Instead of a baby shower, some are having a nesting party

When Ms Colette Louis was pregnant with her second child, she knew she wanted a nesting party.

- Lia Picard

Similar to baby showers, nesting parties bring friends together to celebrate an expectant parent with community and food.

Missing, however, are the gifts and groan-inducing games. Instead, guests chip in with various tasks around the home. The parties often take place during the third trimester, when parents start to feel especially overwhelmed.

Ms Louis, a 39-year-old content creator in Charlotte, North Carolina, gathered friends for the party in March 2023 when she was seven months pregnant and assigned them various chores. One friend cleaned breast pump parts while another washed and folded clothes. In exchange, Ms Louis prepared a brunch spread.

At that point, she had everything that she needed for her son, who was born that May, she said. Having her friends help her and her husband get everything ready took "a weight off".

Was it hard for Ms Louis to put her friends to work? "Not at all," she said. When she had her daughter six years earlier, she did not ask for help. "I thought, as a mum, you're supposed to be able to take care of your baby by yourself," she said. "I quickly learnt that actually, no, you need a village."

Nesting parties hark back to the community-driven events of yore like barn raising historically Amish community gatherings that combined building a neighbour's barn and socialising and have cosy, hygge vibes. They are popular on social media on TikTok, videos of nesting parties can get millions of views.

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