Selecting a theme for your baby shower makes the rest of your planning a reasonably simple task because a theme gives your party a starting point and helps you to narrow down the choices for everything from picking the right color scheme to finding the perfect location.

There are so many wonderful baby shower themes to pick from these days and your most difficult task could simply be to select the perfect one. A wise host will put her head together with the guest of honor early on to begin talking about the party details because, after all, this is supposed to be the mother-to-be's special day and it makes sense that she should play a role in the decision making process.

Of course, if the baby shower is being planned as a surprise then the host will not be able to ask the guest of honor directly about her preferences, but the host will almost certainly be close enough to her to know what she likes and does not like. The host may also know the baby's gender and might even know whether or not the mother-to-be has already chosen a color scheme or a theme for the nursery and this can be a great help at this early stage in the planning.

Before you decide on a theme it is important to consider the 'tone' of the shower and whether it is going to be a formal or an informal affair. Also, is it to be a girls only event or are the boys going to be invited as well? If the boys are coming then it could be a sensible idea to go a little bit easy on the frilly d?cor. Themes can also be a bit more adult-oriented if couples are attending. Additionally, some themes such as a sports theme or even a luau theme often work very well for a shower that is going to include the boys.

If the men are not going to be attending then your choice for a theme is wide open and you can pick just about anything you like including timeless themes such as the prince or princess, animals, Disney characters, nursery rhymes, bath time and countless others.

A theme can also be based upon a concept such as a safety with guests bringing gifts that are geared to child safety or pampering mommy with guests bringing gifts to comfort the expectant mother. When the baby shower is for a second or third child then themes which focus on the guest of honor are perfect. The theme can also relate to something which the mother-to-be particularly enjoys doing, such as scrap booking. 

At the end of the day a creative host can probably make any baby shower theme work as long as she is prepared to invest the time and money and making some themes work can be expensive, particularly when a lot of guests are attending. Remember therefore that, while a theme can be extremely helpful when it comes to planning, all of the plates and napkins will end up in the trash whether they are white or themed. What is really important is that everybody has an enjoyable and memorable day!