So you’re throwing a baby shower - but not just any baby shower. The two loveliest steampunks you know have decided to add a new crewmember to their airship’s manifest, and you couldn’t be happier about it!

But how do you celebrate that offbeat addition in style? By throwing a steam-powered baby shower that will be the event of the alternative-history season (whenever/wherever that timeline is actually running).

Making Your Steampunk Shower Specific

“Steampunk” is a pretty broad category, so when you think about planning your steampunk shower, it might be an idea to try choosing thematic elements from one of these four areas:

1) Gothic-Monstrous Steampunk Baby Shower

Source: Celebrations

Add vampire bites to your cupcakes, leave ray-guns to your tables, and play a rousing game of Pin-the-Tentacle-on-the-Kraken.

This type of Steampunk baby shower calls for steampunk decor and clothing that focuses on the gothic side of the steampunk aesthetic, so make sure your guests know to dress accordingly. Parasols, waistcoats and gothic steampunk corsets are a must-have!

2) Steampunk Baby Shower for Time Travelers

Source: Epbot

Arrange a gorgeous display of clock-face cupcakes, adorn your walls with steampunk wall art that depicts gears and clocks - and fully embrace the time travel motif by offering steampunk pocket watches as favors for your guests.

This theme lends itself perfectly to a whole host of steampunk baby shower games; instead of guessing when the baby will be born, guess when what era the baby will travel to in order to save the world.

3) Airship or Submarine Inspired Baby Shower

Order up a gear-covered cake, hang paper streamers from a steampunk ship, and have guests draw pictures of what the baby would see if it had a porthole to the world.

This steampunk baby shower theme is great for crafters and DIY enthusiasts, as there are plenty of opportunities to create some cool decor - including steampunk hot air balloons like in the video above by Youtuber Laura Carson.

4) Victoriana Steampunk Shower

Source: Alittlecuppatea

Add a romantically gothic element to your steampunk baby shower by opting for Victorian high-tea, or even a fairytale or pastoral picnic-inspired spread. Serve up finger sandwiches, decorate for high tea, and instead of a giant wrapping-paper hat for mom-to-be, have guests make cravats and fascinators for each other in a fancy group photo or photo booth .

Make sure you dress according to Victorian gothic standards, so petticoats, corsets and gothic jewelry are some great items to add to your dress code.

Steampunk Baby Shower Party Games

Baby showers tend to have the same old games to play, but if you don't feel like measuring the mom-to-be's belly or sniffing melted chocolate bars in diapers, here are some fantastically fanciful steampunk shower games you can play:

Advice from Time Travellers

Source: Akusesu via DeviantArt

As an activity, give your guests a piece of paper with simple instructions - write a letter to the parents-to-be from the future, or a letter to the baby from the past.

The letter from the future can be full of advice about the first few months of parenthood, while the letter from the past can be all about the people who were so excited to be a part of the little one’s life.

Decorate a Dapper Onesie

Source: Pepper Knit

Pass out fabric paints/markers and cotton onesies to your guests, and ask them to decorate the little outfits however they see fit! Will the baby need a double-breasted vest and watch fob? Perhaps some suspenders and a jetpack?

After each onesie is finished, hang them up to dry on a clothes line so that they can be on display while the party continues.

Alphabet Book for an Alternate Future

Source: facilisimo

Print the phrase “(letter) is for…” at the top of each sheet of paper with a different letter on each and these instructions: using crayons or colored pencils, each table or team must find a strange, steampunky word to associate with each letter and draw a picture of it.

This game is great for groups of different sizes, and can be highly competitive for a bit of extra fun! At the end, collect the drawings and compile the parent’s favorites into beautifully steampunk an alphabet book.

Fortune Telling for the Tiny Adventurer

Source: Wikimedia Commons

This activity is a lot like creating a Mad-Lib style steampunk adventure for your baby, with all suggestions from your guests. Place jars around the room with a short prompt, a pen, and a small stack of notecards. Label the jars as follows:

- “Title-to-Be: titles, nicknames, and future aliases for the baby”

- “Adventurous Aims: how the baby will defeat monsters, unseat tyrants, make scientific advances, etc.”

- “Outrageous Locations: those fanciful and strange places where the baby will travel.”

Next to each jar, write out an example or two so people have an idea of what to write. Once there are a lot of cards in each jar, choose a ‘fortune teller’ from the guests and have them draw cards randomly to complete this sentence and read it to the guests allowed: “One day, little ____ will _____ in_____!”

Source: Your Crafty Family

Regardless of the games you play, or the theme you choose - the key thing to remember is that the baby shower is really all about having fun and celebrating the imminent arrival of an awesome new person on the planet.

The party you throw should be as weird and fun as you and your friends are, so take these tips and run with them, and don't be afraid to put your own twist on the steampunk genre for your party.

As always, we'd love to hear your thoughts - so please feel free to share your suggestions for a steampunk baby shower in the comments below!

Recommended Posts

Top 20 Steampunk Fashion Essentials

Gift Guide: The Best Steampunk Gifts

Title Image: LockedIllusions via Deviantart