A friend’s soon-to-be-here baby is such a happy excuse for the girls to get together!  And all it really takes to host a successful baby shower party is a little planning, yummy food and a cozy baby shower venue.

At Buca di Beppo, we consider ourselves the baby shower specialists!  Our party planners know all about baby shower favorites when it comes to gifts, food, games and themes — and they’re happy to share! With our fun assortment of private and semi-private dining rooms, we’re one of the best places for a baby shower ever.  To help you host a baby shower to remember, here are a few tips from our pros.

Two months before the baby shower …

Make a baby shower guest list and run it past the mom-to-be.  She’ll probably need to add and subtract to keep everybody happy.  Then set the date for sometime during her last trimester.  Try not to wait too late, because baby might come before the baby shower – or even crash it.  Finally, let Mom help you decide from several locations to have a baby shower.

Be sure to mention to her that Buca di Beppo has small, medium and large dining rooms – all festively decorated — where you can throw the perfect baby shower.  With its lively atmosphere, Buca appreciates noisy parties and fun baby showers.  Plus, our award-winning staff offers over-the-top service that helps everybody feel comfortable (no matter how far along they are) and have a good time.

One month before the baby shower …

Decide on a baby shower theme that will appeal to Mom and be fun for guests.  If your pregnant friend is interested in environmental issues, you could throw a green baby shower.  Guests will have it easy with so many all-natural baby shower gift ideas available. Or you might throw a baby shower with a baby animals theme, a cartoon theme or “A Star Is Born” theme.

Choose, address and mail the baby showers invitations and plan the baby shower menu.  It’s fun to choose food for baby shower guests when you’ve got Buca di Beppo’s diverse, delicious menus from which to select!  They have lunch and dinner banquet menus, perfect for groups of 20 or more.  And they also offer a variety of fabulous group menu options.

Everything at Buca is served family style, to be shared.  It breaks the ice, and guests get to try a little of everything.  Desserts are to-die-for, and we’ll even decorate an out-of-this-world Celebration cake for your baby shower party.

Baby shower games

Don’t forego baby showers games!  There are some new games for baby showers that will have guests in stitches.  For example, a new baby shower app (available at iTunes) includes trivia questions, scavenger hunts in handbags and drawing and charades type games.  Some classics are good too, like guessing Mom’s belly size by cutting a piece of yarn to fit, listing all the baby products you can think of in five minutes, and giving up your diaper pin if you accidentally say the forbidden word, “baby.”

Baby shower favorites to make and/or wrap.

You can easily make baby shower souvenirs for guests.  Small potted plants, herbs or flowers make great baby shower favors.  Or head to your local crafts store.  They’re bound to have what you need to make scented homemade soaps or beauty products.  If you’re not crafty, just shop online.  There are lots of great gifts for baby shower guests.

Just be sure to have fun at the baby shower yourself!

Showers are a wonderful celebration of life and love – a sentiment that suits Italian tradition perfectly.  So use these baby shower ideas to host a baby shower that will give a little one a great start in the world.  And make it easy on yourself by throwing it at Buca!