Tips on How to Throw a Baby Shower on a Budget

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Are you looking to throw a baby shower on a budget?

It’s an honor and a privilege to help out a sister, cousin, friend, or loved one with her baby shower. But with the responsibility comes the headache of planning and preparing for the celebration.

You probably read a couple of blogs and threads online from people saying it can cost a small fortune to put up a baby shower.

Some posts would say a baby shower can cost at least $500; others, a thousand bucks or more.

Well, that may not be necessarily true.

Did you know you can throw a baby shower on a budget?

Having a big budget isn’t everything. There are a lot of baby shower ideas that aren’t expensive but can still deliver a beautiful party.

So if you’re looking for economical and thrifty ways for decorating for a baby shower on a budget, you’ll love what we have in store for you.

In this article, we offer practical tips on planning a baby shower on a low budget. With some creativity and support from family and friends, you can pull off a wonderful party for less.

Have you thrown a baby shower before?

At this stage in your life, you’ve probably been invited to a couple of baby showers in various capacities. Whether as an auntie-to-be, the mom’s close friend, or the mom herself.

Unless you’re the expecting mom, attending to these baby showers is a great way to show your love and excitement for the upcoming baby. But what better way to display your support than to help out with the party planning.

Have you experienced filling in the role of the party planner?

These events can get pricey if you’re not conscious of the expenditures. But if you have a budget in mind, you can keep the costs at an optimal level.

Whether or not you’ve had the opportunity to lead the party planning before, these practical tips can help you pull off a budget baby shower.

Baby showers need not be expensive.

That’s right. You don’t need a lot of cash to come up with a party that will dominate the headlines.

Are you looking forward to a Hollywood-style soiree? 

Yes, you can pull off a fantastic baby shower that’s memorable even without blowing your budget. Because why would you? Wouldn’t you rather use the money on other things like getting the items to stock up on before baby arrives?

So the trick lies in coming up with creative party ideas.

Of course, a couple of extra heads and hands are always a welcome addition to the party planning committee. After all, you will need help creating the invitations and sending them out.

You will also need help in finding a venue and booking it for your baby shower. Other considerations include getting the food and drinks ready for the set date, making the decorations, and planning the games and prizes.

You don’t have to thrive on planning parties to make this work.

Even if you’re working on a budget, it is possible to come up with a beautiful event. With these affordable baby shower ideas, you can create a memorable event for the parents-to-be.

Are you stuck with zero ideas?

Want to impress the guests but can’t come up with a good plan for a baby shower on a budget?

That’s OK. It happens to the best of us. But we’re here to help you.

So before we get started on the budget-friendly baby shower ideas, let’s have you in on the four foundational concepts, which will be our guiding principles in creating a beautiful event that people will love.

1. Set realistic expectations for yourself and the celebrants.

Do you have a realistic amount that you’re willing to spend for your baby shower?

Whether it’s $50 or $500, come up with a set amount. It doesn’t matter what your amount is. With a little ingenuity, you can come up with a baby shower on a budget.

However, please know that this amount will also set the expectations for the party.

Consider checking the realistic price points then work your way around that. Adjust your budget when you have to, but when you’ve finalized the budget amount, that’s it. No more adjusting.

One more thing…

Don’t be afraid to ask questions, seek help, or even negotiate for lower rates. You’ll never know there might be kind souls who will be willing to accommodate your requests.

2. Be open for any form of help that comes your way.

When planning a baby shower on a budget, welcome any form of help that comes your way. Enlist your friends and tap your relatives.

Help may arrive in the form of friendly advice. Perhaps on strategizing or brainstorming for economic baby shower ideas.

Or help may be in the co-planning or co-hosting side of things. From looking for party suppliers to arranging the venue and other commitments.

Once they have pledged help, don’t be afraid to follow up on friends and family on their promise. Hold them to their word to handle the food or take care of the games and prizes.

3. Be conscious of the spending cap.

Whether you’re handling the arrangements by yourself or as a group with family and friends, always be conscious of the budget.

To ensure that everyone stays in line with the plan, give everyone a spending cap for every task they are assigned. Since it can be unavoidable sometimes, exceeding the budget is permissible as long as it’s not too much.

Food is a particular area where the spending goes over the budget.

You and your loved ones may agree to pitch in for the cost of the food. Or you can assign a couple of people to bring something for the party.

The venue is another challenging aspect when coming up with inexpensive baby shower ideas.

So what’s the solution?

Look for places to hold the party for free.

You don’t have to rent out a venue. Why not hold the get-together in the house?

Or perhaps at the local park or in the neighborhood clubhouse. Or if these options are not available, perhaps family and friends can pitch in to rent a function room.

A little help in the cost can go a long way in bringing the personal expenses down.

4. Get your creative juices flowing.

Wondering how to decorate for a baby shower on a budget?

Here’s a simple way to cut spending on decorations down to zero dollars: reuse old decorations.

Do you have an old silver sun protector for the car that you no longer use? You can cut it to form the letters.

When reusing old decorations or utilizing materials, consider having gender-neutral colors like yellow, orange, green, and white.

Look around the house or ask family and friends if they have party decor or embellishment they could loan or give. You’ll be surprised how many effects are available for use.

With your creative thinking and help from family and friends, you can pull off a wonderful party without breaking the bank.

Don’t forget to check your local classifieds too. Many will sell their baby shower decorations after the party is over. You can swoop in and pick up some stunning decorations for a fraction of the price!

How to plan a baby shower on a small budget?

Looking to cut cost and corners to have a baby shower that’s beautiful yet inexpensive?

Keeping the cost is one thing, but people will remember more about how the party was decorated nicely or how the food was spectacular.

So in this article, we’re going to focus on throwing a fun and memorable party. Because you don’t want a party that will bomb really bad.

But more importantly, one that isn’t expensive. Here are boy and girl baby shower ideas on a budget.

For the venue

Ideally, the cost of securing the venue is limited to 5 percent of your total budget.

But the costs of hosting the event at a restaurant or club can get pretty high. At this realistic price point, you will easily exceed the allotted 5-percent.

What’s your solution?

Consider holding the party in your home or a public space like the neighborhood party. Should you choose an outdoor venue, you might want to have a rain plan.

For the decor

Wondering how you can get the budget baby shower decorations?

The decor should also be 5 percent of your budget. This can get challenging especially when you want to glam up the venue.

So what do you do?

Reuse the old decor and transform them to suit your theme. And if that’s not an available option, then you’ll just have to buy. And by buy, you buy in bulk. It’s one of the best ways to cut costs.

For the invites

It’s not a party without the invites. Set aside 10 percent of your total budget for this one.

Here’s a good way to save off the stationery and fancy paper: skip the snail-mail and go online with your invites. It’s easy and convenient; something that the guests will appreciate when they RSVP it. Plus, it saves trees.

However, this may not be an option for grandma and great auntie. You may opt to stick to the old-fashioned invites for a couple of guests.

For the flowers

Let’s face it, girls love flowers. Allocate 5 percent of your budget for this one.

A good way to stay on track with your budget is to get the flowers from the local farmers’ market. Then let your creative juices flow with the floral arrangements.

For the food and drinks

This one takes the cake (no pun intended), at 40 percent of your total budget.

One good way to cut the cost is to get cooking. Go to your local grocery store and pick up the ingredients. It will cost you less than getting the caterers to do the food.

If you have little to no cooking experience, tap family and friends for help. Or you can go with the simple stuff like sandwiches, fruit, and other finger food items.

For the cakes and sweets

Ideally, set the budget for the dessert at 5 percent of the total. If not cake, try cupcakes or macaroons.

For the games and prizes

You don’t have to spend much, limiting it only to 5 percent of the budget.

For the games, you can make do with paper and pens. Get creative with your drawing games.

As for the prizes, the floral decor can double as a reward. For the overall winner, she gets the table centerpiece.

For the entertainment

There’s no need to get a big band. Skip the violinist and piano player. Get your playlist ready on your phone or laptop. Then plug your device to the speaker. That’s it!

Here are additional tips on how to pull off a baby shower on a budget.

Setting up a budget baby shower isn’t that difficult. Although you will need a lot of ingenuity and support from family and friends to pull it off.

Yes, you might feel the dread if you’re getting all the things done by yourself. So you’ll need help sending out the invites or coordinating for the food and decor.

You also don’t need to have an expensive party. Expensive-looking, yes, but costly, not necessarily.

Have you given some thought to your party’s theme?

Take the time to think things through. Check your home for any items that you can utilize. Perhaps there are old decorations you can reuse. There may be materials lying around the house that tie with the baby shower decoration.

Easter decorations can work well in decorating for a baby shower on a budget. Throw in baby-related items and you have yourself a theme.

Here’s a good way to cut costs on food.

Pick a time of day to hold the baby shower that doesn’t require you to serve an entire meal; just snacks.

A dessert bar or a snack station will cost less compared to serving full-course meals. Serve cakes, macaroons, and drinks.

Potluck

Or to really cut food costs, enlist a couple of guests to bring some food and refreshments. When that’s done, it’s easier to stay on budget.

Shop using coupons.

Don’t underestimate the power of coupons. If you need to shop for the food ingredients or party decorations, you can save as much as half your allotted budget by enjoying the price-offs.

Go DIY.

If you make the decorations yourself, you can cut the party cost. It’s an inexpensive way to get things done.

Let us hear your thoughts on how to pull off a baby shower on a budget.

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