Holistic Baby Shower Ideas

In the past, I did not enjoy baby showers. My own shower (twenty plus years ago!) was a mixed blessing unfortunately. The baby shower games and activities were humiliating and embarrassing. I left feeling exhausted, not honored. I'm delighted to share that the new generation of young women have proven themselves quite capable of reinventing the tradition for themselves. A baby shower can be whatever you want it to be, after all.

I re-discovered baby showers recently when I attended one that warmed me to the heart. This young woman and her friends treated the shower like a powerful rite-of-passage - so much more than a social venue for practical jokes and unwrapping baby gifts.

Here's my account of that inspiring holistic baby shower. But if you don't have the time to read a long article, I'm including a condensed list of tips for planning your own unique rituals for baby showers. That's why I love hubs: short and to the point.

Planning a holistic baby shower

• Only invite close friends and family. While many people are including men in baby showers these days, I think a woman-only event will be more powerful.

• Before any rituals, let the group synergize through guided conversation in a circle. A good idea is for mothers to share their birth stories with the expecting woman, or some of the joys and tribulations of parenthood. This level of sharing can be deep and also humorous, serving to bond the group.

• Keep any rituals short and sweet. Work with the mother on this aspect of the shower. What kind of support does she need: From the elders in the circle? or her closest girlhood friends? Or from her own mother? The giving of a sacred gift is one example - like a pomegranate, a pine cone, or an orange, all of which are ancient symbols of fertility.

• Break the tension after the ritual with good food and drink! Pick out some good dancing music beforehand, and be ready to shift the party into emotional release after the expecting mother is honored. This is the appropriate time to open baby gifts - or they can be left for the honored guest to open later.

Remember that this is your transformation into motherhood, so you can call the shots about how you want to be honored by the community. If you can't trust your friend to organize the kind of event you want, choose another friend to do the hosting!

This is all just my opinion - feel free to comment on your own inspirations and ideas. If you want to have another baby shower to include men, my advice is to do it on a different day. Let the woman's circle stand as a ritual that will never be forgotten.