April Showers

You might think that baby showers are a relatively new occurrence here in the UK, having been a popular event in America for many years. However, baby showers have in fact been around in the UK since Victorian times. During this period an afternoon tea party would take place after the baby was born. During this tea party games would be played, food would be served and gifts would be brought for the baby. The most common gift to be given was an item made of silver. This was most often given by the grandmothers and usually came in the form of a silver spoon or rattle. These baby showers evolved from some of the ancient events that were held in Ancient Rome, where a mother and newly born baby would be anointed and blessed into the family.

Following the second world war, women in the UK started to hold these baby parties before the birth of their child, as the secrecy and taboo surrounding pregnancy and childbirth had lessened. These events soon started to include the fathers and grandfathers of the child and have evolved further into the events that we know and love today.

Baby showers are now much larger and in some cases lavish events that involve planning. They tend to take place between one and two months before the birth of the child and many different activities will take place and the party. These can include games centred around babies as well as the sharing of buffet food and of course the sharing of gifts for both the baby and the mum to be.

Here are some ways that those who work in the craft industry can provide products to enhance any baby shower.

Decorations – all baby showers need decorations. These could be based around the common colours associated with babies or they might be personalised for each expectant mother. They will commonly include banners, bunting and balloons as well as decorations that may be placed on tables throughout the party venue. You can of course sell these online or through craft fayres and stalls. Make sure that you have the right one day craft stall insurance in place to cover you in the event on an accident or incident occurring.

Food – every baby shower needs delicious food and of course a cake or two. There are many expectant mothers who will look for a personalised cake, similar to the types of cakes that you might traditionally see at a wedding. The colours and decorations that are used will often celebrate the babies imminent arrival and in some cases may be coloured to match the gender of the baby if this has been shared. The buffet food that is shared at these types of events will depend on the preference of the mother to be as well as the kind of atmosphere that is being created. For some this might be traditional finger buffet style food and for others it might be something more akin to a sit down meal.

Gifts – of course one of the best ways crafters can support the rising trend in baby showers is to create gifts for mum and baby. These could be pampering gifts that any expectant mother would love to receive and to use in the last few months of their pregnancy. It is important to make sure that you have all the appropriate safety certificates in place as well as one day craft stall insurance cover to allow you to sell the items safely.

When it comes to thinking about gifts to create for the arrival of the baby you can position your products as either those that are functional and will be used by the mother and baby, or celebratory gifts that are designed to be kept as keepsakes. Whichever one you decide to create it is important that you think about the target market that you are attracting as well as looking at ways in which you can sell these. It might be that your quickest way to sell them is through a Facebook shop or an online store such as Etsy or even through your own Shopify site or website. You could also look at local craft stalls. When selling at craft events you should make sure that you have some accessories to make your table look attractive to customers and that you also have one day craft stall insurance in place.

Gifts that are designed to be functional might include mobiles that can be placed above the baby’s crib, bunting that can be placed in the nursery and toys that you might create for the child to use as they grow up. Again it is important that you have all the relevant safety certificates in place to sell these. Mementos and keepsakes might include lockets that can keep a small lock of the babies hair, a kit or a voucher that allows the mum-to-be to take an imprint of the baby’s hands or feet for these to be turned into a small sculpture or even into an item of jewellery, memory boxes or scrapbooks that can be filled in by the parents as their child passes through a number of different milestones. Other larger keepsake items can include handmade chairs and even small rocking horses. These have become particularly popular over the last few years.

Whatever you decide to create to complement the rise in popularity of baby showers, be sure to make the most of any marketing opportunities that arise through the year. There are lots of mother and baby groups where you can advertise what you have to offer as well as taking up a table at any local craft fayres and school fetes as you will find that your target audience will be attending many of these types of events.