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Getting from the beginning of a pregnancy to birth can be a difficult experience for both the parents, although it’s certainly much harder on the mother. Having a party to celebrate the coming of a new child into the family can give them something to look forward to.
A diaper party is a baby shower for men who are fathers-to-be. Diaper parties serve two purposes. The first is to celebrate the father’s role in the upcoming baby’s life, and the second is as an opportunity for friends of the family to give them diapers or other utilitarian gifts. Diaper parties are more casual than baby showers.
But what does a normal diaper party look like? And what do you need to take into account when planning for one?
What Does A Diaper Party Look Like
Only two requirements need to be met for a party or gathering to be considered a diaper party:
- The person being celebrated is a soon-to-be father.
- The guests bring diapers to him as gifts.
The event should also be a type of party, but what a party looks like depends a lot on you and your friend group. A diaper party could be a get-together of four to five friends where you all play Smash Bros, or it can be a larger event where you invite family, coworkers, and other people only slightly related to you over for food and snacks. Either way, decorations are rarely necessary as the only attendees are typically men.
The only people you need to invite to a diaper party are the people you want to have at your diaper party. You should keep in mind that many diaper parties involve the significant others of the women who attended the baby shower, but who’s gonna tell them if you don’t invite them? Don’t feel pressured to invite people you don’t like. You aren’t obligated to invite anyone.
As for food, anything goes. BBQ is usually a hit with men, but you could do pizza, chips and dip, or whatever else you desire. If you want, you can do a cake as well. This cake could be a decorated cake with some kind of diaper imagery, or it could be a featureless cake that doesn’t look like a diaper in color to take your mind off of the whole diaper concept while you’re eating. It’s entirely up to you!
As for drinks, because you are not pregnant, you can serve alcohol at a diaper party. Beer is usually the drink of choice, have a variety of alcoholic beverages available so everyone can drink something they like.
Oftentimes, diaper parties are held at the same time as baby showers because men are often not allowed at baby showers. The diaper party gives the dad and his friends something to do while their wives, girlfriends, and friends are participating in baby shower activities. It helps dads not feel left out of the festivities.
Diaper Party Activities
Do not be mistaken! The activities in this kind of diaper party do not involve wearing the diapers! That is a very different kind of party. Good diaper party activities are usually the kinds of activities that you and your friends normally do, with the added stipulation that most of the guests have brought at least one package of diapers.
Because this is a party for men, more casual activities are typically best. Poker, Mario Kart, Cards Against Humanity, or basketball are all good options, especially for smaller groups.
For large groups, you may have to plan for an activity that doesn’t involve games. It does not need to involve the diapers. In fact, nobody even needs to acknowledge the diapers after you have thanked the guests for them and started the party. Drinking games are a great option, or you can simply watch a movie. You could even go to a bowling alley.
Here are some more diaper party ideas to consider.
Invitations
The people who will be attending the party are presumably your local friends and family. If they need an invitation more formal than a text message, they probably aren’t worth inviting. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t send a more formal invitation if you want.
If you want to send invitations that make it clear that they are receiving an invitation for a diaper party, find a card shaped like a diaper and use it as the invitation.
What Gifts Are Appropriate For A Diaper Party
Diapers, wipes, and other diaper-related consumables (and maybe some light snacks) are appropriate gifts for a diaper party. If you have been invited to a diaper party and are trying to figure out what you should get the dad-to-be, the answer is diapers and maybe a bag of chips.
Ask the dad-to-be if their family has any preferences about diaper brands or particular lines of diapers. You may also want to coordinate with friends to buy diapers of different sizes or to focus on newborn and other smaller sizes that they’ll need sooner rather than later.
What Kinds of Diapers to Ask For
Babies use a tremendous amount of diapers in the first few weeks of their lives, but they’re also famous for growing faster than you expect them to. To make sure your supply lasts, you should ask for diapers that are sizes 1 to 5. This is the period where babies tend to use the most diapers, and getting a fairly even spread of different sizes should prevent you from getting so many diapers of one size that you don’t get to use them all before your baby grows out of them.
Your guests will assume you want disposable diapers. You will have to specify if you don’t, you may also have to do quite a bit of explaining to get them on board.
Party Favors
Party favors can be whatever you like and aren’t incredibly necessary, although they probably shouldn’t be diapers as you’ll be needing those. Determine the party favors that you would want to receive at a diaper party and put the items in a small gift bag.
If you need a few ideas, you can put the following items in your diaper party gift bags:
- Six-packs
- Rock candies
- Notes with dad jokes written on them
- Tiny plastic babies with a newborn diaper (you can get them in bulk on Amazon)
A diaper party is a great opportunity for you to give weird gifts to your friends and acquaintances. However, the main purpose of a diaper party is to give an essential item to a father-to-be and have fun together before their baby comes.
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