How to throw the ultimate outdoor baby shower

While the days are long and the weather is fine, take your chance to host a baby shower outside. Being out in the fresh air and around nature will put your guests at ease immediately and provide the perfect setting for a relaxed and spoiling party in honour of the mum-to-be. Read on for all our hints, tips and ideas for hosting an outdoor baby shower, or if you’d like to start browsing the Party Pieces baby shower collections, click here.

How to set up your outdoor baby shower

Hosting a garden baby shower will give you ample space for guests to mingle and relax, and is likely to provide more of a ‘blank canvas’ than a cluttered room inside. That said, to maximise your space, the first step should be to clear the garden of any gardening gear, kids’ toys or other items you don’t need into a shed or garage. You can then do final sprucing up of the garden to get it into party mode; trim unsightly branches, cut the grass and, if there’s space, plant some extra flowers and fragrant herb pots. While picnics are lovely for other outdoor occasions, they don’t work when your guest of honour is pregnant, so cloak your old garden table in a pristine white tablecloth for a pretty tablescape and seated affair, or combine garden furniture with small coffee tables to create a more informal ‘occasional’ set-up. In each case, it helps to set up a ‘bar’ area to one side of the garden, ideally near where guests will be making their entrance, to set up wine coolers, soft drinks dispensers and a tea and coffee station, as well as to use as the focal point for gifts, photos and a cake. Hire in matching wooden chairs or scatter around a mixture of garden chairs and indoor benches and dining chairs; and offer the most comfortable spot to your guest of honour!

How to weatherproof your outdoor baby shower

While there’s nothing like an English country garden party, the famously unpredictable British weather can put a dampener on the occasion. Weatherproof your party by buying, hiring or borrowing a pop-up gazebo or mini marquee for shelter or shade come rain or come shine. If cold weather is predicted, hire patio heaters or fire pits, then roll up throws, pashminas and blankets to gather into baskets for chilly guests to use. If a heatwave looks likely, buy a large bag of ice to keep drinks cooled, set up a few little baskets with bottles of sunscreen and cooling sprays, and consider providing little Spanish-style fans as party favours.

Baby shower decorations

Now for the fun part! Set the scene with a balloon arch, bunting and all the lovely little details which make the mother-to-be feel special. Our new Baby in Bloom baby shower range is a top choice for this kind of party, with its pastel colour palette and sweet messaging. Our Baby in Bloom foiled bunting can be personalised with the surname of the new baby; it looks great strung up against a fence or wall, and can be given to the mama-to-be as a keepsake after the party. The Baby in Bloom latex balloons are a joyful addition, and the balloon arch with fans in white, peach and rose gold is a stunning backdrop which looks striking in photos and fits perfectly with the Baby in Bloom colour scheme. Decorate your tables with a floral table runner over white tablecloth, bedecked with a botanical garland, tea light candles, and little hessian glass jars filled alternately with peach carnations, white roses and baby pink bunny tails. The Baby in Bloom paper plates, cups and napkins complete the pretty tablescape.

Outdoor baby shower activities

The beauty of a baby shower is the opportunity it presents to make a fuss of the mother-to-be, and to bring her best loved people together to make precious memories before the baby arrives. Some organised activities help to break the ice with people who don’t know each other, and help to put the mum-to-be at the front and centre of the event.

Firstly, an outdoor photo booth area is good fun while also letting guests take some fun snaps with which to remember the day. This Baby in Bloom rose gold photo booth frame can be personalised with your guest of honour’s name, while this baby shower photo booth kit, with its fun signs and props, works as a quirky icebreaker. Don’t forget the ‘mummy to be’ sash!

Filling in these predictions cards is an uplifting activity. Ask your guests to predict certain things about the new arrival; it’s a lovely conversation starter and the rose gold postbox in this kit looks beautiful on the ‘focal point’ table and can be a memory box for the mum-to-be. Equally, these Wishes for Baby are very sweet: guests write what they hope for for the new baby, and their handwritten messages can be kept in the wooden keepsake box and given to the little one when they’re old enough to read.

Lastly, why not put together a ‘Day Four’ jar for the expectant mother. Use a jam jar or a sweetie jar like this one, and ask your guests to write a message of support for the mum-to-be which she can read four days after having the baby (when she’s likely to be feeling very tired and possibly emotional). It’s bound to be a reminder of how loved she is and how you all have her back.

Outdoor baby shower games

Look, it’s true that some baby shower games can be pretty disgusting but that doesn’t mean they’re not fun. Here’s one horrible one – and some nicer games for the faint-hearted.

The horrible game is when you buy a selection of baby food and purees. Guests take turns to put on an eye mask and to taste a teaspoon of each food and then guess what flavour(s) the concoction is meant to be. Is it ‘Broccoli, Pears & Peas, ‘Cheesy Pie’ or ‘Grandpa’s Sunday Lunch’? Only your tastebuds can tell…

A sweeter baby shower game is to fill a nappy bag with essential baby items: think nappy cream, wipes and baby hairbrush, and ask your guests to place their hand in the bag and guess as many items as possible. The winner is the one who makes the most accurate guesses, while the nappy bag and its contents can be a gift for the mum-to-be.

An easy and fun baby shower game to play is ’guess the size of the bump’, in which guests take it in turns to have their guess then measure the bump with the included iridescent measuring tape – the person with the closest guess wins.

Outdoor baby shower food ideas

A picnic-style spread of finger sandwiches, cold cuts and scones and jam will hit the spot, and, because it can all be prepared in advance, give you more time to enjoy the day. These reusable platters in pink fit the theme and come in packs of three: perfect for trays of sandwiches, scones and a grazing platter of charcuterie, cheese, olives and nuts. If there’s cake (and of course there’s cake), why not stick with the Baby in Bloom theme with this tasteful wooden caketopper, with matching mini-versions in rose gold for the cupcakes?

Outdoor baby shower drinks ideas

Prep ahead with pre-mixed non-alcoholic cocktails served with ice and mint from these stackable Kilner dispensers. Guests can serve themselves, giving you one less job. If you’d like to provide chilled wine and fizz, why not set out these embossed wine glasses out on a tray; sturdy and made from acrylic rather than glass, they’re a safer bet for outside.

We hope you have a lovely time. Don't forget to tag us @partypieces in your photos on social media