Drive-By Baby Shower – How to Throw One That’s Not Awkward

A Week of Planning for a Baby Shower

So, you’re expecting, but what should you do about a baby shower? A week ago your baby shower was perfectly planned with your family, but it got canceled. Since it’s no longer safe to gather with our closest friends and loved ones, expecting moms have had to be creative. While they’ve come up with some great tips and ideas, they’ve also had some not-so-great ones—like trying to have a drive-by baby shower. 

Although this trend has been a popular one, turning your baby shower into a drive-by might not be as fun as you think. Think of more ideas, we have plenty of them, like the 9 Hidden Alternatives to Baby Showers, you probably want to check out first!

What is a Drive-by Baby Shower?

The premise of a drive-by shower is simple. The expecting mother who is in her 28th week or 32nd week invites all her guests to the shower and then sits outside. The guests will drive up, hop out of the car for a few minutes, leave their presents, and then be on their way. Most guests are in and out so quickly that they can just leave the car running, or drop gifts in a box out the car window, and they even don’t have the time to log their names in the guest book.

At first glance, the drive-through shower might seem like a nice alternative to the traditional baby shower—but in practice, it can be awkward and cringe-worthy. The expecting mother sits on her lawn chair like it’s a throne, waiting to receive her subjects. Meanwhile, it can make the guests feel as if it’s their present that matters, not their presence. 

Why it’s a Bad Idea

Besides making for an awkward afternoon, here are a few reasons why you might want to avoid a drive-by baby shower:

1. You Leave Out the Guests

Although the baby shower is supposed to be about the mother and her soon-to-be bundle of joy, the guests play a large role too. Showers are about more than just presents—they’re an opportunity for friends and family to connect with each other. 

No Time for Games

But, at a drive-by, there’s no time for connection or fun. It’s not as if your guests can play games or bring food. Some sites have suggested that guests fill out a birthday bet and leave it, but that’s not very engaging. In fact, guests can hardly even have a conversation with the expecting Mama! They might have time to say, “Congratulations,” but the entire experience will probably feel cold and impersonal. 

Even if you only invite local guests, driving twenty or thirty minutes to drop off a gift is a lot, and it probably won’t feel like a party to the new mom or the guests. You’ve also got to be careful that your dropbox doesn’t become a gift-grab for anyone walking by.

To avoid all the headache, a much better alternative to a traditional baby shower is a virtual baby shower at WebBabyShower. Through our service, guests can upload videos and photos of good wishes, play party games with the other guests, send out invites matching their custom theme, link gift registries, and even sign a guest book—all without having to leave their house. The entire baby shower takes place online and lasts for months and the expecting Mama will get plenty of attention and it won’t leave the guests out either. 

WebBabyShower has helped thousands of families for over a decade to have amazing online baby shower experiences. Try our no-risk 7-day refund and start a party today!

2. Drive-by Showers are Short-Lived

Traditional baby showers usually last two or three hours, which makes up for all the extra time you spent setting it up. A drive-by shower, however, can take just as much planning, but they’re fairly short-lived. You’ll probably receive all your guests within an hour or less, and then spend the rest of the time cleaning up (or trying to haul your presents inside). Is it really worth the effort you’ll spend on planning and decorating? 

Not only this, but you may need a permit for a drive-thru shower. To find out if you need one you would need to check with your local authorities or HOA as the rules are not the same everywhere. Even if you don’t plan on a lot of cars showing up, you would still need to check because nothing says baby shower like the local police stopping the event.

With a WebBabyShower, planning and hosting a party is easy, and you don’t have to cut the festivities short. You can even pick a 6 or a 12-month plan so that guests can celebrate more than once!

3. Too Much Attention on the Block

A regular baby shower is fairly private, with the party happening inside. Unfortunately, drive-bys can make your shower feel like a public event. Since you’re outside, you invite attention from your neighbors or anybody who happens to cruise by. 

Not a lot of new parents want that kind of attention—especially if you’re just sitting on the lawn in a fancy dress. And, since everyone will know you’re receiving presents, you won’t be able to leave the drop-box unattended for a moment. If you do, a sneaky passerby might decide to take a few things for themselves. 

This heroic hubby in Madison Wisconsin chased down a baby shower gifts thief only to get dragged by the car, don’t let it come to this. Get your gifts delivered and keep your spouse safe.

The nice thing about having a WebBabyShower is that you can pick and choose who gets to see you. There’s no uninvited attention, and introvert mothers can make the shower as private as they want.

4. You’ve Got to Think About Location

Another problem that drive-by baby showers present is their location. It’s easy if the expecting Mama lives in the suburbs, and there’s no traffic, but what about a main road or a high traffic thoroughfare? Most people on a busy road aren’t going to want to wait ten minutes for you to drop off your gift and exchange pleasantries. 

On the other end of the spectrum, narrow gravel roads out in the country aren’t set up for tons of traffic, either. At the very least, you’ll need a relative or friend to play traffic cop, which can always cause more drama. 

Geography Isn’t in Your Favor

We’ve talked about how location can be a detriment, but what about those family and friends that live across the country? They might make the trip if it’s a traditional shower, but you can’t expect them to go all that way for something that won’t last an hour.

If you’re having a WebBabyShower, geography doesn’t matter. Your closest friends and family might be halfway across the world, but as long as they have internet access, they can attend your party. A virtual baby shower even includes those who might not have been able to attend a regular baby shower—so, you can have an unlimited guest list. 

5. Weather

Picture it: you’ve spent a couple of weeks planning out the perfect drive-by shower. You’ve invited everyone, set up decorations—and then it rains.

With a virtual WebBabyShower, the weather isn’t even a factor. Whether it’s rain, sleet, snow, or shine, you can always log on and have your party. 

6. Cleaning Up the Aftermath

After you’ve received all your guests, you’ve got to deal with the worst part of a drive-by shower: the clean-up. Unlike a regular shower, you might have to look for trash that’s been blown away, and haul everything back inside. If you’ve made any food for your guests, you’ll need to deal with that, and not all cuisine tastes good after a couple of hours in the sun. 

Let’s not forget about lawn chairs, tables you might’ve set up, and all those gifts that your guests have dropped off. 

At least with a virtual shower, there’s not a lot of clean-up, if any. You might put up a few decorations, but since nobody’s coming by, you don’t have to decorate your whole house or hold the shower at a venue. 

Socially Distant Ideas for Baby Showers

Covid-19 is definitely one of Mom’s challenges in her pregnancy. Pregnancy is already stressful enough, yet there’s this pandemic adding headaches to it. Mom has already planned her ideal baby shower in her mind, but what will happen to it now?

Well, it is still possible. You can hold gatherings outdoors implementing social distancing but remember, no children, no senior citizens, no sick people, no close contact, and always wear a mask. You can find a place that is very spacious like the local church or school parking lot, we also have a ton of inspiration on how to have the perfect outdoor baby shower.

Mom.com says, “If you really want to have an in-person event, think about using a local church or school parking lot to host a tailgate party with a few friends. This is much like a drive-by because you really aren’t gathered in the same room just a few feet away.”

With very limited guests, 10 feet apart from each other, and with all the safety measures to do making it very complicated, we don’t think this would be very worth it also considering how risky it will be. Why not consider these ideas below?

Pregnancy Tips: Some Virtual Baby Shower Ideas to Try

• Facebook Baby Shower – The Facebook baby shower might be simple but it is a cheap and easy virtual baby shower that you can throw as an alternative to the traditional baby shower.
• Zoom Baby Shower – With the decorations, you have in mind, you can freely apply that using their virtual baby shower backgrounds! You can visit our Zoom Baby Shower article for more tips and instructions.
• WebBabyShower – It offers parenting tips and ideas with shower features like games and entertainment, links to gift registries, guest books, photos, and video albums and so much more!

You might not be able to see the beauty of a virtual baby shower at first but when you are already on it, you will realize how it is still possible to make your party a blast. Even a celebrity can’t deny this!

Don’t Jump on the Bandwagon

Drive by baby shower look fun when you see the cutesy decorations on Pinterest, books, or news, but if you’ve ever had to attend one of these “parties,” you know how awkward they can be. Drive-by showers might be a trend now, but like bell-bottom jeans or flip phones, they’ll go out of style soon enough. 

Instead of dealing with all the headaches, listen to our tips and ideas, and make this a memorable occasion with unbothersome entertainment by having a virtual shower. Not only will you be able to expand your guest list, but you’ll still be able to connect and have fun with your family and friends. Feel and express your joy and excitement at your pregnancy with your family. Your baby shower is a once-in-a-lifetime experience and a parenting goal. WebBabyShower has lots of ideas that can help you keep it special with a virtual baby shower.