I need help planning a baby shower at work. We are having it in a conference room during business hours. She has already had 2 home showers.
I just gave my co-worker a baby shower at work recently. It was just for co-workers and of course her mom. It turned out really nice..we had punch, a cookie cake, fruit trays, sandwich trays. We put a few decorations out as well. Here is a cute game! Beforehand take colored ribbon (blue or pink) if you know the sex of the baby. Tie ribbons around clothespins. Explain to guests as they come in to wear their clothespin. Now you can do this one of two ways. If someone says the word "baby" then someone can take their clothespin away. Or if someone crosses their legs..same thing. Really fun!! And whoever had the most clothespins at the end wins a goody bag (of baby treats..like lotion, powder) and gives it to the mom to be! :-)
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I was asked to take lead over planning a baby shower at work for a fellow co-worker. What is an appropriate way of asking via email for help from my fellow team members when it comes to planning, pitching in for food, decorations, etc.?
I'm not their boss so I don't want to sound demanding, but I can't do this alone and need help from them in order to make this successful. Any suggestions?Something friendly like: "Hi all! I've been asked to lead ___'s baby shower here at work and I would LOVE for you all to be a part of her big day. Let's keep our planning within this email circle, please. Any suggestions for food (pot luck? catering?) and decorations are greatly appreciated (and needed!) :) Thank you!"
Try to figure out if you will be going the pot luck or catering route and find out how much you will need and if you can expedite some out for decorations and such.
I would ask for help directly. There is no way you can do it yourself. I would give a list of chores on an Excel spreadsheet. Attach this to the e-mail. Each person can pick what s/he wants to do. In lieu of doing something, a person can make a cash contribution.
When my kids were little, their elementary school did a thank you luncheon every year for the staff. People either volunteered or gave money. Since I worked full-time, I donated money.
No one will be insulted. If you find that no one is volunteering (unlikely). Give the mother-to-be a gift and card from you alone. You can't control others...
How many co-workers are there? That would be helpful to know. When you send out the email, if you use an established distribution list to send it, be sure to remove the mom to be from the list, so that she won't receive it as well.
At my previous job, we had a lot of birthday, baby shower events! An email is sent out to everyone in the department and just saying so and so is expecting - I am asked to plan a baby shower and if everyone could chip some money for the party/gift that would be greatly appreciated.
And usually we have a sheet of paper and people would write their names who want to participate and put money in the envelope and it'll land back in the hands of the person who is hosting.
Parties are fun, right? How about "calling all party planners" as a subject line? Keep the body of your e-mail light-hearted and fun as well as confident that all your co-workers will want to be in on making the party a success (even if they only have a little time to contribute).
Have fun!
In a way it's better that you're not their boss because then it won't feel like a breach of boundaries or a work requirement. If y'all actually LIKE your coworker, it should be an easy sell.
All the above ideas are great. What I would do to make it more fun is host a party planner brunch or party, provide cheap snacks or do potluck, then plan.
I would email each one and ask if they'd like to help plan the baby shower for... Maybe give a couple of ideas and ask their opinion. Or create a sign up list for others to sign for what they'd like to do.
I'm a co-organizer of a workplace baby shower. The host is my coworker's BFF. We nurses work at a busy hospital and lunchtime is the busiest time taking care of patients and sorting out MD orders after AM rounds. The celebrant insists on coming to lunch (noon). Majority of us coworkers prefer an afternoon shower so at least that's a downtime for us when we can celebrate in a relaxed mode. Besides, if we all chip in $ for a gift card (our goal is $300 minimum), people at our workplace tend to sign up for appetizers and finger food, not lunch which could be pricey. People crash potlucks and if you opt for lunch, the food better be satisfying and be enough for all.
The best friend organizer is firm in agreeing with her BFF celebrant that they want a lunch baby shower. The hostess volunteered to buy decorations. As a co-planner who has had so many hours of experience doing work parties etc., I volunteered to bring mini sandwiches, drinks, ice cream, and pastries. The hostess only signed up for a fruit plate and cookies. This is with the idea that they both want a lunch potluck vs my idea of an afternoon (lighter, cheaper, less imposing on coworkers to bring food to a potluck). While all know the celebrant gets to choose the time of day when to have her shower (ie. her availability), but is it too much to insist on an afternoon shower because all that people would sign up for are appetizers, side dishes, and no main dish so far. People at work tend to graze. The hostess has a stick figure and eats like a bird. It's unnerving that the celebrant and hostess insist on lunch potluck when all the hostess signed up for are cookies and fruit plate. I have signed up for a lot already (more than $100 of my own $$ and I'm just a regular friend at work).
A lunch potluck is super stressful for most of us, prep time typically starts an hour and a half before the event. Do I and the rest of the gang have a say in the time to have the shower? The celebrant is known to be stubborn and maintains that she would like to come at lunchtime. There's no food to serve at lunch! My mini sandwiches are the only substantial food on the sign up sheet. I want to serve it as something to serve in the afternoon. They're not lunch-worthy. Despite this, the 2 BFFs are insistent on doing it at lunch. There's a sense of entitlement that I'm feeling with these 2 younger people (the BFFs) and majority of us are much older. Pls advise.
The main issue is that lunchtime is too busy in your line of work. You need to make your opinions known. If it were me I would drop out of the shower making plans if this cant be resolved.
