The Baby Shower has long been a tradition among American mums to be, celebrating their imminent new arrival by having a party and showering the new parents with gifts that will be useful once the baby is born.

Baby showers are growing in popularity in the UK now too.  Friends and family gather together to pamper mum and ’shower’ her with presents that can be either for the new baby, or if expectant mum is a little superstitious, for mum herself.  The point is to make the expectant mum feel like a million dollars, even if she has lumpy ankles and is the size of a small car and needs to keep waddling to the loo every 5 minutes.  This is especially important because very soon the new baby will be the centre of attention and it’s nice for mum to be in the limelight herself for a while first.

Baby Showers are usually hosted by a good friend, sister or another family member. Grannies to be are a popular choice!  It’s best to host the shower in a venue other than the new mum’s house so that they have no mess to clear up and can really relax.

When planning a baby shower for someone, make sure that you know her due date. The pregnancy should be far enough along that she feels secure and comfortable, but not so far along that the baby might decide to crash the party in all the excitement.

There is no hard and fast etiquette for Baby Showers. The most important thing to get right is to make the mum to be feel special and show her how special she is. Give her a vote of confidence that she is going to be a really great mum.