Baby shower planning in Vancouver: a simple checklist

Baby showers have loosened up: fewer games, more brunch. Co-ed showers, sprinkles for a second baby, a long lunch at a restaurant instead of a living room full of pastel balloons. What hasn't changed is the point of the thing, which is a couple of hours where the person at the centre gets celebrated and doesn't have to lift a finger. The checklist below runs in the order it actually happens.

Six to eight weeks out

• Pick the host. Traditionally a friend or a sibling; these days it's whoever has the time. Two co-hosts halve the work.
• Choose the date. Four to eight weeks before the due date is the usual window. A Sunday, late morning or early afternoon, is ideal.
• Set the guest list with the parents-to-be. Ask who they want there, and whether it's a mixed afternoon or not.
• Decide on the space. Home, a restaurant's private room, a café buyout, a community-centre lounge, a park shelter in summer. Two hours is plenty.

Four weeks out

• Send the invitations, with the registry link if there is one, a note on dress if there's a theme, and a clear RSVP date.
• Plan the food. Brunch is the format that works: a grazing table, a quiche or two, fruit, pastries, and one warm thing. A caterer's drop-off with a single server takes the whole job off the host's plate.
• Drinks for everyone. A mocktail bar that looks as good as the real thing is the detail the guest of honour will notice most. Add a mimosa option for everyone else.

Two weeks out

• Flowers and decor. One statement piece (a balloon arch, a flower wall, a well-set table) does more than a room full of small things. Keep the palette to two or three colours.
• One activity is plenty. Decorating onesies, a note for the baby's first birthday, a "guess the date" board. Whichever suits the crowd.
• The cake or dessert. Order it now. Confirm pickup the day before.
• A photographer, if it matters to you. An hour of coverage catches the moments the host will be too busy to see.

The day before

• Confirm the caterer's arrival time and the cake pickup.
• Set the table, hang the decor, chill the drinks.
• Write the two-minute toast. Actually write it down.

On the day

Arrive early, greet everyone at the door, keep the food flowing and the toast short. Give the parents-to-be a chair they don't have to get up from and a plate someone else filled. Send guests home with a small favour, and send the parents home with the leftovers.