The year 2020 will be remembered for many reasons, not least the emergence of Covid-19, and while we are restricted due to the global pandemic, life must go on. If you are soon to be welcoming a new member of your family, you will understandably be very concerned about Coronavirus and rather than cancelling the baby shower, why not organise a virtual baby shower?
Virtual Baby Shower
While it is your duty as a parent to protect your child, you can introduce baby to family and friends by arranging a virtual baby shower, which is the safe and responsible way to celebrate the new arrival. This is not as difficult as you might think, and with some careful planning, you can host a baby shower online using Zoom, a virtual meeting application.
Zoom Preparation
Ideally, you want all your online guests to be proficient using Zoom, so when you send out the invitations, include a short tutorial that informs the person how to download Zoom and install the program. They also need to know how to respond to a Zoom meeting invitation, when you will be the host.
Baby Shower Gifts
The easiest way to do this is to send all your guests this link, cmcgold.com.au, a leading baby gift supplier, and when the guest has purchased an item, they can give your home address and the gift will arrive a couple of days later. Ideally, each gift can be wrapped and on the day of the party, you, the host, can open each gift in the virtual presence of the guests, which is exciting for all. Make sure you allow ample time for people to source gifts, about 2-3 weeks would be enough time for everyone to choose their gift and have it delivered to your home address.
Sending Out Invitations
If you are planning to play some virtual games, you will need to prepare printable answer sheets and include these in the invitations, along with the Zoom set-up instructions. Give the guests your phone number, in case they have any issues with Zoom, or have any questions about the virtual baby shower. Here is some useful information about online games, in case the lockdown is getting to you.
The Big Day
On the day of the virtual baby shower, you should decorate the room you are using for the party, as this will help people to find the party mood, and you might want to suggest to the guests that they each find a funny hat to wear. As you are the host of the virtual party, you will also be the Zoom host, which means you must invite each or your guests to join the meeting, and if you are not familiar with Zoom, we recommend that you use the app a few times; you can call friends and experiment with the many great features. Zoom is also compatible with all devices and if your guests download the application, install it and make a few practice calls, they will be competent when the big day arrives. Here is the latest Covid-19 update from the Australian government, which you should read.
Just because we can’t gather socially, doesn’t mean we can’t welcome a new baby into the world, and all your guests will have a great time, and while this will likely be their first time with Zoom, it will definitely not be the last!