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Women clean Nia Lui's house at her nesting party.

A mother expecting her 3rd child decided to forget about having a baby shower and brought her friends together for something she needed even more: a nesting party. Instead of spending an afternoon watching her friends drink champagne and play games, Nia Lui put them to work to prepare her home for her new arrival.

Lui documented the event on TikTok, and after seeing the video, a lot of women said they’d much rather go to a nesting party than a baby shower.

The special day came courtesy of Lui’s friend, Bree. Lui gave her a list of everything she needed to do around the house before her daughter arrived and the women gave her home a deep cleaning, organized the kitchen and got the baby’s room together.


"Every pregnant mom needs a nesting party. If you’re pregnant and don’t want a baby shower, do this,” Lui captioned the video.

If you’re pregnant and don’t want a baby shower, do this. If you have a pregnant friend, do this for them! 

@nialui21

Replying to @Haley Sheppard 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! #nestingparty #nestingmom #nestingmode #pregnantmom #pregnancy #babyshower #nestingmama #thirdtrimester #ittakesavillage #myvillage @Bri Welcker

In the post, Lui explained how the event came together. "So I had my nesting party last night instead of a baby shower and it was amazing,” she said. "My friend Bree organized it. I sent her a list of things that I wanted to get done before the baby came, and she made little cards for each person to take to take on a section of the house."

"I kind of took on more of a supervisory role, kind of telling people where I wanted things and what I wanted to do with things,” she added.

Even though it was a work day, the friends still took some time to enjoy each other's company. "We took a dinner break, ate some soup, some sourdough bread and treats, and just chatted about this baby and how it's going to be," Lui said.


Lui explained a big reason for the nesting party in a follow-up video. "I don't like baby showers. I don't like being the center of attention," she said. "I don't like playing dumb games. I just don't. I don't. And this is our third baby. So we have everything. We basically don't need a lot besides diapers and wipes."

@nialui21

Replying to @katiecusic Nesting party answers. #nestingparty #babyshower #nesting #nestingmom #womensupportingwomen #momlife #sahm #pregnantmom #nestingmode #nestingmama #thirdtrimester #pregnancy #ittakesavillage #bethevillage #greenscreen

In the end, after her friend’s help, Lui and her family were better prepared for the new arrival. "Everything was so clean and organized," she said. "I feel so much more ready for this baby."

The video was a hit with women on TikTok, too. Many of the most popular commenters noted that they would prefer to go to a nesting party than a baby shower. “Honestly, I’d prefer doing this to sitting for three hours watching someone open presents,” one user wrote. “I refuse to go to baby showers, but I would show up early for a nesting party," Dog Momma added.

Others thought that nesting parties were more helpful than bridal showers as well.

“This is a true village, and I love everything about it,” kTaylorFitness commented. “I’m sorry, but how has this not been a thing FOREVER? I would absolutely go help alllll my pregnant friends. And wish I could have had one,” Ashleigh wrote.

In American culture, many of our celebrations revolve around buying people gifts for their graduations, weddings, or new arrivals. But sometimes, what people really need can’t be purchased in a store. Lui and her friends did the world a service by showing them that sometimes, instead of giving someone a gift, what they really need is a hand.