This Mom-To-Be Opted For A "Nesting Party" Over A Baby Shower & It's Totally Brilliant

Baby showers can truly be dull. Let’s be real — the fun of sitting for two hours “ooing and ahhing” over pacifiers and baby overalls only lasts for so long. Plus, for the mom-to-be, sure, they come away with a good haul of baby stuff, but it’s just so much crap to sort, organize, and find a place for. That can be totally taxing for a mom in her third trimester.

One mom-to-be opted out of a baby shower and instead, put her friends to work at what she called a “nesting party.”

What is a nesting party?

“Every pregnant mom needs a nesting party. If you’re pregnant and don’t want a baby shower, do this. If you have a pregnant friend, do this for them!” Nia Lui wrote in the caption on her new-viral video.

In the video, Lui’s friends can be seen cleaning, organizing, and getting her house ready to welcome a new bundle of joy.

“So, I had my nesting party last night instead of a baby shower, and it was amazing,” she says in a voiceover on the video.

“My friend Bree organized it. I sent her a list of things that I wanted to get done before baby came and she made little cards for each person to take to take on a section of the house.”

As her friends helped around the house, Lui played delegator, advising her friends on where things went or how she’d like certain tasks to be done.

“And then we took a dinner break, ate some soup, some sourdough bread, some treats and just chatted about this baby and how it's going to be,” she said.

“And then we got straight back to work and everything was so clean and organized. and I feel so much more ready for this baby.”

Everyone invited to the nesting party also brought a freezer meal so that Lui would be set with food once baby came.

How to throw a nesting party

So, you’re telling me there’s an opting to still hang out with all my friends and family to celebrate baby and I get to wear sweatpants? Nesting parties are the way to go!

While some people totally saw the appeal of a baby shower alternative like this, others weren’t so sure. To be fair, this kind of nesting party definitely requires trust and security. Some people felt too weird about others cleaning their house.

“I'd be so uncomfortable the whole time, but I'm glad it works for others,” one user wrote.

Another echoed, “You could instead hire a cleaner or put that as a registry item. I could never watch my friends clean and organize my house.”

Another TikTok user liked the concept but had a tweak to make to the party.

“Nah my husband can clean the house and cook. Me and my girls will be eating fabulous food, drinking champagne and celebrating me 🥰,” she wrote.

“I love this idea but I feel like my friends and I are all so burnt out that none of us would show up 😅 it would be for me and I wouldn’t even go 😂,” another noted.

In a follow-up video, Lui went into more detail about how to organize a nesting party.

“I don't like baby showers. I don't like being in center of attention. I don't like playing dumb games. I just don't. I don't,” she explained noting that she mentioned the new pregnancy trend to her friend.

“And we, this is our third baby, so like we have everything. We basically don't need a lot besides diapers and wipes.”

As for those wondering where her husband was during all this, he was keeping their two older sons occupied.

“Now someone asked, where is your partner slash husband during all of this? He took our two boys. I have a six year old and a two year old. He took them out to an indoor play place and they went to dinner and he kept them out of the house for three hours so that they wouldn't be in the way,” she explained.

To try and delegate out the tasks, Lui and her friend went room-to-room, making a list of tasks to get done before baby came.

“I just went kind of room for room to room, and I started with kind of priority what I would like to get done more so than the others,” she said.

“My kitchen stresses me out because there's just so much clutter and mess and things seem to be wiped down. And so I started with kitchen, front living room, downstairs, living room, downstairs bathroom, nursery, basement was last priority. It was just like kind of like if we could get down there and kind of go through the toys that'd be great. But if not, no big deal.”

Her friend took Lui’s list and split them up into strips of paper that each party-goer could grab.

What do you bring to a nesting party?

For those invited or heading to a nesting party, there might be some wondering about what to bring since the occasion is not a typical baby shower. There might not even be a registry to buy from.

Bringing items like diapers and wipes to help stock up a diaper station, cleaning essentials, baby clothes hangers, and a freezer meal are all great examples of gifts to bring to a nesting party.

“We got so much done and it just made me feel so at peace in my own home and way better than a baby shower. So if you don't want a baby shower or if this is like your third or fourth kid, do this,” she recommended.