Once upon a time, a baby shower was something confined to our cousins across the pond, a bit like Thanksgiving and Presidents’ Day. We read about them, and wondered what all the fuss was about. However, times and traditions change, and more and more British women (and men!) are getting involved in the baby shower phenomenon, to give the mummy-to-be a fantastic send off before she welcomes her beautiful baby into the world.

For baby shower newbies, the concept is quite simple, but much like any gathering, can be as low key or raucous as you like. Clearly, you’ll want some great invitations to send out, so why not start your party planning by looking at Putty Print’s excellent selection of baby shower invitations, all of which can be personalised with the details your guests need to know.

Crafty guests might like a chance to make the new mummy a present. A pack of cheap, white sleepsuits from the local supermarket and some fabric markers or stick-on decals can personalise a plain onesie in as much or as little time as you’d like. Not keen on fabric crafts? Wooden blocks can also be decorated easily, and will be a unique toy that the baby will enjoy playing with once they’re a few months old.

“Guess the baby food” is a little weird, but causes lots of giggles. Head down to your local supermarket and grab some baby food jars. Label them up with numbers, and have guests try to guess which dish was on offer. Was that a fisherman’s pie, or a rice pudding you’ve just fed them?

A sweet idea for the thoughtful mummy is to have friends “personalise” a nappy with a motivational or funny quote. Just open up a box of newborn nappies and hand out permanent markers. That way, when baby comes and the 3am nappy change becomes a regular part of the night time routine, the bleary eyed new mummy can have a smile at her friends’ kind thoughts.

“Ban the B word” is a great challenge for baby showers, although you’ll have to warn guests in advance to give them some thinking time! Choose a baby related word, or even just the word “baby” itself, and ban it from the party. Anyone caught saying the forbidden word has to perform a forfeit of the mummy to be’s choosing.

Give the mummy to be a celebration so exciting that you’ll need to keep the midwife on standby, thanks to the personalised party printing experts at Putty Print.