Starting can be overwhelming. A good way to begin is by collecting images of your favorite party decor elements.

As a designer who heads up Marketing for Australia's largest costume and party supply company, I am very fortunate to be surrounded by beautiful party supplies every day to inspire me.

For my Aussie Native Baby Shower theme, I used an invitation I had designed earlier in my pregnancy as a jumping off point to evoke an atmosphere of Aussie nostalgia. Your own inspiration might come from your favorite flower, a fabric you adore, a pretty paint swatch or even a cherished toy from your childhood.

As a designer I am comfortable using Adobe or Canva to create a moodboard, but Pinterest is also an excellent and simple platform anyone can use to quickly and easily create the same thing. If you are very tactile, you might prefer to go old school and create a physical mood board with images cut from magazines, dried flowers, paint swatches, scraps of fabric, and the like. These items could even be put in a box frame later to make a gorgeous baby shower keepsake. After collecting images for a while, similarities will emerge indicating key items to include in your theme.

This is my Aussie Native baby Shower mood board - made on Canva.

 Look around the house to find furniture and homeware items that you can utilize to create your party scene. Some old Kmart shelving, a rustic old box, wooden stumps, a trestle table and a rusty old wheelbarrow formed the backbone of my setup. The Kmart shelves had seen better days so they were chopped into two and painted in the perfect shade of “Eucalyptus Green”. I ended up using these as cupcake and present stands.

In the spirit of DIY and making do, I opted to hold the shower in our own backyard. There's nothing more Aussie than enjoying a party under actual Eucalyptus trees and a Hills Hoist. To add to the relaxed atmosphere, we set up our living room coffee table on the back lawn and surrounded it with every rug, throw and cushion that we could find. Camp chairs were spread around the fire pit for later in the afternoon. The eclectic, relaxed setting added to the Aussie-Backyard-Natives theme that this event had become.

 A few inexpensive but larger-scale decorating items can help fill large blank spaces, create an impactful look, and unify the theme. I chose a botanical backdrop display made of paper leaves, as well as a Baby Shower bunting made out of wood, and an ethereal white balloon arch.

With my Aussie Botanical Baby shower decor theme, there were many choices for matching tableware, but If your theme doesn't have as much variety, consider sticking with a single color that ties into your main theme or simplify by pairing these with kraft brown or plain white items. Decorative additions like confetti scattered on the table and party favours are also quick and easy to set up, yet make a huge difference to the space.

For my Aussie Native theme, I added Botanical Baby wooden confetti, and Hey Baby themed cups, plates and napkins.

With a large part of any party being the food (glorious food), take the opportunity to use food to further your theme. Elevate a basic cake with a cake topper, foliage or a coloured candle. Take cupcakes and sandwiches to the next level with themed toothpicks and cupcake toppers.

Keeping with the theme, I opted for the “Mummy to Be” sash, which unfortunately doesn’t come in a “Daddy to Be” version, so I shared my sash for the sake of inclusion (and a giggle).

As someone who likes to take control (such as being silly enough to organise my own baby shower), I also recognise that handing over tasks to willing-others can help decrease stress on the day of the event. You will be surprised how many people (friends or family) are actually flattered that you ask them to help.

My partner’s Mum and sister took charge of making a bunch of grazing dips, and my step-daughter had a lot of fun blowing up all the balloons and creating the arch. My partner was in charge of ice and drinks (in the rusty and trusty old wheelbarrow), as well as some dear friends coming to the rescue with last minute “crisis cupcakes” from a local vegan bakery, after I over committed myself and ran out of time to bake the day before.

In the end, everything went off without a hitch. The decor, food, and the help of loved ones made for a beautiful celebration on this happy day.