Cheap or Free Places to Have a Baby Shower: 4 Options Listed

Free places to have a baby shower are out there: in public spaces like a park, your own home, or, if you can find one, a local restaurant that will let you use a room for free. Throwing a baby shower can get expensive, despite the gifts of advice, diapers, and other supplies that most guests will give. Cutting out the cost of renting a space can be a huge help (though you’ll still have to worry about providing lunch or hors d’oeuvres and decorating). In this article, we’ll give you the rundown of typical cost to throw a baby shower, a list of affordable (including free) places to host your event, and ways to minimize other costs.

What a Baby Shower Costs

There’s no set amount for how much a baby shower will cost, but it can easily range from $100 to $1,000. There are a lot of factors that determine how much a shower will cost, including venue, food, and decorations. And of course, the number of guests you invite will also affect how much money you’ll have to spend on food and a venue. Aside from these factors, the cost will also depend on how much work you are willing to put into the event yourself. For instance, you might decide to pay for a venue but make your own decorations. You might decide to host the shower at home and prepare everything yourself. There are definitely ways to save money on a baby shower, so the cost of it is ultimately up to you.

Free Places to Have a Baby Shower (Or Cheap)

When hosting a baby shower, the venue is important. You want to make sure you have a place with enough space for all of your guests. Below we have put together a list of affordable places to host your baby shower.

Church

Churches and religious halls are usually an inexpensive option for hosting an event like a baby shower. There will likely be a rental fee and you will have to schedule your party with the church ahead of time, but this tends to be a more affordable option. Plus, you’ll know the rental fee you pay is going to your own congregation, a worthwhile cause.

Home

For obvious reasons, many people choose to host their baby showers at home. If you live in an apartment or your house just isn’t big enough to accommodate your guests, ask a friend or family member if the party could be hosted at their house. If the weather is nice, you could even have the event in someone’s backyard. This option is the most likely to be free, at least in terms of rental costs.

Parks

A local park can potentially be a free place to host a baby shower. This will mostly depend on the size of your guest list, what areas of the park you want to use, and how long you plan to stay. If you want to use specific areas of the park, such as pavilions, then you may need to pay a fee. Your best bet is to call the responsible authorities, like your city or town’s park district, to find out what the park counts as a special event and how much it would cost to host your baby shower there.

Restaurants

Many restaurants have rooms you can rent for events, and a lot of them will give you deals on food if you rent their space. Some restaurants will charge less if you host your shower on a weekday. Some might even let you use a space for free if you opt for a slow day of the week or time because of the business on food and drinks your shower will bring in. You will have to do some research and contact your local restaurants to find the ones with the best deals.

Other Ways to Save

It’s difficult to find affordable venues, but we’ve brainstormed some other ways you can save money on your baby shower.

Suggested Article: These Are the Best Savings Accounts for Kids

Decorations

To save money on decorations, you can shop in person at a place like Dollar Tree. Get whatever you can there and then move to craft stores like Michaels that almost always have coupons and promotions going on. At these stores, you can either buy pre-made decorations or supplies to make them yourself. You can also ask your friends and family if they have any decorations laying around that you can make use of.

If you prefer to shop online, you can find decoration kits with more than 40 pieces for as little as $15 to $2o on Amazon.

Food

Potlucks can be an ingenious way to reduce your personal food or catering costs if you’ve got friends and family who like to cook. Coordinate with your guests on who will bring what, and you’ll save a lot of money on food. You can also save by scheduling your party between meal times rather than during meal time. By doing this, you can get away with serving snack foods, appetizers, and things like cookies or cupcakes, which can all easily be homemade.

Invites

Sending invites in the mail is cute, but you’ll save a lot more money doing it digitally. You can create a Facebook event or send emails. There are lots of e-vite services these days, like evite.com, many of which are free.

Time

If you live in a small house or apartment and just can’t afford the costs of renting a venue, you can have your baby shower at home, but in a less traditional way. Set up your baby shower to be a “come and go” type of event and have people stop by throughout the day to visit. You can either try to plan out when each group of guests should come or just tell them to come whenever they want. You’ll also save on food this way because you’ll only have to provide light snacks.

In Summary

Your baby shower doesn’t have to be expensive. There are free places to have a baby shower. The most affordable venues typically include churches, your home (or that of a friend/family member), parks, and restaurants. Aside from choosing an inexpensive venue, you can save money based on how you plan your party: borrow decorations, shop at the Dollar Store, or make them yourself; schedule your party to be between meal times so you can get away with serving snacks; and send invites digitally. You can definitely have a cute and fun baby shower at an affordable price.

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