Long Distance Baby Showers

If you need to have a baby shower, but can't get everyone together in one physical location, there are many, many options for arranging a long-distance or virtual baby shower. As with planning any type of party, you need to think about your budget. But, with a long distance baby shower, you also need to think about whether your guests have Internet access and their level of computer and technology saviness. Once you have a good grasp on those two factors, here are a list of suggestions for hosting a virtual baby shower:

Blog It
You can set up a "home page" for your long distance baby shower at any free (or even paid) blogging services. Most are very simple to set up and use. Snowboard Mommy Suggests Google's Blogspot, WordPress or even TypePad.com
Get Social
If most or all of your guests already have a Facebook account, you can also set up a Group or Page for the expecting or adopting parent(s) and the online shower

You can use almost any free baby or pregnancy website service. There are many; use your favorite search engine to find "free baby (or pregnancy) website"
All of the above options should allow you to upload photos, videos, link to the bride's online registries and leave any instructions for any "interactive" parties you plan to host.

Go Live
If you would like to use more interactive features the following paid and free services are available. You can use them individually or in combination:
- FreeConferenceCall.com
- Skype.com
- Oovoo.com
- Ustream.com
- YouTube.com
Gifts
How you want to handle gifts for your long distance baby shower really depends on you and the expecting parent(s) and how much time and effort you both can and want to put into it. You can leave it up to your guests to send a gift whenever they like (very hands off). If the expecting parent already has online gift registries set up, you can arrange for your guests to send a gift by a certain date, ask the mom-to-be to not open anything, and then have her open them during your live chat or webcam broadcast. Some hosts even go so far as to having guests send the gifts to them and then send them all together to the expecting parent(s). It's really up to you and what makes sense for your situation.
Invitations
Once you have set up your long distance shower you can tell your guests about it by mail, email or eVite.com. There are many online services that will send email invitations or even printed invitations, or you can DIY print or email invitations.
Favors
Some hosts skip this part; others go all out and mail gift certificates/gift cards or even actual shower favors to their guests. It really depends on you and how much time and budget you have!
Games
You can use a service such as babyshowergamesAtoZ.com to print out games and parcel out the questions during a live chat or conference call. You can set up a baby name poll from any online poll service and embed it on your blog or Facebook page. There are also "Betting Pool" services who will actually take real bets on when the baby will be born! Prizes would be entirely up to you. Most long distance bridal shower hosts seem to choose the "satisfaction of knowing you won" prize!
Baby Shower Etiquette
Some folks still think it's rude to have a second baby shower, but nowadays with so many safety items that are supposed to be purchased new and not be re-used, I think that people are a little more open to a second shower, especially if Baby #2 is not the same gender as Baby #1. Plus, a party is a party! If you want to celebrate a second or subsequent pregnancy, but don't want to seem rude, you can always call it a "Diapers & Wipes" and ask just for, you guessed it, Diapers & Wipes. See the "Second Baby Showers" page in this "Baby Shower Planning Guide."
Thank You Cards
Make sure you thank your guests for joining your virtual baby shower and also offer to help the expecting mom send thank you notes for any gifts. Again, it is up to you and the mom-to-be to decide whether printed, mailed cards are needed or whether an online postcard thank you would be appropriate since it was an online party after all!

I hope you find these suggestions useful! Best wishes for your baby shower and for the new parents!

~Snowboard Mommy

Long Distance Baby Shower Resources

Amazon.com Widgets

Baby Shower Planning
Baby Shower Planning ideas and supplies from Amazon.com

Diapers.com Green Baby Section
Website: Diapers.com
Natural, organic and environmentally friendly baby care products and diapers at Diapers.com

Target Baby
Website: Target.com
Budget-friendly finds for baby at Target.com

If you have a related website you would like to see here, please click here to List Your Website In The Web Baby Shower Resource Directory.

Information found in the Web Baby Shower Resource Directory is provided "As Is" with no warranty; information regarding pregnancy, birth and parenting is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition and is not meant to be a substitute for personal care from a professional health care practitioner. Web Baby Shower/Snowboard Mommy Productions does not endorse any product or service and is not responsible for the content or conduct of sites it links to.

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Long Distance Baby Showers

Long Distance Baby Shower Resources

Web Baby Shower
Resource Directory

Baby Shower Planning
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