Long Distance Baby Showers

Virtual Baby Shower

If you need to have a baby shower, but can’t get everyone together in one physical location, there are many, many options for arranging a long-distance or virtual baby shower.  As with planning any type of party, you need to think about your budget. But, with a long distance baby shower, you also need to think about whether your guests have Internet access and their level of computer and technology saviness.  Once you have a good grasp on those two factors, here are a list of suggestions for hosting a virtual baby shower:

  • Take The Web Baby Shower New Services Survey! Help us determine how to launch our online baby shower service.
  • Blog It
    You can set up a “home page” for your long distance baby shower at any free (or even paid) blogging services.  Most are very simple to set up and use.  Snowboard Mommy Suggests Google’s Blogspot, WordPress or even TypePad.com
  • Get Social
    If most or all of your guests already have a Facebook account, you can also set up a Group or Page for the expecting or adopting parent(s) and the online shower

    • You can use almost any free baby or pregnancy website service.  There are many; use your favorite search engine to find “free baby (or pregnancy) website”
    • All of the above options should allow you to upload photos, videos, link to the expecting parent’s online registries and leave any instructions for any “interactive” parties you plan to host.
  • Go Live
    If you would like to use more interactive features, Web Baby Shower Recommends:

  • Gifts
    How you want to handle gifts for your long distance baby shower really depends on you and the expecting parent(s) and how much time and effort you both can and want to put into it.  You can leave it up to your guests to send a gift whenever they like (very hands off). If the expecting parent already has online gift registries set up, you can arrange for  your guests to send a gift by a certain date, ask the mom-to-be to not open anything, and then have her open them during your live chat or webcam broadcast. Some hosts even go so far as to having guests send the gifts to them and then send them all together to the expecting parent(s).  It’s really up to you and what makes sense for your situation.
  • Invitations
    Once you have set up your long distance shower you can tell your guests about it by mail, email or eVite.com.  There are many online services that will send email invitations or even printed invitations, or you can DIY print or email invitations.
  • Favors
    Some hosts skip this part; others go all out and mail gift certificates/gift cards or even actual shower favors to their guests.  It really depends on you and how much time and budget you have!
  • Games
    You can use a service such as babyshowergamesAtoZ.com to print out games and parcel out the questions during a live chat or conference call. You can set up a baby name poll from any online poll service and embed it on your blog or Facebook page. There are also “Betting Pool” services who will actually take real bets on when the baby will be born! Prizes would be entirely up to you. Most long distance baby shower hosts seem to choose the “satisfaction of knowing you won” prize!
  • Baby Shower Etiquette
    Some folks still think it’s rude to have a second baby shower, but nowadays with so many safety items that are supposed to be purchased new and not be re-used, I think that people are a little more open to a second shower, especially if Baby #2 is not the same gender as Baby #1.  Plus, a party is a party!  If you want to celebrate a second or subsequent pregnancy, but don’t want to seem rude, you can always call it a “Diapers & Wipes” and ask just for, you guessed it, Diapers & Wipes.  See the “Second Baby Showers” page in this “Baby Shower Planning Guide.”
  • Thank You Cards
    Make sure you thank your guests for joining your virtual baby shower and also offer to help the expecting mom send thank you notes for any gifts.  Again, it is up to you and the mom-to-be to decide whether printed, mailed cards are needed or whether an online postcard thank you would be appropriate since it was an online party after all!

I hope you find these suggestions useful! Best wishes for your baby shower and for the new parents!

~Snowboard Mommy


Resources for Long Distance Baby Showers


Baby Gift Baskets
Website: http://www.babygiftbasketco.com
We specialize in personalized baby gift baskets sent directly to you or for a baby shower.


Amazon Baby Registry
Website: http://amazon.com
Everything you need, in one registry. Amazon offers a large selection of baby products and the Amazon baby registry provides tools to help you find the right items.


Personalized Printable Baby Shower Partyware
Website: http://babyshowergamesatoz.com
All items are formatted to print on 8 1/2 x 11" paper, and can be assembled using nothing more than scissors and tape.


Newborn Gifts
Website: http://eBeanStalk.com
There are thousands of Toys for Newborn Old but only a select-few make it on ebeanstalk. That's because our team of child-experts review thousands of fun, educational toys and choose only the best.


Gift Baskets Overseas
Website: http://www.giftbasketsoverseas.com/
Baby gift baskets are the perfect way to greet a new baby boy or girl, excellent for baby showers, and ideal for showing expectant parents that you care and support them - especially during the hectic arrival time. Send baby gifts to over 140 countries for family, friends, customers, business associates, or anyone you know who's bringing a new life into the world. To send a baby gift basket anywhere in the world, simply choose the country for delivery and select a gift from our online catalog. You can fill out delivery information in our easy-to-use online order form. Say "Welcome!" to a new girl or boy!


Magic Cabin
Website: http://magiccabin.com
Magic Cabin specializes in children's toys, dolls and crafts and offers unique items that are well-made, natural, creative, and fun. May 2013 Coupon Special: Free Standard Shipping on orders $65+ Use Code: MCSHPMAY


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