Planning a baby shower can be a lot of fun, but it can also be difficult to find just the right decorations, games, and refreshments for your shower. Choosing a theme to plan your baby shower around is a good way to bring all the aspects of a baby shower together in a uniform way. Baby shower themes can be as simple or as detailed as you like, just keep in mind the likes and dislikes of the expectant parents you are planning for and be creative.
A simple, tried and true baby shower theme is baby bottles. Baby bottle shaped shower invitations are easy to locate and many bakeries offer bottle shaped cakes. Play some fun games that involve baby bottles, like dropping clothespins into the bottle or tossing coins into one, and use small bottles without the nipple for drinking glasses during the shower. Remember to wash out the bottles for the new mom to take home. Decorated baby bottles filled with candy or bath beads make wonderful shower favors for guests at an all girl shower.
You could also plan your baby shower around the new arrival’s nursery theme. Choose invitations that match the theme, like teddy bears or Noah’s Ark, and note that it is a "nursery shower". Encourage your guests to bring gifts for the nursery, like changing and grooming supplies, storage solutions, blankets, and other items that match the theme. Decorations can also reflect the nursery theme and you can even have the cake decorated the same way.
Traditional rules for baby shower planning are often disregarded for more exciting ideas and themes that better fit our fast-paced society. Instead of a traditional afternoon baby shower, plan a baby shower brunch around 10:00 on a Saturday morning. You may choose to combine your brunch shower with traditional baby shower gifts and activities or throw a spa style brunch shower for experienced mothers-to-be who already have their baby gear. A baby shower brunch can be an elegant way to celebrate your friend’s new arrival. Serve pastries, quiche, and fresh fruit or a simple breakfast casserole and keep the decorations simple.
Try a coed pregnant baby shower for a memorable shower no one will forget. Invite your guests to come to the shower pregnant, with pillows or blankets stuffed into their shirts. Use a simple baby theme and decorate accordingly, serve traditional refreshments, and play some traditional shower games with the pregnant guest of honor. Remember to take lots of pictures and make copies for the expecting mom.
Another theme that creates lasting memories and is perfect for a coed baby shower is "A Star is Born". Serve a star shaped cake featuring baby’s name if it has been chosen and decorate with an awards show flair. The 4 tier Baby Cake "A Star is Born" Diapercake makes a perfect centerpiece for this baby shower theme and is a useful gift for the guest of honor. This theme also works well for baby showers thrown after the new baby’s arrival and can feature lots of pictures of the new star.
Do you have a favorite recipe for cookies? Don't worry, this isn't the same old cookie favor you've heard of. This one is quite different and unique. Perhaps there is a favorite recipe that has been passed down through your family that is delicious. Maybe you have one that you clipped out of a magazine and the cookies were extra tasty.
Get out that recipe, ‘cause we're going to make a really great cheap baby shower favor idea. Don't worry, though, we're not even going to bake it.
What you need:
- The ingredients for your cookies. (Make sure you have enough. Use this tip - you will need one batch of cookie dough for every two guests.)
- A roll or two of wax paper.
- Some wire ties. (Like the kind that come on a loaf of bread. You should be able to purchase these at a craft store.)
- Some pretty ribbon.
- A piece or two of plain white paper.
- A pen or marker.
What to do:
1. Mix up your cookie dough. This will work for any kind of cookies, as long as the dough isn't runny or liquid. You will have to be able to mold it. To make this easier, mix up one batch of dough at a time.
2. Divide the dough into two parts. (If this dough makes a large amount of cookies, divide it even further. You want enough dough to make around 10 cookies for each guest.)
3. Roll one portion of the dough into a small ‘log.' Make the ends flat, and cut a piece of wax paper big enough to wrap it in. You will want to wrap the dough lengthwise, leaving about 2 inches of excess wax paper on each end. Twist up the ends and secure them with the wire ties. Hide the wire ties by tying on a bit of ribbon at each end.
4. Continue until you have a little package of cookie dough for each guest to receive a cheap baby shower favor. Then, using the white paper, cut it into small enough pieces so that they will fit on each package.
5. Write what type of cookies they are at the top of your slip of paper, and then write the recipe on the paper. Don't forget to include how to bake them.
6. You can tie cute nametags on one end of the packages. Store them in the fridge to keep them fresh and solid.
