What Is A Diaper Party And How To Host It?

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A diaper party is like a baby shower, but for the dad-to-be to enjoy a casual time with their friends before the big day. While moms-to-be receive all the attention and care, the efforts of a father are often overlooked. If you are looking for diaper party ideas, we have got you covered. This is a great way to celebrate the new journey of fathering. After all, fathers deserve to celebrate the arrival of their baby with their friends and have loads of fun. Diapers are essential for every baby, and new parents spend a lot of time and energy changing their baby’s diapers. In this post, we bring you some amazing ideas that will help you have a fun time with your dear ones at the special party.

What Is A Diaper Party?

Diaper parties involve booze, banter, diapers, and lots of fun for all. A diaper party is a great day for the dad-to-be to get together with his friends.

There are some differences between a baby shower and a diaper party. Here is a list of things that are different between these parties:

• Beer: If you are planning a diaper party for the dad-to-be, beer is a must. This is one thing you may not usually include in the ladies’ party or the traditional baby shower.
• BBQ: Arrange a BBQ stand but don’t worry about the finger sandwiches you find so often at baby showers.
• Diapers: While baby showers involve gifting the mom-to-be the items she will find useful in the initial days after delivery, diaper parties involve gifting only diapers to the soon-to-be mom or dad.
• Dressing up: A diaper party is a simple affair. The guests do not need to dress up as they might while attending a baby shower.

These rules are simple, aren’t they?

Quick tip

The mom-to-be can arrange a diaper party for her partner. This can serve as a great bonding time and gets the father more excited about the arrival of the new member of the family.

Why To Have A Diaper Party?

Initially, a diaper party was organized to give would-be fathers a celebration. Today, hosting such a party allows them to bond with other fathers and fathers-to-be. The purpose of a diaper party is to celebrate the father’s role in the newborn’s life and to provide a baby shower alternative. It is an event that allows friends and relatives of the family to give diapers or other valuable gifts. Hosting this party is a practical way to support new parents. Also, by inviting friends and acquaintances to the party and getting diapers as gifts, the baby’s family builds a substantial stockpile of gifts and blessings for their little one.

Who Should You Invite For the Diaper Party?

Invitations are a must for any get-together. Just as for a baby shower, you should invite close family, friends, or even co-workers to a diaper party. The guest list should include only close-knit people with whom you can enjoy the party. However, the final call is yours.

Who Hosts A Diaper Party?

Typically, close family or friends host diaper parties for the dad-to-be. A diaper party is a new concept. You can be a trendsetter by organizing the party yourself.

Often, a diaper party is held on the same day as the baby shower. Sometimes, the couple may combine both and host a co-ed party too.

Point to consider

If you are hosting a co-ed party, you might want to cut down on the drinks, as consuming alcohol may not augur well for the mom-to-be. Instead, you can make fun cocktails with quirky names to catch the interest of your guests.

Diaper Party Decorations

A diaper party is all about men, so you need not worry much about the decorations. The attention of men attending the diaper party will likely be more on food and drinks. You can keep it as simple as you wish, or you can go as crazy as you want.

1. Color themes: You can select a specific color scheme based on the gender of the child or any other color you wish. According to the chosen theme, you can choose to paint or decorate your home.
2. Movie themes or dress-up: Movies make great theme ideas too. You can ask your friends to dress up as characters from movies. Ask them to enact a scene from a movie or quote popular dialogues. If you want a more conservative party, you can ask your guests to dress up in suits or T-shirts.
3. Diaper decorations: A great way to make the day memorable is to decorate the place with diapers! Diaper decorations are fun and go well with the theme. You can make diaper castles or explore diaper cake ideas.

If you are making a diaper cake for the party, mother of two Michelle has the perfect tip to make it easy. She writes, “I don’t have the patience for making the traditional rolled diaper cakes. It’s just a little too tedious rolling diaper… after diaper… after diaper…When I make diaper cakes as gifts, I use a quick and simple,  no-roll technique. Gather three round pots, pans, or containers of various sizes…Place a stack of diapers into the pan with the folded edge facing outwards… Use a string, rubber band, or anything you have, to temporarily secure the diapers within the pan. Then carefully remove the entire layer of diapers… 

“Repeat the process with the remaining two layers. Stack the three layers. I like to insert a wooden dowel through the center of the cake for structural support, but this is optional… Wrap decorative ribbon around each layer, fastening in the back with glue or staples…I choose books and bath products to flank the sides and an appliqued onesie and baby toy as the cake topper (i).”

Diaper Party Invitations

Sending out invitations is a crucial part of organizing a diaper party. By sending an invitation, you get an idea about how many people will attend the party and plan accordingly. Here are some common ways of sending out invitations for a diaper party.

1. Evites: You usually send email invitations to a diaper party. Email invitations or e-invites or evites save a lot of time and money. You must decide on a theme, design a card, and email it to your guests. Evites are appealing to the eye and eco-friendly.
2. Paper invites: Paper invites can never go out of fashion. For your close ones, you can make paper invites. Cute paper invites are a great keepsake for your friends and family. You will find printable men’s diaper party invitations on the Internet that you can print on card paper.
3. Facebook events: Creating a Facebook event and following it up with a phone call will be good enough if the number of people is fewer and you do not have the time to create a new invitation.

While sending out invites, remember to mention the rules of the party and the theme so that the mood of the party is set right from the beginning. Ask your guests to RSVP so that you can plan accordingly. You also need to mention the location and time of the event. Some great invitation wording ideas are:

• You are invited to a good time with friends, food, and diapers with XYZ as he’s becoming a dad! Please bring a pack of diapers.
• No gifts, only diapers!
• ABC is getting ready for diaper duty. Get some diapers to train him!
• Diaper shower for MNO and his baby boy! Bring diapers of any size and win prizes!

Quick tip

If you have not hosted a gender reveal party yet, a diaper party is a great way to reveal your child’s gender to close friends and family.

Diaper Party Food

BBQ usually works great, though you can dole out the finger foods you usually find at baby showers. However, keep in mind that the food must be tasty and abundant. That is all it needs to become an instant hit.

As in baby showers, you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen making fancy foods to make your guests happy. You can buy some snacks or drinks from supermarkets to serve the starters.

If there’s anything to worry about, it is the liquor. Having a dedicated bar can be a great deal of help. You can also personally serve pints of beer to each guest. This is one way you can keep a check on liquor consumption and ensure that no guest gets blind drunk.

As you can see, planning the menu won’t be too challenging, and you are not left with a lot of leftovers. It is a win-win situation for everyone.

Diaper Party Games

Diaper party games are a fun way to get everyone laughing and loosening up.

Here are some diaper party games you can play to keep your guests engaged and entertained.

1. Diaper Raffle: You can organize a raffle contest. The guest who brings more diapers gets more raffle tickets. You can draw names and announce a winner.
2. Beer Bottle: Another popular game to play at diaper parties is asking the guests to drink beer from a baby bottle. See who chugs the fastest and give them a prize!
3. Positive Notes: You can hand over diapers to each of the guests and ask them to write something for the new parents. You can choose to open and read them before the guests or after they have left.
4. Story Time: This is another fun diaper party game. You can ask your guests to sit in a semicircle, and each one takes turns to relate some incident in their journey of parenting. The stories could be hilarious or at once emotional, but you will learn a good thing or two out of these stories.
5. Diaper Derby: In this game, you have to change a doll’s diaper. The one who manages to change the diaper the fastest is the winner. The game can be made more fun by making the guests change the diapers blindfolded. You can also make it a competition between two people.

In some cases, you might want to keep the diaper party quiet and just want a get-together of close ones where you have a heart-to-heart over a mug of beer.

Do remember

After the baby is born, both parents become busy caring for the baby. So a diaper party before delivery is the perfect time for the parents-to-be to loosen up a bit before the big day.

Diaper Party Gifts

Diapers are the most common gifts at diaper parties. They are one of the first things that new parents need. So it makes sense to give them as gifts. However, there are many other practical items that make up for wonderful gifts. These include wipes or baby hygiene products like baby powder and soothing creams. In addition, baby blankets, a fashionable diaper bag, a baby bathtub, and a stroller are some ideal gifts for such a party. Gift cards for the parents-to-be to dine out or those, particularly for fathers, are other options. Another good gift idea is parenting books for dads and partners.

Do You Wrap Diapers For A Diaper Party?

As everyone is expected to bring only diapers to a diaper party, there is no need for you to waste paper and time. However, if you are a craft lover and love to show your skills to your friends, you can customize a gift wrapper for the diapers.

What Diaper Size To Get For A Diaper Party?

The best part of a diaper party is that parents or the host can request any size of diapers they might need. You may specify the size of diapers when you invite your guests.

Though your baby will need more diapers in the first few months, remember that they will be using diapers for some months in the future. Disposable diapers generally come in nine sizes, ranging from “preemie” for premature babies weighing less than 6 pounds to size 7 for babies weighing 41 pounds or more (1). Plan your diaper needs accordingly, but as a general rule of thumb, ask your guests to get 2, 3, 4, and 5 sizes. This way, you will be stocked up for the near future.

Timeline To Host A Diaper Party

Hosting a diaper party for the dad-to-be can be a memorable experience. Start planning ahead of time to ensure the event is laid-back and stress-free. Here’s a detailed timeline with steps to make the day extra special for the would-be dad.

6 weeks before the party

• Pick a date and time that works for the dad-to-be and his close friends.
• Choose a location. Diaper parties are usually held at home, in the backyard/brewery/bar, or a rented space.
• Choose a theme for the party. Some common ones include BBQ & Beers, Backyard Bash, and Poker Night. 
• Make a guest list. Usually, the diaper party is usually a guys-only event, but you may also invite women.
• Send invitations. You can send digital invitations on Facebook or WhatsApp, but traditional invitations are okay, too.

4 weeks before the party

• Plan the food and drinks. You can choose barbecue, burgers, pizza, chicken wings, or catered food. It’s a must to have beer, soda, and some non-alcoholic drinks.
• Choose entertainment options. You can play diaper party games or stick to poker, darts, or video games. You may also do a diaper raffle by offering prizes (like gift cards or a bottle of liquor) for guests who bring diapers.
• Find and confirm people who can help set up the party, like a few friends or family members. 

2 weeks before the party

• Order all your decor and party supplies, like balloons, banners, cups, and plates.
• Buy and arrange prizes if you plan a diaper raffle, fun contests, or trivia games.
• Follow up with guests if there are any who haven’t responded to the invites.
• Arrange tents, seating arrangements, lighting, and the grill if you are hosting the party outside or planning a barbecue.

1 week before the party

• Buy the drinks and non-perishable food items, like alcohol, snacks, and condiments.
• Make a diaper party playlist using songs the dad-to-be likes.
• Prepare decorations that take a long time, like diaper cakes or wreaths.
• Confirm food arrangements if you are using a catering service.
• Plan for trash and recycling and always have extra bins and bags ready.

1 day before the party

• Buy the perishable food and ice and make sure to store them safely.
• Clean up the party space and set up the tables, chairs, and decorations.
• Chill the drinks in the cooler or refrigerator.
• Double-check on all the games and entertainment options you’ve planned.

The day of the party

• Pick up last-minute items you’ve missed, including snacks or prizes.
• Start cooking or order the food. If the caterers have delivered the food, help them arrange it.
• Set up the raffle and prize area and ensure all the games run smoothly.
• Make sure the dad-to-be feels celebrated, and most importantly, enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Infographic: Planning A Budget-Based Diaper Party

A diaper party is a special occasion for a dad-to-be and his family. Given the day’s importance, you would want to organize a party that’s one of a kind. But what to do if you are on a budget? Planning a party on a budget may not be easy, but it’s possible. Here is an infographic that can help you plan different party elements while not spending too much.

Illustration: Momjunction Design Team

Illustration: How To Throw A Great Diaper Party (Baby Shower For Men)

Image: Dall·E/MomJunction Design Team

Create a unique and budget-friendly baby shower centerpiece with this DIY Train Diaper Cake! Learn how to make it in this video! It can be the show-stealer at the next diaper party you attend!

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