Meet the new type of baby shower on the block that’s nurturing, and sets parents to be up for the arrival of their little one.
According to the Pinterest Predicts 2025 report, the search for ‘Nesting party ideas’ is up 105%, and Gen Z and Millennials are driving this supportive parenting trend.
Nesting parties are not about sharing material gifts, it’s about helping prep parents for their arrival and getting mum ready for the postpartum period which requires support, love and help!
Guests are invited to dig in to help and bring a can do attitude to work on whatever is needed in anticipation of the baby. Here are 13 ideas you can add to your own nesting party.
15 Gorgeous Nesting Party Ideas To Prepare The New Parents
1.Nappy Bouquet
Whilst gifts are not on the agenda for nesting parties, practical items that are going to be used daily are!
Come armed with a usable bouquet, not the flower kind, but one that will support the new parents in the first few weeks. A nappy bouquet is one that will never not be useful, the same goes for a bundle of muslins that will be used on rinse and repeat everyday.
Useful, everyday gifts > material gifts.
2. Freezer-friendly Meal Prep
Those first weeks and months of newborn life are hard, with little time to cook good meals, it’s also a period where you need to fuel the body with nourishing foods to help you through postpartum.
Help expecting parents by preparing loads of home cooked meals and snacks and fill the freezer up before baby is born.
You could even set everyone up in the kitchen for the day, helping to prep and store your favorites. This is one of my favorite activities for a nesting party, it’s the gift that keeps on giving!
3. Baby Cupboard Organising
Organising a babies wardrobe or sorting through baby shower gifts can feel overwhelming when you’re in the final few weeks of pregnancy.
During the nesting party, get your loved ones to help sort out the babies cupboard/wardrobe/drawers. Get them folding, cutting off tags, sorting for a washing pile and hanging everything up. You’ll finish the party feeling refreshed and ready for baby to arrive.
4. Making Toy Bags For Toddlers
If this isn’t your first arrival, you may have toddlers at home that are going to need to be busy and distracted when baby arrives and needs your full attention.
Have guests make up some fun toy bags for the toddlers that you can pull out for them when they’re in need of an activity. You could theme each bag or just have an assortment in each one, the more random the better!
5. Movie Night
After everything has been prepped and your jobs have been ticked, invite guests for nesting hour and host a fun movie night for everyone.
This is the ultimate time to pat yourselves on the back and have some downtime. Light some candles and get those snacks at the ready!
6. DIY Maternity Photoshoot
Get some beautiful bump photos without the price tag!
Mrs Hinch nailed this by hosting her own DIY photoshoot at home, simply using a white sheet for a backdrop. It’s so effective, easy and it will give you plenty of bump memories to cherish.
7. Making Birth Affirmation Posters
Gather everyone around and give them an A4 sheet of paper or notecard.
Get them to create some birth affirmation posters or quote cards, they will help you during the period of labor and postpartum when you need some kinds words of encouragement from your nearest and dearest.
There are so many ways you could do this, it could be with a painting session, drawing or simply just jotting a few thoughts down with a pen like the below.
8. Wash and Put Away Baby Clothes & Bottles
It takes a village to raise a child as the saying goes, but it also applies for getting the house ready for baby!
Get everyone to muck in and help wash baby clothes, cut tags, put away and wash and sterilise all the bottles in anticipation of the arrival. This will help so much, especially when you get to that stage that everything feels exhausting.
9. Organising The Nursery
Whether you have some last minute DIY jobs that you need resolving or some furniture putting together, the nesting party is the time to gather troops and get everything cleared from your to do list. A problem shared is a problem halved, and it will be done in the neck of time!
10. Preparing A Postpartum Care Box
Preparing mum for postpartum will keep her informed, and supported during those early days.
A lovely idea is to put together a postpartum care box, each guest could bring a different item for a manageable and easy gifting idea that will be loved.
We have a whole post on some of the top postpartum essentials every new mom needs, but here are some that would be great in a care box;
- Peri bottle
- Nipple cream
- Nursing bra
- Maternity pants
- Nursing pads
- Maternity pads
- Drinks bottle
- Hot water bottle
- Journal
- Face mask
- Mist spray
- Sweet, easy to grab snacks
11. Bib and Bodysuit Crafty Activity
Break up the day with a little crafty activity! A DIY bodysuit or bib station is a lot of fun, time to get creative and you really can never not have enough of these baby essentials!
We recommend a multipack of plain bodysuits or bibs and fabric marker pens, letting guests get stuck in and doing whatever design they like. This is a great time for everyone to talk and catch up too.
12. Create A Board With To-Do Post It Notes
Add some organisation to the nesting party and have a board with post it notes on. Each guest selects one from the list to tackle so by the end of the party, everything is cleared from your to-do list, ready for baby!
This could be anything from helping to clean the house, declutter a room, organise the nursery to building babies nursery furniture. Let’s nest!
13. Pamper Afternoon
Instead of a movie night, why not have a pamper afternoon to celebrate everyone getting through the to-do list?
Have a pamper box ready for everyone which could include things like a face mask, feet masks, a bath bomb to take home, nail file and nail varnish.
I am totally obsessed with the idea of a nesting party, there is no expectation for expensive gifts, it’s a great alternative or addition to a baby shower and it shows the parents to be that they are supported, loved and ready for baby!
What other ideas would you add to a nesting party? Let us know in the comments below!
