The Best Baby Shower Themes—Plus, How to Recreate Them for Your Own Party

A baby shower is something the mom-to-be will remember for years to come. That's why it's always fun to celebrate the newest addition to your inner circle in style by showering the expecting couple with a memorable party. Add an even greater sense of festivity to the event by choosing a theme. Whether traditional or modern, the idea you choose doesn't have to be over-the-top: The focus will always be the mom-to-be. Guests can partake in a number of games, from a swaddling relay race to taste-testing baby food, and the opportunities for fun are endless. To help you plan the most joyous event, we're sharing baby shower theme ideas sure to pique every type of expecting mom's interest.

Does the expecting mother love to read? Throw a soirée focusing on her childhood favorites celebrating the likes of Dr. Seuss, Beauty and the Beast, and Peter Rabbit. For the couple with wanderlust, take them on a would-be trip to the French countryside with subtle lavender hues and a light, finger food-enriched menu. You can also invite guests along on a forest adventure with a wooded wonderland theme featuring candy eggs, cloches, and faux-bois pedestals. From muted pastels to bright colors, adding touches of nature to your bash with coordinating flowers is always a good idea.

Focus on a specific color for a more subtle theme. Whether her favorite shade is pink or she loves a minimalist-chic all-white color palette, go monochromatic with color matching decorations, desserts, and party favors the mom-to-be will love. Here, get the best baby shower theme ideas and start planning a celebration that the expecting parents will forever cherish.

Celebrate the mom-to-be's love of literature with a book themed baby shower complete with a whimsical menu, darling decorations, and plenty of fairy-tale fun. Tell a story of the joy to come with miniature book garlands, and a menu with nods to your favorite stories like Ring Around the Rose-Petal Fools.

Take a baby shower to new heights with décor incorporating the bright colors of carnival-bound fleet of hot air balloons and a wondrous sky-blue backdrop. Hanging mobiles, 3-D paper invitations, a thumbprint keepsake gift, and a whimsical cloud of balloons all make for a memorable party.

Hop on over to a pastel-hued celebration focusing on the stories by Beatrix Potter, the celebrated children's author of Peter Rabbit. Delight baby shower attendees with a farm-fresh menu, spring greenery, and charming decorations.

Invite guests to enter a room that's steeped with charm and subtle nods to Beauty and the Beast. Decorate tables with garden cloches, tea envelope party favors, and a spread of tea sandwiches and decadent desserts.

In a light and airy space, Parisian touches and a neutral color scheme create an ethereal setting for a baby shower. Scatter greenery, fringed tulips, and garden roses to add a touch of nature to the room. For a decidedly French feel, set out a delectable dessert buffet with tasty treats like macaroons, cake pops, and a simple white cake.

The letters that a child will one day learn are the foundation for this simple and elegant baby shower lunch. Continue the motif with alphabet cookies and a building block cake.

Take a cue from the picturesque French countryside in summer, where the fields are carpeted in lavender and the sky is nursery blue, when choosing your baby shower theme and décor. Attendees can enjoy a menu of potato-leek soup, pissaladiere, madeleines, and chocolat blanc–which would be easy for a host to prepare. Embroidered linens, a tiny arrangement of forget-me-nots, and a number of dangling wired wreaths make decorations a breeze.

A pink-themed baby shower creates a picture-perfect backdrop to celebrate the mom-to-be. Ombré red and pink floral arrangements, vintage-inspired pink glassware, and delicate pink desserts help play into the theme.

For a baby shower full of wildlife whimsy, bring the outdoors, in. Flora-and-fauna vignettes using birds' nests, candy eggs, cloches, and faux-bois pedestals; and crackers in the shapes of forest animals elevate the standard cheese-and-crackers plate.

Consider a departure from tradition and use the occasion to recall a mother-to-be's cherished childhood memories—of Halloween—and use these tricks to treat her to a celebration. Here, sweet meets spooky with a marshmallow ghost cake and cupcakes, Boo-nilla shakes, and ethereal tulle-cloaked balloons.

A simple and cheerful flower inspires an outdoor baby shower with fresh-picked décor, favors, and food. The daisy is easy to replicate in decorations and favors, but not every detail is flower shaped. Yellow-and-white favors—lollipops, rubber ducks, and paper cones holding penny candy—are just as fitting, while a gingham tablecloth adds to the summery theme.

Celebrating in the warmer spring and summer months? Corn poppies, in regal reds and rose pinks, wispy whites and flushed creams, exude a careless abundance as they tumble with tree peonies from a vase. On the table, fabric poppies—to accent tables or give as favors—are a snap to gather and stitch from silk or another bright, shiny fabric while buttery cookies and cupcakes capture the likeness of the flower's graphic outline.

To celebrate the modern mom, dispense with the fusty color code, invite the soon-to-be dad (as well as male friends and family members), and offer zero-prep-time foods instead of the usual tea-sandwich fare. Decorate the room with a DIY graphic mobile which you can then gift the parents-to-be for the baby's nursery.

"Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!" Dr. Seuss himself would love an invitation to an intimate baby shower featuring a secret garden setting, wild floral arrangements, collections of globes, and a favorite childhood book that inspires it all.

Here’s a fun baby shower theme for any new arrival. A bumblebee garland adds some whimsy to the dessert table while luscious blooms help set the scene. The cake features honeycomb detailing, touches of blue to reflect the cool color theme, and silvery bumblebees atop subtle golden drips of honey.

This theme takes the baby shower outside with lawn-blanket meadow. Colorful balloon blossoms line its borders, and the sweet fragrance of cupcakes fill the air.

Afternoon tea calls a few things to mind: tabletop elegance, petite pastries, clattering china, and the warmth of hot tea filling the room. Throw an elegant bash for the Anglofile mom-to-be.