Weddings and new babies are joyous occasions that need to be celebrated! This is true even in a church family. As churches increase in membership so does the frequency of the bridal and baby showers. This is a wonderful blessing, but it can be financially taxing on the church and the attendees.
When my husband first became a pastor, I felt it was my responsibility to throw elaborate showers for each wedding and every new little bundle of joy that arrived. I enjoyed it, but it became quite costly and time consuming. It soon became evident that I would not be able to continue my new hobby! So, we sat down and came up with a few guidelines to help keep our church showers economical and enjoyable.
These guidelines have helped keep me focused as I’ve learned to juggle my responsibilities as a pastor’s wife. Try these 6 easy ideas to simplify your bridal and baby showers.
6 Ways to Simplify Bridal & Baby Showers
- Decide who should be given a shower. Will your church host showers for non-members or only members? Will you have a shower for every wedding and every new baby or for only first ones?
- Preplan your menu. What will you serve at the showers and who will provide the food? At our church we treat wedding showers and baby showers differently. At wedding showers we have punch, finger foods and a cake. When we have a baby shower, we serve punch and cake only. If the bride or mother’s family would like to provide additional food that is their option, but this way we know what the church provides and how much it will cost.
- Rotate games so they are not all the same.
Don’t make every shower the same. Change up the games and activities. There are many free printable games on the Internet. Use only 2 per shower or it will take too much time. Another nice activity is to have every one attending offer a piece of advice or a Bible verse to encourage the guest of honor.
- Have gender and color neutral decorations so they can be re-used.
This will save quite a bit of money. We have several nice decorative sets that we rotate and reuse. Check out discount stores and stock up when you find them on clearance.
- Realize not everyone will come to every shower.
Don’t feel badly if the attendance varies at showers hosted at the church. People have different reasons for not attending, but encourage them to come even if they cannot afford a gift. The purpose is not to gather goods, but to show love and support.
- Have a set of thank you cards to give to the bride or mother.
Have those who attend the shower address their own thank you card envelope and write a description of their gift on the inside of the flap. Then have a drawing from the envelopes for a small prize. When the shower is over, give the envelopes and cards to the bride/mom so she will easily be able to send them out. This will eliminate the need to keep a gift list and save her time.
Showing our love to other Christian sisters in our church family is so important. Not only does it let them know that they are important and valuable, but it also makes precious memories that will last for years to come!