There are many possibilities on where to have a baby shower. The best location is where it is convenient for the mommy-to-be. You don't want to have her traveling long distances when she is heavily pregnant! This location should also have good lavatory facilities and comfortable seating.
Another consideration is choosing a location that is convenient for the guests. Sometimes the mom-to-be lives far away from family and friends that she grew up with. In this case, she may want to travel home during maternity leave to celebrate with them. In these instances, the shower can be held at the home of a family member or close friend. The downside is that the hostess will often have to ship the gifts home to the new mother.
That is why the baby showers are usually held at the hostess's house. Everything is convenient and there would definitely be a place to rest, even to lie down. Unless the mommy-to-be requests it, the baby shower should not be held at her house so she isn't stuck with the preparations and cleaning up afterward. If the hostess's home is not convenient for any reason, then sometimes another friend's house is a good option.
So what if you are expecting a lot of people and the hostess's home is too small. Why not take a look at your local hall? Some hotels usually have ballrooms or halls that you can book to host events. You can also check around for banquet and catering halls. These can cost money, but might be appropriate for large baby showers.
To save on costs, you can also look at churches and schools. There are some churches that have rooms to rent that even have kitchen facilities available to use. You could also take a look at a local restaurant or hotel where they can give you special rates for renting a room and buying food from them.
Some people have also gotten creative with their baby shower venue choices. Cruise ships, beaches, spas, and resorts are some upscale locations that hostesses have chosen to spoil both the new mom and their guests. These are unusual locations, but can make quite an impression for all that attend the event.
A great resource on locations is to ask other people where they
held their own baby showers in your area. Message boards like yelp
or yahoo answers will be able to provide you with information on
food, service, and ambiance as well as price. You can make your
choices from there; at least the locations are already narrowed
down for you.