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Baby Showers & Sip-and-Sees: What to Do With the Other Children
Baby showers stopped being adults-only years ago. Nobody updated the plan.
The modern baby shower has quietly changed. It used to be a room of women and a stack of gifts. Now it's a mixed afternoon with partners, grandparents, the guest of honour's older children, and every friend's toddler — because the friends with toddlers are exactly the friends who come.
What hasn't changed is the plan. Most showers are still set up as though no child will attend, and then six of them do, and they spend two hours orbiting a table of breakable gifts.
The fix is one square of the room
You don't need a children's program. You need a defined corner that belongs to them — a low table, small chairs, something to do — positioned where parents can see it from where the adults are sitting.
Three things happen immediately. Children stop circling the gift table because they have a destination. Parents actually sit down, because they can see their child from their seat. And the guest of honour gets to open gifts without a two-year-old helping.
Where to put it
- In the same room, at the edge. Not another room — parents will follow, and you'll lose half your guests.
- Away from the gift table. Ideally with the adults' seating between the two.
- Near a window if there is one. Best light, and it becomes where the nicest candid photos happen.
- Not in the food traffic lane. Someone will be carrying a cake through it.
What goes on the table
Quiet, contained, no winning or losing. Showers run long and the activity has to survive two hours without an adult running it.
- Coloring, always. A kraft paper cover and a cup of crayons does more than anything else. Free templates on our printables page.
- A "message for the baby" card per child, to be kept. Older children take this genuinely seriously, and it becomes part of the gift.
- Playdough or sticker books — quiet, no small parts for the youngest.
- A snack board at their height, out from the start. Showers have a long gap before food. See the kids' charcuterie board.
- Nothing glass, nothing that rolls.
If the guest of honour already has children, give the older sibling a job — handing out favors, carrying gifts to the pile, being the official photographer with an old phone. A shower is a long afternoon of adults fussing over a baby who isn't here yet, and an older sibling with a role handles that considerably better than one without.
Sip-and-sees are different
A sip-and-see happens after the baby arrives, and the dynamic changes: there's a real newborn in the room, and the visiting children want to see them. Two things help.
Set the expectation before anyone touches anything. Hands washed at the door, the baby stays with an adult, everyone gets a turn to look. Children handle this well when it's a rule rather than a negotiation.
Keep it short. Ninety minutes to two hours. Newborn parents are running on nothing, and a shorter event that everyone remembers fondly beats a long one that empties the tank.
Styling that works for both audiences
Showers tend toward soft neutrals, which is lucky — the same palette works for the children's corner without it looking like a separate party bolted on. Cream, sage, blush and natural cane read as "designed" rather than "kids' area", which is the whole trick.
Our Atelier Rattan collection is what most shower hosts choose for exactly this reason: it looks intentional in a room full of adults. The boho palette guide covers the color side.
What to tell guests
Put one line on the invitation. "Little ones welcome — there'll be a table set up just for them." It does two jobs: parents who were going to arrange a sitter know they don't have to, and everyone else knows children will be there. Both prevent awkwardness on the day.
Booking
We deliver, set up and collect kid-height tables, chairs and dessert carts across New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania — including for showers, sip-and-sees, christenings and naming celebrations. A typical shower corner is one table with four to six chairs.
Spring and early autumn weekends are the busiest; six weeks' notice is comfortable. See seating the littlest guests at milestone events for the wider family-celebration version.
Frequently asked questions
Should children be invited to a baby shower?
Increasingly they are, because the friends most likely to attend are the friends with young children. Rather than deciding adults-only or letting it be a free-for-all, set up a defined corner for the children with a low table, small chairs and a quiet activity, positioned where parents can see it from their seats.
What do you do with kids at a baby shower?
Give them one square of the room that belongs to them: a kid-height table, coloring on a kraft paper cover, a 'message for the baby' card each, playdough or sticker books, and a snack board at their height from the start. The activity has to survive two hours without an adult running it, so avoid anything competitive.
What is a sip-and-see?
A sip-and-see is a gathering held after the baby arrives, where friends and family visit to meet the newborn. It differs from a shower in that there's a real baby in the room, so it works best with clear expectations set at the door — hands washed, baby stays with an adult, everyone gets a turn — and a shorter run time of ninety minutes to two hours.
Where should the kids' table go at a shower?
In the same room as the adults, at the edge, with the adult seating between it and the gift table. Not in another room — parents will follow and you'll lose half your guests. Near a window if possible, and never in the traffic lane between kitchen and food.
How do you include an older sibling at a baby shower?
Give them a specific job — handing out favors, carrying gifts to the pile, or being the official photographer with an old phone. A shower is a long afternoon of adults fussing over a baby who hasn't arrived yet, and an older sibling with a role handles it far better than one without.
DIY the details, rent the wow
Beautiful children's tables, chairs and dessert carts — delivered, set up and picked up across NJ, NY & PA.
Call 917-682-1524