Celebrate the Month of Mary Feast of the Annunciation by having a Baby Shower for the Blessed Virgin Mary!
Invite the women you love to come over for an afternoon to honor and celebrate Mary and her Baby boy, Jesus!
How To Host A Baby Shower For The Blessed Mother
Here are some ideas to get your planning started!
- Send invitations– Ideally, send about 4-6 weeks in advance so people can plan for it. For an easy and beautiful option, I’d recommend this design from Paperless Post with the wording “Shower for Mother Mary.”
- Date – Choose a Saturday afternoon that works for you and a few people you know will come. Saturday is traditionally dedicated to Mary! Want to know why? (Link)
- Registry – set up a registry with items needed by your local pro-life resource center for pregnant women. Diapers, wipes, car seats, high chairs etc… If you use a conglomerate site like Babylist.com, you can invite guests to contribute to the cost of larger items or even just one item like a carseat.
- Spiritual bouquet – ask guests to commit to offering prayers or sacrifices or pious acts (like Daily Mass or time in Adoration) for the intentions of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I know this will make her happy! You could have it as an activity during the shower, using colored paper in the shapes of flowers, or send out an opportunity for guests to reply using a simple Google Survey and then compile the results and have them displayed cumulatively during the shower in a beautiful way.
- Party favors – send each guest home with a packet of seeds. Create a little sign near them encouraging guests to “Let Love Grow.” Mary carried Jesus in her womb and cared for him as a child as He grew. How beautiful to plant seeds in her honor and recall this great mystery as we watch them grow.
- Food–
- https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/bread/sweet-bread/blueberry-crescent-roll-turnovers.html
- Popcorn – The pure white popcorn hides the tiny seed from which it came, so the most pure Mary hid the tiny baby Jesus from which she came. (Mary Haseltine’s idea!)
- Blue punch bowl with lemon (white) sorbet.
- Games–
- “Who knows the Mother best?” Annunciation Trivia
- Marian Word Scramble
- Name that Tune- either use a premade list for baby showers where each song has the word baby in it, or use a collection of your favorite Marian hymns. Play through the first phrase or two of each song, about 30 seconds. Guests can simply number a piece of paper 1-12. They can get one point for each correct title and 1 point for each correct artist.
- Activity –
- make Marian Jewelry Lot of 10 Miraculous Medal 1″ Charms with Jump Rings Included – Mary Our Lady of Grace https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TJD2SYU/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_DKNK5Y0YW2RKY3EWYR62
- 30 Pack Necklace Chains Bulk for Jewelry Making, Selizo Bulk Necklace Chains Silver Plated Cable Chains for Jewelry Making, 1.2 mm (18 Inches) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RWJRBGC/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_3PJ071V8N5EKE98V259E?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
- Have a space to write prayer intentions on beautiful scraps of paper and to leave them at Mary’s feet so that she can present them to Jesus.
- Prayer– the Angelus – have the prayer printed ahead of time, gather by a statue or image of Mary that is large enough for guests to see.
- Reflection – listen to xxx
- Decorations– create a Mariann Altar. For inspiration…
- Blue and white streamers
- White table cloths
- Fresh flowers such as baby’s breath
- Send a reminder email about a week before to remind your guests, including the link to the registry, information about participating in the spiritual bouquet, and any other info for your guests!
How To Throw A Virtual Baby Shower For Mary
As an alternative idea, plan a Virtual Baby Shower for Mary!
- Gather with friends from any distance (college reunion with a purpose?!) using an online platform such as Zoom.
- Best Practices for Virtual Baby Showers – Virtual Showers are usually between 1-1.5 hours long. Assign one person to “emcee” the event and guide the interactions and handle the technical aspects of the call (music, games, slides etc.). This will help guests feel relaxed and give them opportunities to participate. Send a reminder email the morning of that includes the link to the event so that guests don’t have to search far to find it in their inbox.
- If guests don’t know each other, call on each person at the beginning to introduce themself and share something such as their favorite mystery of the rosary or favorite title of Mary.
- If it’s a group of moms, invite them to each share one piece of parenting advice that they wish every other mom knew. Hint that you’d be especially interested in any tips for fostering your own prayer life amidst the business of life.
- Games are easy to convert into a slideshow instead of printed items. Then ask your guests to grab a pen and paper to write down their answers. To add to the spirit of competition, you could send an electronic gift card to the winner by email.
- When praying together on Zoom, either have one person lead and everyone else remain muted or offer a time for personal prayer and reflection on the life of Mary by watching a music video for a song about Mary’s life together. Invite guests to turn off their cameras, relax, and open their hearts to their Heavenly Mother’s love for a few minutes.
Mary, Cause of Our Joy, Pray for Us!
