There’s nothing quite as special as the birth of a baby. Whether you’re expecting your first or your fourth, naturally, you’ll want to celebrate after your baby is born.
So, with that in mind, we’ve compiled some suggestions to inspire you. Hopefully, these ideas on how to celebrate your new baby will help you to plan an extra-special welcome!
Here’s to celebrating the birth of your baby in style!
Baby arrival party ideas
1. Enjoy a baby shower
A popular way to celebrate your new baby is to enjoy a baby shower. This is an American trend that’s become a hit in the U.K. in recent years and is usually organised for the mum-to-be by a close friend or family member.
Baby showers are usually held in advance of the baby’s arrival, during your final trimester, to celebrate their imminent arrival.
Typically, a group of close friends and family get together and it may be held at your home or theirs, or some other venue such as a restaurant. Or you may opt for an online baby shower instead.
The focus of the baby shower is very much on you and your baby. It’s a celebration party, and the vibe is very much a party atmosphere so usually, a baby shower involves drinks (including soft drinks for mum, of course) and party food or nibbles, as well as fun baby-themed party games.
Your baby shower organiser may also decide to purchase baby celebration favours and accessories such as balloons and bunting, and perhaps a baby celebration cake for all the guests to enjoy. Gifts are usually exchanged too.
All the talk of your baby’s arrival is likely to make it a lot of fun. Expect the excitement to reach boiling point during your baby shower (and to be quite exhausted afterwards)!
2. Host a baby arrival party
Like to do things differently? As an alternative to a baby shower, you could always host a similar type of event at some point after your little one is born.
Getting everyone round to your home in one hit to meet the baby might be more convenient to you than having a trickle of visitors and well-wishers in those first few tiring weeks.
But if you do decide to host a baby celebration event fairly soon after the birth of your baby, try to be realistic about how long you’d want people around. Life with a newborn can be exhausting and you’ll likely be getting broken sleep.
You may not feel like having people for hours on end when you’re in the throes of the newborn stage, so be sure to limit the celebration to an hour or so max to keep it enjoyable for you, and don’t feel that you have to cater for your guests. Keep it simple!
3. Hold a formal naming ceremony or religious ceremony
Depending on your preferences, a naming ceremony or religious ceremony is also a great way to celebrate your baby’s arrival. Many families choose to formally welcome their new baby to the family by hosting a celebration like this.
If you opt for a non-religious ceremony, there are no hard and fast rules about the format of the event, nor when or where it should be held. This means that you can settle into life with your newborn without having to worry about planning anything for a few months. You can organise the ceremony for a date that suits you once you’ve adjusted to life with a new baby.
Ways to celebrate your baby without a party
There are also lots of ways to welcome your new baby to the world without holding an event or party:
4. Have a pregnancy photoshoot
Capturing portraits of you during your final trimester is a lovely way to celebrate your unborn child, and we offer outdoor maternity photoshoots here in the five acres of private grounds we have at Kingshill Studios.
We love nothing more than capturing you in portraits during the final weeks of your pregnancy. After all, this is a significant stage in your life but a phase that’s quickly forgotten once your baby is born if you don’t have photographs to look back on.
We have a huge selection of elegant maternity gowns that you are welcome to wear during your pregnancy photoshoot. These are super flatting and make you feel and look amazing!
5. Invest in professional newborn photography
As a professional newborn and family photographer I would say this, wouldn’t I, but a newborn photoshoot is a perfect way to celebrate the birth of your new baby!
There are so many reasons why I’d highly recommend that you get one booked in for the days or weeks after your baby is born.
· The newborn stage passes with the blink of an eye!
Babies change and grow at rapid speed. Within weeks, your baby will have changed significantly. Even if you intend to take lots of photos of your new newborn, you may find yourself so busy or so tired that you don’t get around to taking as many photos of them in the early days as you plan to.
If you commission a newborn photographer, they’ll capture plenty of images of your baby for you to look back on in years to come, including ones of you with your baby and with the whole family.
· There’s also the fact that memories fade over time
In the initial weeks after your baby is born, you’ll likely spend hour after hour simply gazing at your gorgeous baby’s tiny face (bliss, right?). You may think you’ll remember every tiny detail. But the truth is that it’s only with photographs that you’ll be able to recall those wonderful first moments vividly.
The images will instantly remind you of the precious newborn stage and capture all your new baby’s adorable baby features – the tiny fingers and toes, the delicate downy skin, the curled up newborn look. Awww! Plus, they’ll be enjoyed by all who see them for years to come.
· Professional quality portraits
Also, no matter how good our smartphones are these days, or how great a photographer you or your partner are, any snap you take on your phone will likely pale in comparison to those created by a professional baby portrait photographer.
Newborn photographers, like myself, are specialists in posing and photographing babies and families. Here at Kingshill Studios, we create a stylised gallery of newborn images which are works of art in their own right and are a fitting memento of this significant occasion.
We believe professional newborn portraits are the perfect way to celebrate the new addition to your family for all these reasons, and more!
Related reading: How to choose your newborn photographer
6. Display your baby portraits around the home
Once you have your newborn portraits from your baby’s first photo session, you’ll likely want to display these around your home in celebration of your baby.
Here at Kingshill Studios, we offer a range of stunning printed photo products and wall art, including multi-aperture frames, canvases, acrylic prints and circular orbs. There are so many beautiful ways to display your professional portraits these days!
Alternatively, you could also create a photobook or photo album in tribute to your new baby.
7. Create a scrapbook
A scrapbook could also be compiled with baby photos and the cards and well-wishes that family and friends have given you. This will be a lovely memento for you and your child to look back at in years to come.
8. Start a memory box
Similarly, a memory box, perhaps with the year of your child’s birth on it or even personalised with their name or initials, could be a lovely way to celebrate them.
In there you could keep things such as their hospital tags from when they were newborn, first photos, and as they grow older you may wish to include a lock of their hair, their first pair of shoes, their first teddy etc.
Another nice idea is to buy a copy of the day’s newspaper for the day your baby is born and include this in the memory box. In years to come your child might marvel at the news stories of the day and the price of the newspaper!
9. Commission or make a baby cast
You could also commission someone to cast your baby’s hands and feet to celebrate the birth of your baby.
Professional baby casting is a popular and widely available service here in Aberdeen. It’s an adorable way to capture how small and precious your newborn’s fingers and toes are!
The process is quick and easy and completely safe for your baby. The casts, once dried, can be mounted in a frame and displayed in your child’s nursery, perhaps alongside a photo to make a lovely keepsake item or gift.
A baby cast is lovely to look back on and no doubt when your child is older, they’ll marvel at the fact that they had hands and feet that were ever once that small!
If you don’t wish to get this done professionally, there are also lots of DIY baby casting kits available.
10. Plant a tree
Planting a tree in honour of your baby’s birth is another lovely way to celebrate your baby.
Watching the tree grow over time, as your baby grows, is a symbolic way of commemorating their arrival and is good for the environment too!
Baby celebration ideas
So, there you have it! Hopefully, these suggestions on how you might celebrate the birth of your baby have been useful.
However you choose to welcome your new baby to the world, we hope that you have a wonderful time in the first days, weeks and months after your baby is born. It is undoubtedly the most special time and one that you will want to savour in the memory bank for a lifetime.
Will you host a newborn baby celebration?
Do feel free to let us know in the comments what you’re planning to commemorate the arrival of your new little bundle of joy. We’d love to hear what exciting things you’ve got up your sleeves!
Also, if you have any other suggestions of ways to celebrate a baby’s arrival, do let us know and we may add them to this list!
Contact us ABOUT MATERNITY AND newborn photography in Aberdeen
If you’d like to book a maternity or newborn photography session with us here at Kingshill Studios in Aberdeenshire, please get in touch as soon as possible during your pregnancy to ensure you secure your preferred date.
