A baby shower can be a really fun occasion, and more and more people are now of the opinion that it shouldn’t just be for the ladies! While your male friends or the friends of the father to be may not be used to getting invites to such events, if you plan your co-ed baby shower well, it can be an even better time by having both men and women there. Whether you are the mom to be yourself or you are planning a baby shower for a friend, why not go all out and make it a party both men and women who will be in the life of the new baby can enjoy? Here are some tips and ideas:
Make Food a Feature
The easiest way to get men to buy in to the idea of your party, even if it is something they may not immediately think sounds fun like a baby shower, is to lure them in with the thought of delicious foods. Of course, this isn’t just a male thing – your female friends will also most likely have a much better time if the food is good, and you will also have at least one person there who is eating for two, so make sure the catering is great! Whether you want to go with a theme like traditional barbecue food, cute afternoon tea, or just have decadent, classy party treats, plan the food early and if you want to make it a really big hit, go with a professional catering company or venue like Anoush who have experience with throwing beautiful baby showers.
Have a Balanced Invitee List
If you want the party to be a hit with both men and women, then you need to make sure you invite a good mix, rather than just inviting the women you know and allowing a couple of husbands along. Consider inviting single male friends as well as those who are the partners of women you’d have invited were it a women only baby shower, so it is clear this is truly a mixed party, and men are not just ‘allowed’ to come with their wives or girlfriends! Let the father to be choose some of his friends to invite along, who may not even be in the girls’ social group. This way, there will be enough men that if the conversation around the upcoming baby gets a bit too feminine (no men really want to hear gruesome childbirth tales or discuss breast pumps), they can group together and talk about something they find more interesting!
Activities and Games
Games are a traditional part of a baby shower, so make sure you include some ideas for things that will be fun for everybody. Silly party games tend to work well in mixed groups, and you can also consider using things like board games or video games to add some more options – everybody enjoys competing on the Wii after all! Activities are an area that may need some tweaking from the things done at all women baby showers which men might find a bit girly or sedate, so if you are going to have crafts or activities where you decorate things, try and think of ways to make this more interesting for men or just give them something else as an option so they don’t get bored!
Alcohol
It is up to you whether or not you want people to have alcohol at the party or not. Some people think it is better not to have alcoholic drinks out of respect to the guest of honor, who won’t be partaking due to pregnancy and might feel left out. Others believe that if the mother to be is OK with it, it is nice to have some celebratory drinks. Whatever your policy is going to be, make it clear when you invite people – the last thing you want is your male guests groaning when they arrive because there isn’t any beer, or unexpectedly turning up with a crate of it because this is what they normally do at their friends’ parties!
Modern social groups tend to include both men and women, and so it can seem a little weird to exclude your guy friends from an occasion just because it is something traditionally for women like a baby shower. A co-ed baby shower can be a big success, but make sure you take into account the male guests when you are planning the day!
