11 Awesome Co-Ed Baby Shower Ideas

Co-ed baby shower invitations don't need to be challenging. Choose fonts, colors, and designs that appeal to everyone on the guest list. Address all recipients on the envelope—and since baby showers are traditionally for women only, go a step further by clearly stating that your shower is co-ed. 

While soft pastels are traditional for baby showers, both parents might appreciate less muted hues. Seri Kertzner and her team at Little Miss Party Planner in New York like to work with either a neutral palette or a mix of bright colors like yellow and purple. At mama Megan Kopf Stackhouse's gender neutral baby shower brunch, for example, the stylists decorated with giant white balloons anchored in cubes filled with white jellybeans.

For the menu, consider offering hearty eats that all partygoers will enjoy. Take a cue from State College, Pennsylvania-based creative services company Pie Collective, which threw a casual backyard barbecue for a soon-to-be mom and dad of three. The summertime shindig featured lots of grilled goodness and picnic-inspired decor, with just a few baby-related items.

When planning a co-ed baby shower, make sure to offer a variety of beverages that appeal to teetotalers and drinkers alike. Though the pregnant person may be sticking to festive mocktails, beer and bubbly should flow for the rest of the party crowd. Placing bottles in silver buckets with some on-theme decor makes it easy for guests to serve themselves.

Looking for fun co-ed baby shower games? Incorporate activities that involve both partners—and that most attendees will want to play. Kertzner had guests at the co-ed shower she planned face off in "Baby Bottle Chug." To play, give each guest a baby bottle filled with milk, juice, water, soda, or beer, which they try to drink as quickly as possible. Whoever finishes first is declared the winner.

Another gender neutral activity option is a quiz. At the Stackhouse shower, guests played a game answering pregnancy-related questions that could apply to either of the soon-to-be parents, such as, "Who came up with the baby's name?" If the answer was Megan, the couple held up a pink paddle; if it was father Britt they held up a blue one. Though Britt and Megan, who's vice president of public relations for NBC's "Today" show, had expert interviewers Savannah Guthrie and Natalie Morales running their game, amateurs can totally pull off this activity.

Games need to be fun for everyone involved, agrees Ara Farnam-Levinson, owner and creative director of event design and styling firm Rock Paper Scissors Events. A crossword puzzle like the one guests filled out at Savannah Guthrie's baby shower, which Farnam-Levinson's team designed, is something guests can work on together. It can also inspire conversation and connection among attendees who may not know each other yet.

Remember that fun co-ed baby shower games don't have to be played indoors, either. For the baby BBQ that the Pie Collective planners organized, guests participated in a "Don't Break Mama's Water" contest, throwing and catching water balloons at increasing distances until the last pair of competitors emerged victorious—and dry. You can even pass out fun co-ed baby shower prizes to the winners!

These days, it's not a party without a photo booth, some fun props, and major Instagram bait. Farnam-Levinson suggests creating a DIY backdrop with a pretty sheet or ordering a custom one (like the sheet at designer Rebecca Minkoff's shower, shown) from a print shop like Minted. Be sure to come up with a fun custom hashtag so the parents-to-be can check out all the snaps on social media after the shower.

If you're hosting a co-ed baby shower, consider giving the fellas in attendance the option to bring a gift especially for the dad. At the baby BBQ in Pennsylviania, the dad got to open fun toys and baby boy-related surprises in honor of welcoming his first son (the parents' other two children were girls) as mom opened the family-oriented gifts.

Traditional baby shower favors like personalized tea bags or mini bubble-bath bottles are perfect for some guests, but others in attendance deserve something customized more for their tastes. Some ideas: potted succulents, bags of popcorn, and chocolate. Kertzner of Little Miss Party Planner suggests chocolate cigars, a nod to that old tradition of fathers passing out the real thing after their babies were born.