Why You Need an Office Baby Shower Checklist

At no time is planning and organization more important than when you are in charge of the next office baby shower. The shorter amount of time, the corporate setting, added to the everyday stresses of work makes it absolutely essential. And an office baby shower checklist is your key to getting through the day.

Once you find out that planning your co-worker's baby shower is another of your tasks, start making out your office baby shower checklist.

1. First, find out if the baby shower can be held on office premises or not, and during the lunch break or after office hours. Once this permission is secured, you can go on to the next step.

2. Find out from the guest of honor when the best day for the office baby shower will be, if there are any office workers outside the department that would want to join in, and a probable theme they might enjoy. As soon as you find out all that information, then you can go about planning for the baby shower itself.

3. Collect the contributions first. Once you have all the funds in hand, then you can go about making a budget for the celebration. Settle on the location, whether it will be in a conference room, the office cafeteria, or a close-by restaurant.

4. Inform all the invited co-workers of the date and time of the office baby shower. It would be also nice if you could inform the guest of honor's significant other so they could show up, too, if they can.

5. Next is preparing the food. Does your budget have enough for a simple spread or a deli-and-cheese tray from the supermarket deli? Maybe cake and beverages will do? Keep in mind that it has to be something easy to bring, will keep well, and what most people like to eat. Finger food is a great choice, and you can find enough variations to be sure that it will fit in your chosen theme. Add paper goods to this part of your checklist, too.

6. The decorations are next on your list. They do need to be simple and low-key in order to fit into the office environment. You also need to be able to dispose of them easily. A pretty cake, a well-arranged stack of gifts, or a floral or balloon arrangement fit the bill here. Another practical addition is the use of a printed banner to decorate the wall. It's something easily bought or created, and can be signed by the co-workers that attended the baby shower in lieu of a guest book.

7. Thankfully, the shortened time that an office baby shower needs means that baby shower games are not necessary to fill out the time. However, you could plan out a few paper-based activities if they are really requested. Baby Name Scramble (How many words can you make using the letters of the baby's name?), Baby Crossword, and Baby Word Search are a few quick and simple games you can download over the internet.

8. Last, consider the gift. Since not everyone can afford to get a pricey gift, a group gift that everyone contributes to is the best choice. You could choose something from their gift registry or purchase a gift certificate from a local store instead.