In the past, people who lived out of town but wanted to attend a baby shower had two choices: travel to the event or send their regrets. Thanks to the fabulous Internet, family and friends who can’t attend the event in person can now do so virtually.
The Online Baby Shower Concept
Online showers are a growing trend. In fact, Today.com recently featured a story about superstar singer Shakira, her boyfriend (Spanish soccer player Gerard Piqué) and their online baby shower to raise money for UNICEF.
Technically, most of these showers aren’t strictly virtual affairs. Rather, most are a combination of a physical celebration of locals gathering in “real life” for the event, with virtual visits from those who live farther away through Skype, iChat or a video chatroom.
Create an Online Presence
Because setting up events and inviting guests are relatively easy tasks on Facebook, this social network is typically the best place to set up an online baby shower. On the page, be sure to specify the time and date of the event, and explain that the gathering will not only be a real live shower but also an online celebration for those who cannot attend in person. Be sure to include information on how guests can join the online celebration. For example, if you will be using Skype, explain to guests how they can get free Skype accounts and what time to call in to join the celebration.
Invites
In addition to your Facebook invites, it is always in good taste to also send out paper invites, especially to locals who you know will be attending the physical event. Your invites should also include a line advising out-of-town guests they will need to send their gifts to the party a few days ahead of time if they want to watch the opening of their presents online.
Baby Shower Games
When choosing games for the baby shower, look for ones that will work well for both online visitors as well as for in-person guests. Fortunately, there are a number of fun games and supplies for baby showers available today, so you should be able to find at least a couple that will work well for your party.
Look into Using a Chat Room App
While Skype and iChat are useful if you will only have a few virtual guests at your shower, you may want to look into getting a free video chat room app if you will be expecting a number of digital visitors to your event. One such app, ooVoo, works with both iOS and Android platforms and enables up to 12 people to connect for a video chat.
This is a guest post from Teresa Sizemore. Originally from Florida, Teresa’s currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in marketing. When she’s not studying or blogging, she can be found hiking with her two dogs.
