Anyone had/attended a baby shower *after* the baby is born?

[LiLStar]

I just found myself in the middle of being in charge of planning a baby shower.. in less than a week! Never done anything like this so I'm a bit intimidated. The baby will be 3-4 weeks old or so. Its the mom's 4th so she doesn't need a lot of "stuff" so its a diaper/wipes one. So.. I figure we have some yummy snacks and treats, cute decorations.. but goodness, THEN WHAT?! I really need to find out if this mama is in the "shower games are so fun and cute" camp or in the "shower games are cheesy and annoying" camp and plan accordingly ;) So surely there'll be plenty of oohing and aahhing over the new little one, but goodness, aside from setting up the space and serving some munchies, idk what else to plan! 

[tzs]

i was going to have a "meet the baby" party when dd was born in lieu of a baby shower.....primarily because we don't prepare for a baby before they're here but also because i hate showers of any type (too much sitting around and staring at each other and gifts...ugh)

we were jsut going to have a bbq or tea or some "regular" party where people could mill around and socialize and hang out with the new kiddo...like an open house. in that case, i'd see no need for games or activities. i would think it would almost be too much with a newborn around.

[Peony]

I went to one last year. Baby came at 37 weeks before her scheduled blessingway so we waited 3-4 weeks and had an event. Honestly, food and cooing over the baby was all was needed. Nothing lagged, plenty to chit chat about and everyone had a good time. 

[donutmolly]

We do mostly "post-baby" showers around here... and I think it depends on the group of people you have attending.  My moms' group is basically just a group of friends who all know each other and are happy to have an excuse to get together and just hang out and chat -- so add some refreshments and it's a party.  The other showers that I attend are a mix of generations and often people don't know each other well, so it helps to have some games as a way to keep things flowing, or some sort of craft/activity. 

[Buddhamom]

With our third daughter we were doing a domestic adoption of a newborn and people wanted to theow us a shower but we said no incase it fell through and we didn't know how long it would take (we got her within 2 weeks though).  So DH and I threw a "meet the baby" party when she was 1 mo. old and rented a hall and made a lot of food.  Yes, people brought gifts but it wasn't expected.  We also had a table set up with crayons, paper, coloring books, stickers, etc. for kids to play with so they wouldn't get bored.  It was a great time and our teen daughters went around video taping everything.

[goinggreengirl]

My sister and friends threw one for me after DS was born- but that's because we weren't going to visit until after he was born. There were no games- we just ate, opened gifts and socialized.

[Lousli]

We did a shower for a friend and bought a scrapbook kit and accessories and had a little scrapbooking table.  People had the chance to go and create a few pages so that at the end of the event, the mom to be had a whole book that was ready, it just needed to have pictures added.

[tracymom1]

Originally Posted by Lousli 

We did a shower for a friend and bought a scrapbook kit and accessories and had a little scrapbooking table.  People had the chance to go and create a few pages so that at the end of the event, the mom to be had a whole book that was ready, it just needed to have pictures added.

This is a great idea!  I was going to suggest something similar.  You could get a couple of "guest books" (or make them) for well wishes  - one for the new baby and one for the mama.  I have only been to one shower, and we played a game where everyone brought in pictures of themselves as babies and we had to figure out who was who.  It was cute and easy and the hostess had little tins of candies and such for the "winner."

I am in tzs's camp - we don't do showers before the baby is born - ever - so the only parties I have really been to have been after the baby is already here.  They are usually very low-key and much less formal than a regular shower.  And we usually invite entire families and not just the women.  

[Angelorum]

I had one when ds was 5 weeks.  We waited until he was born to find out the gender, so waiting on the baby shower made it so people weren't stuck getting gender neutral stuff.  We played a few games, but my Aunt who threw it for me also had a quilting frame set up  so everyone could put a few yarn ties in a baby quilt for ds.