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How to Host a Drive-By Baby Shower

These are definitely weird times we’re living in, but it’s not all bad. Because of social distancing, we’ve had to get creative in how we can celebrate our loved ones. As a result, one of my favorite things to come out of these past few weeks is the drive-by baby shower.

A drive-by baby shower is a great way to celebrate moms-to-be while maintaining social distancing.

I just love that, as a society, we always find a way to bring good into the world, even when all the odds are stacked against us.

Drive-by or drive-thru baby showers are just one shining example of that. Nothing can get in between us and showing our friends and family how much we love them!

{And if you’re looking for other ways to host a social distancing baby shower – I’ve got lots of other unique ideas!}

What is a Drive-By Baby Shower?

It’s simple! Instead of gathering all together in a house or venue and mingling with food & drinks, guests will form a parade in front of the mom-to-be’s house.

They’ll drive by at a designated time, drop off gifts (because that is the purpose of a baby shower, after all), shout their well-wishes, blow kisses, honk, and make mom and baby feel special!

Who should host the shower?

Ideally, whoever would have hosted a regular baby shower could organize the drive-by shower.

If no one volunteers, don’t be afraid to ask your closest friends and family! Normally that could be awkward, but in this case, it’s an extremely low lift for the host or hostess. There’s barely any cost or effort involved, compared to a regular shower.

On the flip side, don’t be afraid to host your own drive-by baby shower! Just let your friends and family know you’d love to see their smiling faces before baby arrives, and that you’ll be outside to wave at the designated time, and they’ll get the idea.

Tips for a Successful Drive-By Baby Shower

This shower doesn’t have to be complex or complicated, so more than anything, don’t overthink it! At the end of the day, the purpose is to make sure mama feels the love, and that you’re able to shower her with gifts so she’s prepared for baby’s arrival.

There are a few things you can do to make the shower a little more fun and special for everyone involved though, with minimal effort:

1. Choose a short time frame for the drive-by

Give guests a 30-60 minute window to drive by the house, to keep up the parade vibe, and so the pregnant mom isn’t sitting on her front porch for hours on end.

2. Send an invitation.

Even though this is a less formal type of baby shower, an invitation is still nice to send. An email or evite invitation is totally fine, but it’s always helpful for people to have all the details in one place, and for the mom-to-be to have something to print off and put in her baby book!

{And I just so happen to have a super cute Drive-By Baby Shower Invitation in my One Joyful Mama Designs Etsy shop. ;)}

An adorable invitation template for a drive-by baby shower.

3. Set up a table at the curb for gifts.

Let’s be real here – the underlying purpose of any baby shower is to give the parents-to-be gifts, and help them stock up on all the endless stuff babies need.

So make sure guests have a designated spot to drop their gifts, so they can maintain their 6-foot social distance.

4. Decorate the house and yard.

Part of the fun of hosting a baby shower is decorating the whole house and bringing the party to life with a fun theme or color scheme. There’s no reason you can’t still do the same thing at a drive-by shower!

Pick up balloons, yard signs, streamers, whatever you can to jazz it up and bring a smile to your pregnant friend’s face.

5. Set out individually wrapped cookies or cupcakes.

This is definitely not required, but certainly nice-to-have! A little sweet treat (individually wrapped, to avoid any cross-contamination) is a nice “thank you” to give guests for making the drive out to celebrate the baby on the way.

6. Send an activity to guests in advance.

Baby showers always have cute little games or activities for guests to do, which create fun memories for the mom-to-be. There’s no reason drive-by baby showers can’t have their own activities!

Just send the activity in advance, and have guests fill it out and bring it with them to drop off for the mama-to-be to read later.

These Predictions & Wishes for Baby cards a great activity for any baby shower. Not only do they give guests some fun talking points, but you can make them into a little booklet afterwards, for mom-to-be to keep and remember after baby arrives.

A Predictions for Baby card is a fun activity for guests at a Drive-by Baby Shower.

7. Encourage guests to make signs, make noise, and make mama feel special.

It’s still a party, after all! Encourage guests to go all out, as much as they can. Bring confetti poppers, make signs, decorate their cars, blast the pregnant mama’s favorite music… whatever they can do to make it personal to the mama of honor.

8. Set up a virtual gift opening party via Zoom.

Everyone loves seeing all the cute, snuggly, precious gifts at baby showers! So, to really go the extra mile, you can set up a virtual gift opening Zoom conference, so everyone can share in the excitement.

Are Drive-By Baby Showers here to stay?

I don’t see why not! Maybe they won’t be as common once we’re all able to back to “normal” life, but I think they’re a great option for a lot of people.

Maybe mom is super busy, traveling, and can’t block out a Saturday for a traditional shower?

Maybe mom is immunocompromised and has to be cautious of large groups all the time?

Maybe baby came early unexpectedly, and the parents are at home with a NICU baby?

There are tons of reasons why a drive-by shower would be appropriate, back in the ~real world~, so let’s keep ’em alive!

A drive-by baby shower is a great way to celebrate moms-to-be while maintaining social distancing.

Have you participated in a drive-by shower? Let me know how it went in the comments!

Dianna Cook

Sunday 3rd of October 2021

The drive by is going to happen at my home. that being said, do I need to provide food for the people at the house? Grandparents etc.

Clarinda

Thursday 21st of January 2021

I'm getting ready to host a drive by baby shower. I'm excited! Thank you for the useful information.

Sandy

Monday 18th of January 2021

Hi, I’m hosting a Drive By Baby Shower for my daughter in March, she’s due in April. We live in Michigan so our weather will be cold. I’m looking for some ideas. I will be decorating the house and yard but I don’t want her to freeze outside waiting for our guest to drive by. We have set an hour from 2-3. Any ideas? Thank you

Susie

Sunday 13th of December 2020

Hello mama’s to be and mama’s that are already moms! We have 1 daughter and we want to give them great memories. They lost there 1st one and currently they have been blessed with god's blessings and love and unconditional love, they can’t wait to be parents next year. April 2021! This grandma is so excited and blessed. So I need help here, please. Please send me great ideals and gift ideals and set ups! We live in AZ, our daughter lives in CA. So please send me great memories ladies!

Joanne

Sunday 7th of March 2021

@Susie, I would set up a table and decorate with your theme colours .Have take away cupcakes in blue and pink cupcake boxes so no germs.Have signs with balloons on the lawn.Maybe have a nice throw to wrap mom in if its cold .Nice baskets to place gifts in .Make a diaper cake to decorate the center of the table.Good luck .Im planning a drive by Woodland theme for my neice for April. Have fun and enjoy the love.

Chrissie

Monday 14th of December 2020

Congrats to you and your daughter! Hopefully some of the other mama's who read this post can chime in with some additional ideas, but just a quick meaningful gift idea for you – my mom has gotten all of my babies a sweet quilt with their names on it, that is they (and I) LOVE. It's the perfect prop for those monthly photoshoots, and is definitely something we'll cherish forever. Here's the one we have – you can customize your own colors and fabrics: https://rstyle.me/+VTtXJMIYmEPB5-XktlyiHQ

Kari

Friday 9th of October 2020

There are so many cute ideas on this post. Thank you! I am going to be a new mama—after years of struggling and a lot of heartache. Of course, I was so excited to be able to share this joy with friends and family, but have come to realize this may not be possible. My question is how far people have had guests travel for the Drive By Shower?? We have a lot of family and friends but live near a large city where everyone is spread out miles from where we live.

Joanne

Sunday 7th of March 2021

@Kari, People will come from miles away if they can do so if not maybe have those quests too far away send a gift and then zoom or Face Time with them while opening your gift from them.Its a tough time but people love to celebrate a new baby it brings hope to the world.G9od luck and have fun .