this Baby Shower Planning Checklist to help you keep track of all the details—big and small—that make up a memorable baby shower.
Few people have the time or energy to sort through countless websites looking for baby shower ideas and planning support.
This Baby Shower Planning Checklist will get you started. It is a timeline-based planner that starts with "Decide on the date of the shower" (8-10 weeks before) and includes all the details you need to attend to, up until the day of the shower.
If you have party planning help, this document is a useful way to distribute tasks and keep everyone on track.
Find inspiration
You can find inspiration for a baby shower theme—or simply choose a color palette—from anything, including photos in a magazine, photos from other showers, and even invitation designs.
A theme can help you tie together the menu, décor, and invitations.
Search for baby shower photos on design blogs, online magazines, photo sharing sites like Flickr, and other online sources. Print those pictures from the Web that inspire you. You can even make a photo collage with colors, images, and ideas you like.
Keep the theme a surprise or share your ideas with the mom-to-be. Talk to her about the baby's room décor and use that as a theme. Bonus: Perhaps she can use some of the shower decorations in the baby's room later.
DIY invitations and thank-you cards
Printing your own invitations and thank-you cards (a gift for the new mom) is an affordable way to add a personal, heartfelt touch to the celebration. You'll find lots of designs at the HP Creative Studio.
Be sure to print the cards on a recommended paper that also works with your photo printer (see examples below).
Have the thank-you cards ready for the mom-to-be. Print out the invitation list, with complete addresses, to give to the honoree. Or address the envelopes for her.
Be sure to provide them to her before the party so she doesn't go out and buy her own (or after if the party is a surprise).
Choose a sturdy paper like HP Brochure and Flyer Paper for these Hot Mama Half-Fold Baby Shower Invitations.
Baby Blocks Thank-You Cards make a nice gift for the new mom—one less thing to think about before the baby is born.
DIY decorations and party favors
An inexpensive paper like HP Inkjet Multipurpose Paper will work for these Paper Butterflies from Martha Stewart.
Decorate the walls and adorn gifts (and even cocktails) with decorations you make yourself.
You'll find dozens of free templates at the HP Creative Studio.
- Make Paper Butterflies or Paper Flowers to decorate walls, drinks, favor bags—or anything that could use a flutter of beauty!
- Print your own Favor Boxes and Bags to fill with homemade treats.
- Print Decorative Votive Candle Wraps. You can send the candles home with guests and ask them to light their candle when the mom-to-be goes into labor.
- For a "B is for Baby" alphabet theme, you could print some paper Baby Block Decorations and create an Alphabet Banners.
Choose a sturdy paper like HP Brochure and Flyer Paper for these Baby Block Decorations.
You can also use HP Brochure and Flyer Paper for these Decorative Votive Candle Wraps. Or you can experiment with a craft paper, like vellum.
Add photos to make any gift more personal
Our printable baby shower games and activities range from the fun (Motherhood Trivia Test and Guess the Baby's… game) to the practical (Phone Tree, and Post-Birth 'Meals On Wheels' Sign-up Sheet).
There are so many baby shower ideas, themes, and games online, that it's easy to get overwhelmed.
Use these print-and-go templates:
- Guess the Baby's… weight, length, birth date, and gender. There's also space for guests to record well wishes and create drawings of what they think the little one will look like.
- Phone Tree to let attendees know when the mother has gone into labor.
- Post-Birth 'Meals On Wheels' Sign-Up Sheet. The new parents will appreciate any meal they don't have to pay for and prepare.
- Motherhood Trivia Test. "What was the most popular girl's baby name in 1989?" Ashley? Jessica? What percent of babies are born on their due date?
Save money by printing activities on an everyday paper like HP Inkjet Multipurpose paper.
Create a wish tree
Ask your guests to leave the new mom and baby a message.
Create some baby wish tree tags on heavy paper that resists tearing, like HP Brochure and Flyer Paper. Then have your guests leave you and/or your new baby a message—could be a message of love, wisdom about life, or a special memory of their mother.
Punch holes so you can hang them from something like branches or a clothesline. Then use cotton string or ribbon for hanging.
You can keep the cards simple, or dress them up with a little ribbon or emboss them with a stamp.
Baby shower keepsake book
A baby shower scrapbook is something the new mother will enjoy long after the shower has passed and the baby is born.
Create a collage or scrapbook (wishes for the baby, recipes from the shower, photos, etc).
- Gather scrap-booking supplies and encourage guests to bring photographs, recipes, and other memorabilia from the friendships.
- The project of the party will be to adorn the pages of a keepsake book for the mother to take home.
- Use a heavy photo paper like HP Premium Plus Photo Paper. It produces vibrant, professional-quality photos that the new mother can treasure for generations.
Get more ideas for creating photo books and scrapbooks.
Baby shower photo fun
Before the baby shower, ask one of the baby shower guests—someone who enjoys taking photos—to document the entire event.
Capture the details that can make a celebration so special. Whether it's a beautiful flower arrangement or handmade party favors.
Some other ideas:
- Provide a backdrop and fun props.
- Hand out disposable cameras to guests as they arrive, and then collect them as guests depart. You'll catch moments you may have missed with only one camera.
- Document the entire celebration to help you tell a complete story with your photos.
- Make Photo Thank-You Cards for the mom-to-be featuring pictures from the shower.
Get more tips for photographing celebrations.
Stock up on ink and save
Before you begin printing invitations and decorations, be sure you have plenty of ink on hand. To save money, consider HP high-capacity (XL) ink cartridges, which allow you to get 2-3 times more prints with fewer cartridge replacements.1 You can also save 10% with ink multipacks2 and 20% on ink and paper when you purchase these supplies together in HP Photo Value Packs.3 Get free shipping next business day with no minimum when you order from the Home and Home office store on HP.com
Not sure what supplies to get for your printer? Just enter your printer information, or the toner or ink you need, to find the specific supplies for your particular printer directly from the HP Home & Home Office online store!
Learn more
- Choose the right paper for your printer.
- Get 10 easy ways to save money on printing.
- Our photo composition tips will improve every photo you take.
- 1Compared with the standard, single HP ink cartridges. See: www.hp.com/go/learnaboutsupplies
- 2Compared with single, standard HP ink cartridges. Based on average retail pricing. Actual retail pricing may vary.
- 3Compared with purchasing ink and photo paper separately.