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Knowing when to throw a baby shower is important because it sets up the entry of a new child into the world. One that must be celebrated with the friends and family of the soon to be parents. Showing the parents the support they and their child will receive in their new journey.

Start Planning Early

To allow all key people to join in the celebrations you should make sure you give attendees enough time to block out their calendar and attend a baby shop in Melbourne. With that being said it is crucial the event is planned in advance. Traditionally, baby showers are held around four to six weeks ahead of the mother’s due date. Meaning typically the pregnancy is well into the safe zone and also unlikely that the baby will arrive too early. Plus, by this time the mother and father are likely to be well and truly looking forward to giving birth.

Consider Co-Ed

Traditionally, baby showers have been focused around the mother. However, more recently, they’ve become more of a joint affair; known as a co-ed baby shower. For this reason, it is a good idea to speak to the parents and ask what their preferred type of celebration would be. If it is catering for both parents, make sure to incorporate games and questions for both parenting roles and invite an equal mix of attendees.

Get Help

When organising a baby shower it is a good idea to work alongside other individuals which represent different parts of the mother’s or father’s social network. For instance asking a family member, a colleague, a school or university friend to help plan the invitation list is a good start. This way it will allow all facets of the parents’ social network to be involved and prevents any last minute invitations being sent to long lost cousins.

Design Decisions

After the invitations have been sent and you are starting to receive responses, it is the ideal time to start designing the special day. A good starting point is set an agenda as it creates structure and once finalised will give clarity to the event. It will also inform the expectations of both the parents and the attendees. Generally speaking the baby shower should be a mix of stories, games, socialising and snacks and have a clear structure.

A good time of day for a baby shower is on a weekend, in the afternoon, ideally post lunch. This way it will allow people to do any errands before the shower and be totally present when at the shower. Planning the event duration to be a couple of of hours is near the right amount of time. It gives people a set amount of time and a structure to the shower, and provides people with an expected end time in case they have family commitments. Although if attendees wish to stay later then they can.

Baby Shower Structure

A good structure to the shower consists of an ice breaker at the start, some nibbles and drinks followed by an easy introductory game. ‘Pick the baby photo’ is an example of a good starter game. It can be a bit time consuming initially, what with asking people to supply baby photos and arranging them on a canvas. However, once the preparation is complete – it is well worth the effort, particularly when everyone is laughing and getting along swimmingly. This game is a great ice breaker because it doesn’t directly focus on individual attendees, and is a more collective approach and a subtle way to enquire and get to know one another. This is particularly good for groups of people who don’t knows one another.

Once the initial ice breaker is out the way, it is a good time to focus back on the new parents. A fun game for mother’s that aren’t body or weight conscious is ‘measure the mum’, where attendees guess the size of the mother’s stomach. This provides a bit of light hearted fun but also creates some real surprises around the growth of a child and opens up conversations around how the expectant mother is feeling and can gear up questions around the birth. This type of conversation will be important for first time parents, especially if there are friends and family members in attendance who have already experienced childbirth.

Remember that although a baby shower should be fun, it should also be informative and supportive. It is the perfect opportunity to show the expectant parents how supported they and their new child will be.

Let’s face it – even the best maintained houses most certainly need electrical repairs from time to time. After all, you can’t possibly expect things on the electrical front to run smooth as butter till the very end. That’s just not going to happen.

However, it is vital to note that taking matters into one’s own hands in this regard is extremely foolhardy, to say the least. Not only because you don’t have any expertise in this area, but there is also the dangerous possibility of you electrocuting yourself, if you end up fiddling around too much with wires.

Hence, whether it is a electrician in Melbourne or anywhere else for that matter, make sure that you leave the work to the real experts who know that they’re doing. Sure, you might have read a bit about how to fix electrical problems, but that most certainly does not mean that you can translate that knowledge into practical application.

You’ll be much better off hiring a professional electrician. As simple as that. However, the catch is that these services are anything but reasonably priced, plus there are a couple of important aspects that one needs to keep in mind before zeroing in on a particular electrician. On that note, here are 5 vital tips to keep in mind while looking out for the best electrician for the job.

The hourly rates of an electrician are misleading: This is an aspect that too many people pay attention to. Just remember – a well-equipped, skilled electrician charging close to 70 dollars an hour is a much better bet than an amateur electrician working with inadequate parts charging 35 dollars an hour.
Compare the travel charges of different electricians: In some ways, these are easier to compare than hourly rates in general. For instance, on a longer job, a low hourly rate and a trip charge does make sense. However, for a shorter job, a electrician that charges a higher hourly rate is better.
Be prepared before the electrician arrives: This will ensure that you save both time and money. Let’s face it – the less time the electrician spends dealing with petty issues, the more money you end up saving.
For instance, you can make a list of things to inspect and service as soon as you call the electrician. Then when he comes over, all you need to do is show him the list.
Make sure you install money-saving electrical fixtures: This can be something as simple as switching from ordinary light fixtures to fluorescent ones, or even motion detector switches to help conserve on outdoor lighting. Not only that, but this will also provide an extremely cost-effective security to your home. Additionally, creative landscape lighting is also an aspect that will ease up the pressure on your huge electricity bill.

Ultimately, you need to do whatever it takes and make absolutely sure of the fact that you hire the best electrician for the job. That is absolutely vital. It is equally important for you to realise that there’s really no need for you to unnecessarily rush the process of looking for a electrician that suits your needs.

Just remember – A electrician who is not well-equipped or experienced enough to deal with your particular home surroundings can very well end up causing a lot more harm than actual good. People who are looking to get the job done as soon as possible and on a shoestring budget would do well to keep that fact in mind at all times.