Where to Host a Baby Shower in Chicago

Chicago population: 2,704,958

Chicagoland/Chicago Metropolitan area population: 9,512,968

Your womb’s population: 1 (due in roughly 2 months)

So where, among all the millions bustling around in that mass conglomerate of urban skyscrapers, retro lofts, Gothic department stores, and sublime strip malls, can you throw a baby shower?

The most obvious option for a small shower may be your house. It’s cheap, you won’t have to travel, and you won’t have to ferry all the gifts from a venue to your doorstep. Then again, if you throw it at home, you’ll have to clean up the mess. And what if you want to invite more than ten or twenty people? How will you have time to organize all the food, games, and decorations yourself? You’re busy enough carrying a growing human around, for crying out loud!

A better choice would be to have a close friend or family member host the party at their house. Then the only costs to consider would be decorations and food. If you don't have that option and you're on a tight budget, you could consider renting a room with your local park district instead. The Chicago Park District offers a variety of rooms all over the city at bargain prices. The biggest expenses would be catering and decorations, but you could always throw it potluck style to save on food.

If you have plenty of money to put towards your shower, rent out a room at a nice restaurant or hotel. Or if you really have unlimited funds, why not rent out a room at the Ritz Carlton? Go big, if you can.

If you can't quite afford the Ritz Carlton, Oak Park Conservatory will warm and cheer your guests up with its exotic plants and temperature atmosphere even in the depths of winter. If you’re not an Oak Park resident, then rates run at $115/hour Mon-Thursday, more on the weekends, which is a pretty good deal for hosting a lot of people in such a beautiful spot.

If you're working on a more modest budget and would like a professional space to organize the shower for you, Free Range Office is an affordable baby shower venue with a large, open, and beautiful space located in colorful Wicker Park. Its capable event coordinators can help coordinate catering, decorations, and activities.

Keep browsing for more unique spaces with pricings here at Peerspace, on Venue Report or through with an article on Red Tricycle or Punchbowl’s list, both of which highlight Free Range as one of the best, featured venues in Chicago.