With the ongoing COVID-nineteen pandemic, many moms-to-exist are planning virtual babe showers in lieu of in-person parties. And while these online gatherings work a little differently, the intent is the same: to celebrate you and babe. Virtual abdomen rubs it is!

Although the concept has taken off more recently, virtual baby showers aren't completely new. Many moms have opted for online celebrations in the past to connect with family unit and friends who can't get in to an in-person event.

Take Teresa Cox, 34, a stay-at-domicile mom to a 4-year-old boy and blogger at Merely Made Fun. Cox held a virtual baby shower a few years agone because she had a high-risk pregnancy and couldn't travel to the West Coast to be with her husband's family unit. "My mother-in-law was the one who came up with the idea of a virtual shower so that anybody could feel like they were a part of the celebration," she says.

"The key advantage to a virtual event is that no i has to travel, a bigger group can be invited and information technology's much less expensive compared to [an in-person] event," says Kurt Perschke, possessor of WebBabyShower, a virtual baby shower service that offers invitations, a customizable website and born games. (WebBabyShower is offering What to Await readers x percent off their services.)

Hosting a Virtual Baby Shower

What is a virtual baby shower?

Well, virtual babe showers don't center around food, though attendees are certainly welcome to make upwards a plate and swallow at their leisure. Whatvolition happen is that everyone will log in at the appointed time to celebrate you lot and babe from afar. Here, a step-by-step guide to planning your perfect virtual babe shower.

Choose your virtual baby shower "venue"

Start, decide on a site that everyone tin apply for a alive video chat, such as Skype, Google Hangouts or Zoom, says Perschke. Some loved ones may not exist tech-savvy, and so it's smart to test the service ahead of time to work out any potential problems.

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Stick with something that you notice easy to use and one you're fairly confident that, say, your elderly grandma volition be able to piece of work. "Don't endeavor to reinvent the bicycle here," he says.

We recommend using Zoom for your virtual shower video chat, since the platform offers fun options to customize your background. Just go along in mind that Zoom calls are capped at twoscore minutes unless y'all have a paid subscription.

Don't fret, though: If y'all prefer to stick with the gratuitous selection, you'll still take enough of fourth dimension to fit a virtual babe shower video conversation in that timeframe. Learn more than by checking out our guide to using Zoom, and go fun virtual backgrounds for your online baby shower.

Create your virtual baby shower timeline

Although you don't have to stick to a strict timeline, you may observe information technology helpful to take a general schedule to keep the effect running smoothly. Hither are ii alternate virtual shower timelines to consider, depending on how much fourth dimension you have:

If you have 40 minutes

  • eleven–11:05 a.m. Catch up with those who "arrive" to the chat early, and allow everyone figure out how to navigate the video call and prep for the party.
  • 11:05–11:25 a.grand. Let the games begin! (Scroll down for more game and prize ideas.)
  • 11:25-xi:35: Open gifts, if yous're choosing to practise and so. (If y'all'd prefer non to open gifts during your virtual shower, you can skip this step and devote some other 10 minutes to games.)
  • 11:35–11:forty a.1000. Virtual goodbyes!

If you have ninety minutes

  • eleven–11:10 a.m. Take hold of up with those who "arrive" to the chat early on, and permit anybody figure out how to navigate the video telephone call and prep for the party.
  • 11:x a.m.–12 p.1000. Let the games begin! (See the bottom of the page for game and prize ideas.)
  • 12–12:20 p.1000. Open gifts, if you're choosing to practise so. (If y'all'd prefer non to open gifts during your virtual shower, yous can skip this step and devote another 20 minutes to games.)
  • 12:xx–12:30 p.m. Virtual goodbyes!

Send out virtual babe shower invitations

Next, information technology's fourth dimension to engage someone to send out baby shower invitations. That can be you!

"Over one-half of our customers are moms themselves," says Perschke. There's a different baby shower etiquette at play with virtual parties, and it'south totally acceptable to take ownership over your experience and throw one yourself.

To go along with the virtual theme, consider sending east-vites, such equally from Paperless Mail service or Minted.

Prepare your baby registry

If you haven't already done then, now is a nifty time to create your baby registry. Y'all may too want to include a link to it on your invitation. Many moms-to-exist already adopt online babe registries.

If yous don't take i even so, browse the best online baby registries and review a baby registry checklist to brand sure you have everything y'all'll need in one case infant arrives.

Consider virtual baby shower decorations

Decorating for a virtual shower is optional, but information technology might assistance you experience festive to put up a few decorations in the area where yous'll be hosting the live video chat.

For Cox, her mother-in-police force (who hosted) sent her a box a week before the party filled with everything she needed to set up, similar wall decorations, cute napkins and the supplies she'd need for games and prizes. This alleviated her demand to do any prep.

Moms-to-be have besides gotten creative with Zoom's virtual backgrounds. Here's a diversity of options to fit the theme of your virtual baby shower — experience free to download them for your party. Don't forget to include the link to download so other guests tin can feature the background, too! You'll find even more than backgrounds in our Zoom infant shower guide.

virtual zoom background it's a girl

virtual zoom background it's a boy

Plan virtual baby shower games and activities

  • Gauge the Number.The host holds up a jar filled with sweets (likd K&Ms, jelly beans or Hershey's Kisses) and asks guests to guess how many are within.
  • The Price Is Right. The host holds up various baby items (such as a onesie, bottle or toy) and guests estimate how much they cost. (Cox played this one at her virtual shower, and noted that it "got anybody talking and laughing because of how different prices are now compared to when some of them had kids.")
  • Name That Babe Song. The host plays different nursery rhymes or popular baby songs and guests try to gauge the name every bit quickly as they can.
  • Who'southward That Babe? Before the call starts, ask guests to email photos of themselves as babies to the host. The host shares them with the group and everyone tries to guess who is who.
  • How Well Practise You Know Mom? Use the downloadable template below to quiz guests on how well they know the mom-to-be.
  • The Celebrity Baby Proper name Game. Utilize the downloadable template below to match celebrity baby names with the celebrity mom.

For prizes, nix is easier than e-gift cards: Send winners a gift carte for their next nutrient delivery via DoorDash, some bucks to spend at Sephora or an Amazon credit, which tin can assistance purchase just most anything.

virtual baby shower game

virtual baby shower games

Take a virtual baby shower guest book

You lot too have an opportunity to get creative with a virtual "guest book" for your shower. Try this Google Slides guest book template that you tin copy, customize and transport to your guests to make full out.

All yous have to exercise is open the link, click "File," "Brand a copy" and "Entire presentation." You tin can so edit the information and send it off to guests. Ask them to fill in their advice for the mom-to-be before or during the shower.

Here's what the guest book will expect like:

virtual baby shower guest book

virtual baby guest book

Should y'all open gifts at a virtual baby shower?

Every bit for presents, you can choose what y'all'd like to practice. There are a few options: Your relatives and friends can open upwards the gifts they "brought" to the party and show them to you onscreen (and so mail them later), or they can send gifts ahead of fourth dimension for yous to open on the chat.

"Some moms want to open presents over alive video, but others don't want to focus on that. A virtual shower is much more flexible than a traditional one," says Perschke.

Send virtual infant shower thank you notes

Don't forget to say thank you! Momshoped-for should thank their friends and relatives for attending with a thoughtful notation.

To help brand the process easier, download and use the templates below to say "Cheers!"

virtual baby shower thank you note

virtual baby shower thank you note

virtual baby shower thank you note