How to Host an African American Baby Shower
Celebrating new life is important and can be accomplished through many means. A popular way to express your enthusiasm for the mother-to-be is to host a baby shower. While all baby showers require lots of planning, African-American baby showers can be even more challenging to plan. Taking the time to locate Afro-centric items and games can demonstrate your commitment to the honoree and make the baby shower extra special. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Choose an Afro-centric theme. Themes help unify the shower guests and make shower planning easier. While popular themes include "African Animals" and "Village Life," it's important to keep the personality, gender and ages of the guests in mind when choosing an appropriate one. For example, village themes are often used for mixed-gender showers.
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Send Afro-centric baby shower invitations. Mark the special occasion by using invitations that capture the strength and spirit of African-American culture. Companies such as Chestnut Cards specialize in providing African-American shower invitations and party favors. Choosing invitations that feature African-American babies and poetry can show the mother-to-be that you went the extra mile for her.
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Greet guests with traditional African phrases. Learn simple Swahili sayings to add flair to the baby shower. Make a game out of it by allowing certain words to only be spoken in Swahili throughout the baby shower. For example, banning the English words for baby, birth, and stroller encourages guests to participate in the fun. Provide prizes for guests that comply with the word-switching rules.
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Make memorable centerpieces and decorations. Give honor to African traditions by incorporating special crafts into the baby shower decorum. For example, making a "baby welcome broom" can show the mother-to-be you are excited about the birth of her baby. Find African-American baby shower craft ideas and directions in books such as "Put Soul In Your Baby Shower: The African-American Baby Shower Book" by Tonya D. Evans.
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Play traditional games. Incorporating symbolic games into the baby shower promotes unity and embraces the past. Rituals such as the "trust walk" and the "sister circle" can be positive experiences for the entire shower party.
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Set up the trust walk by getting guests to form two lines facing each other. Blindfold the mother-to-be with Kente cloth and have her walk slowly down the line of guests. The guests guide the mother down the line while taking turns caressing her shoulders, back, forehead and belly.
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Begin the sister circle by forming a circle around the mother-to-be. Guests then take turns sharing parenting advice and supportive words. Traditional games can be altered to accommodate the needs of the shower guests.
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Tips & Warnings
African-American baby showers don't have to feature Afro-centric themes to be exciting.
