The arrival of a baby is among the most memorable occasions in parents' lives. So it's fitting that this occasion is marked with celebrations popularly known as baby showers. The tradition of organizing baby showers to celebrate the pending or recent birth of a baby has been around for hundreds of years across many cultures around the world. Given its long and diverse history, it's quite obvious that baby showers have been celebrated in as many different ways as the number of different cultures and time-periods in which they have been celebrated.

The practice of organizing baby showers probably came about as a traditional way of sharing information about raising babies with the new mother. It developed over time and today it has evolved into an elaborate celebration that is planned with a lot of love and care to make it memorable. Although there are no formally established traditions, many common elements do exist in the way it is celebrated by different people. Usually baby showers are organized by people other than the parents of the baby. The occasion has people close to the new parents or parent-to-be coming together to offer their best wishes and advice. They also bring along baby shower gifts which are generally items that parents would find useful for their babies. Games and other similar activities are also included in the celebrations to make it lively and memorable.

Increasingly people planning baby shower parties try to enhance the experience by going for unique ideas and themes for the party. These include selecting invitation cards and decorations and supplies that go with the theme. Since it's a celebration, baby shower games are the high point of most such parties. The games should be selected for their simplicity and high level of interactivity; pass the package, guess the birth date, guessing the mother's girth with ribbons or toilet paper and baby shower bingo are some traditionally favorite activities. Along with traditional baby shower gifts which usually consist of items for the baby's use, nowadays people also gift their guests with token baby shower favors.

Balancing so many elements that go into creating a memorable occasion requires careful planning. Apart from brainstorming with close friends and relatives who have successfully hosted baby showers some online research would be very helpful. To begin at the beginning, one needs to finalize ideas and themes for the occasion, ideally the theme should contribute towards making the party lively. Invitations cards, decoration and supplies, and baby showers matching with the theme can then be selected and bought confidently. The point to be noted here is that none of these needs to be lavish or extravagant as the success of the celebration would be largely dependent on the ideas that drive the occasion. So it's important to plan some great activities and interesting prizes. The games would serve as a platform on which people can interact and have fun which they will remember for many years to come. Baby shower gifts and baby shower favors on the other hand can be thoughtfully selected token items which would serve as sweet mementos of the party.