Long distance baby showers have become more popular in recent years. It can be difficult to get everyone together in one area with varying schedules, and not everyone has the budget for a long trip. Sites are available that allow you to host a long-distance baby shower, or you can get together via Skype. You can also create an event on Facebook.
Instructions:
- Have a family member or friend dress up as the expectant mother to open the gifts. She could even add a pillow to look the part!
- Ask you guests to take a moment to tape a special message to the expectant couple. They can share some parenting advise, a story of when one of them was a newborn or a simple of message of joy for the couple’s impending parenthood.
- Play shower games, have favors, food and cake! Make it a true baby shower. Decide on a way to webcast the shower to those who won’t be able to attend in person. Some telecommunications and social networking companies like Skype (skype.com) and Google+ (plus.google.com) offer free video conferencing among multiple parties, with the requirements being that they must be a registered member of the service and have a Webcam.
- Send out invitations to the shower. This can be done via regular mail, email or both. Invites should include the time, date and location of the baby shower as well as the URL of the special website.Let the invitees know in the invitation that if they cannot attend in person due to distance or other factors, a video conference will be set up so they can participate live online.
- Make arrangements for food, drink and games after determining approximately how many people will attend in person. Then host the shower at the appointed time and place. Set up the webcam at least 15 minutes prior to the shower’s start time and make sure it’s working properly. Also if possible, videotape the shower so that it can be posted online for non-attendees to view or kept in the expectant parents’ archives.