Social Distancing: 3 Ways to Show Love to Soon-to-be Parents from Afar
For many, social distancing has been hard. It’s especially hard if you have loved ones you’re used to seeing that you’re not able to physically be with right now. Even though you can’t see your friends or family members who are about to have a baby, it doesn’t mean you still can’t show them you care. They probably could use your love more than ever right now. Here are 3 ways you can show your love from a distance.
1. Host a virtual baby shower.
Did COVID-19 force them to cancel their baby shower? Just because they can’t have a traditional, in-person baby shower doesn’t mean the parents-to-be still can’t have a memorable baby shower. Every first-time mom and dad deserve one! Sure an online shower will be different, but the intention behind it is still the same: to celebrate the parents and their new baby!
Rather than making the soon-to-be parents plan it all, offer to be the host. And as the host, or co-host if they want to help plan it, here’s what you should do:
- Choose an online meeting spot. Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Facebook Live are a few good options.
- Make a guest list and send out invitations. To be safe amid the coronavirus, send electronic invitations instead of paper ones. Evite, Paperless Post, and Greenvelope have fun online baby shower invitations.
- Play games. Even though you’re not in the same room, you can still play silly shower games, such as a virtual game show with Kahoot! or a baby-edition of The Price is Right where the host holds up baby items and everyone guesses how much they think each item costs.
- Open gifts. Seeing all the adorable tiny outfits and other presents people get is the best part of a baby shower. With virtual showers, you can either have guests send their gifts ahead of time for mom and dad to open during the shower, or guests can open and show what they got and then send their gifts to the parents after the shower.
2. Send gifts.
Amid social distancing, travel restrictions, and new hospital policies, soon-to-be moms and dads may not be able to have the birth or postpartum care they’d originally planned for. Making a baby registry online instead of going into stores may not have been as fun, or they may be worried about not having all the things they need before the baby comes. Help ease their worries and help them celebrate this special time by sending gifts!
They’ll appreciate diapers, wipes, gift cards, and anything off their baby registry. But you could go above and beyond with your gift and send the soon-to-be parents mail-order food gifts, a parenting book (since they have more time to read right now), a shopping cart hammock, or a shopping cart cover. You could even pay for an online sleep class. What new parent doesn’t want the gift of sleep?
3. Give them a call.
Social distancing is one way we can all do our part to help keep ourselves and others safe from the spread of COVID-19. While some are thriving with this new homebody lifestyle, others are mentally and emotionally drowning in isolation. As humans, we’re wired for connection. Even though you can’t drop by and visit with the soon-to-be parents, you can give them a call. Hearing a loved one’s voice can really lift your spirits when you’re feeling lonely. Making a phone call or having a video chat is something so simple but so meaningful you can do right now to show them your love.
