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March 19, 2010 by admin
Filed under Uncategorized
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Baby Shower Menu Ideas
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Food
One of the most important parts of throwing a baby shower is what to server to the guests. While showers can comprise anything from snacks to full meals, most of them fall somewhere in between. Here are some baby shower menu ideas that might help you plan your baby shower.
1. Ice Breakers – Ice breakers are those little snacks that people can carry around with them when they first get to the shower. I don’t know why, but for some reason standing with a little plate of food can make you feel a bit more comfortable and talking about the tasty snacks can help you “break the ice” with other guests.
For ice breaker food, I like to serve things like deviled eggs, cut up veggies and dip, fruit with dip and chips and pretzels. These should be little foods that people can nibble on while they are waiting for the main event.
2. Solid Eats – Once the gift opening is done, it’s usually time for some serious eating. Once again, you will have guests walking around with tiny plates trying to balance their food so you don’t want to serve anything that is too large for this part of your baby shower menu. Finger sandwiches, small hot foods like swedish meatballs and kielbasi and things like salads (both green and potato and macaroni) usually work pretty good for this.
3. Dessert – There’s always room for dessert and, in fact, this is pretty much everyones favorite part of the shower so don’t be afraid to have plenty. Brownies and cookies are a standby at any shower but you will probably also want to have a cake that is decorated for the occasion. And, where there is cake, there is ice cream so plan on some of that too!
4. Drinks – Be sure to have plenty of liquid refreshments for your guests to wet their whistle with. A punch is always nice but you should also have soda and bottled water for those that don’t like the taste of punch.
When it comes to your baby shower menu, yoyu want to
Personalized Baby Shower Favors
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Tips
A baby shower is a personal event and there’s nothing that can make it more personal and memorable than personalized baby shower favors. Luckily, anyone with a printer and your standard graphics program can make really cute favors that are easily personalized with the specific dates and names of the event.
Of course, you can get fancy engraved favors, but if you are on a budget you’re going to want to make favors that can be personalized through something that you can print out on your computer. Thankfully there are a ton of items that you can wrap a paper banner or envelope around to make a wonderfully personalized gift.
Here are some ideas for personalized baby shower favors:
1. Candles – buy plain candles and make a paper label decorated with the shower theme then apply the label to the front outside of the candle.
2. Tea Bags – make little tea bag envelopes out of paper labels decorated in your theme and slip some herbal tea bags inside – memorable and delicious!
3. Bookmarks – this one is really useful and can be a fun gift. It’s even better if you can come up with a cute poem to put on the bookmark then print out the decorated paper with the poem in the middle. Have the pieces laminated.
4. Candle Tins – you can buy plain candle tins or tea lights at your local craft store and then make labels for the covers of the tins. Buy some mesh bags and stick 3 tins in each. Viola!
If you don’t have the time to make favors and you have a larger budget, you can buy personalized baby shower favors at a variety of stores. You can get everything from notepads to hot chocolate packs to tic-tacs and lifesavers – all personalized to your taste!
Baby Shower Centerpieces
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Tips
Baby shower centerpieces add a decorative touch to your festive occasion and can really be the “centerpiece” of the party.
Now, when it comes to centerpieces most people automatically think of flowers and flowers are great to have in a centerpiece but if you put some thought into it, you can come up with something a bit more creative to put the flowers in. One thing that can be really fun and inexpensive is to hit up some yard sales and look for cute baby items that could hold flower and would work for the centerpiece. Of course, it would have to be small to fit on the table, but things like a doll carraige and old diaper pail (decorative of course) or even some vintage baby themed planters could be really cute!
Baskets can make great baby shower centerpieces that are decorative and functional. You could have a large wicker basket (spray paint it if you want color!) and fill it with baby items. Diapers, bottles, outfits, stuffed animals – you name it! Then top it off by wrapping in netting or colored cellophane and tying some balloons to it. Better yet, have the party guests each bring an item to add to it and you will have a beautiful and functional centerpiece.
Towel cakes and diaper cakes make really great centerpieces that are practical as well as great conversation pieces. For these items, you take rolled diapers or towels and put them together so that they look like a 3 tiered cake. A variation on this is a diaper booty where the diapers are put together and displayed in the shape of a booty.
As mentioned above, flowers can be great for your centerpieces but an even cuter take on this is a sock flower. This is where you take little baby socks and fashion them into rosebud shapes then stick them on a stem and put them into a vase just like roses!
As you can see, there are plenty of creative baby shower centerpieces that you can use to make your baby shower decorative and memorable!
Baby Shower Foods
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Food
It’s no secret that baby shower foods are the main attraction of most baby showers! Sure, everyone wants to give a gift to the new mother to be and make sure that baby gets off to a good start, but it’s the food that brings us all together and helps make the day memorable.
When it comes to showers, or gatherings of any kind for that matter, there are always some dishes that stand out. There’s always those family favorites like Aunt Millie’s brownies and Cousin Sue’s meatballs. These dishes are a must at any family event and a baby shower is no exception.
But after the obligatory family favorites are on the menu, what other baby shower foods should you plan on?
Well, one thing you must consider are the beverages. It’s a food idea to have some sort of punch that is made with fruit and ginger ale. Also, you will want to have some sodas on hand as well as bottled water.
Another thing you will probably want is some sort of cold cut platter and, of course, the rolls to make sandwiches with. Depending on what the guests are bringing, you might want to make sure there are salads like a tossed salad, potato salad and macaroni salad handy.
Then you will want little snacky items like deviled eggs, crudites with dip, chips and even pretzels and nuts that folks can much on.
Of course, the best part about baby shower foods is the desserts! You should plan on having a cake that is decorated with the appropriate message but you also want to have other desserts like cookies, brownies and whatever else you can think of. There can never be enough desserts and, believe me, if there are nay left over I’m sure you can find some takers at the end of the shower to bring them home!
Baby Shower Decoration Ideas
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Tips
When it comes to baby shower decoration ideas, the sky is the limit! You have a wide array of themes and colors to choose from and these days you can find all the party things you need to match. Plates, cups, napkins, tablecloths, streamers – you name it and you can find whatever you need for your shower decor.
When it comes to their first baby, a lot of people have a “theme” picked out for the babies room. It could be a classic like Winnie The Pooh, or some thing new and trendy like Dora the Explorer or anything in between like dinosaurs, mermaids or sports. Pretty much anything is game with a new baby.
One of the most popular baby shower decoration ideas is to have the shower match the “theme” for the baby. Of course, if you are throwing the shower you will probably be well aware of the babies room theme and you can find the party goods for a perfect match!
If using the theme is not appropriate, or you simply don’t want to go this route, there are plenty of other choices for baby shower decorations.
If you know the sex of the baby, you could go with pink for a girl or blue for a boy. If you don’t you could combine the colors or go with the popular neutral greens and yellows.
Either way, there are a few key things you will want to decorate the shower. One of these is balloons since they make things so festive! You should get the helium filled so that they float up and don’t forget some of the cute mylar balloons that they have these days.
Also, you want to be sure to get some streamers and, of course, plates, paper cups and napkins that match. A tablecloth is a nice touch too.
And, finally, don’t forget the party favors – these can really jazz up the table and add to the decor.
You can have a lot of fun sitting around brainstorming baby shower decoration ideas with the other friends and family of the parents to be. Make sure to jot down all the good ideas and figure out all the items you need to pull your baby shower together and make it look beautiful!
Baby Shower Invitation Ideas
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Tips
If you want to have a memorable baby shower, then you’ll want to take advantage of some of the baby shower invitation ideas out there. Today, you can make your invitations be the cutest part of the whole shower!
Today, invitations can be made from just about anything. You can be creative and make them yourself out of high quality paper and embellish them with cute things like diaper pins, ribbons, pacifiers etc… Or check out some of the scrap booking embellishments at your local craft store. There’s plenty of cute “baby” stamps and stick on’s that will make any invitation cute and memorable.
Now, if your taste in baby shower invitation ideas runs to the store bought, there are plenty of cute items you can get right online. In fact, Amazon offers tons of baby invitations like these onesie invitations that are too cute:
Wilton Onesie Boy Fill In Baby Shower Invitations
Of course, they have other invitations that aren’t so “boy-ish” too! Plus you can look at specialty stores and even your local craft store to get more baby shower invitation ideas that will make your shower memorable.
When making your own invitations, you have a wide range of things to chose from. If your shower has a theme like Winnie The Pooh then you could get invitations to match. Otherwise, you might go with animals, flowers or even just a color scheme.
Baby Shower Game Ideas
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Tips
My sister was running a baby shower for a close friend and she wanted to make it fun, so she came to me looking for some baby shower game ideas. I was stumped – you mean they play games at those things?
I’d never been to a baby shower where they played games but I have to admit most showers are kind of boring so games might not be a bad idea.
Of course, you don’t want anything that is too complicated or takes up too much time. Being that it is a shower, you want to allot enough time for the mother to be to open her gifts and for people to socialize and eat. Also, keep in mind that most people are only expecting to spend 2 – 4 hours at the shower so having a lengthy game that makes the shower too long wouldn’t be cool.
Keeping that in mind, here are some baby shower game ideas that can break up the monotony but don’t take all day to play! For each of these, you will want to have some sort of prize ready for the winner.
1. Guess Mommys size – in this game, people try to guess the size of the mother to be’s stomach. What you do is pass around a ball of yarn and some scizzors and have each guest cut the yarn to the size they think will fit around mommys tummy. The one who comes closes wins!
2. Memory game – this kind of game can be played at any shower really but in this case you want to fill a tray up with common baby items and pass it around the room. Then remove the tray and have the guests write down all the items they can remember. The one who can remember the most wins!
3. Name Those Baby Items – similar to the game above, in this one you pass out paper and pencils and have the guest list as many baby items as they can in a 5 minute period. She who lists the most wins!
There are plenty more baby shower game ideas in our book “Baby Shower Guide” – check it out on the top right of this page!
Baby Shower Diaper Cakes
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Tips
Baby shower diaper cakes are all the rage these days and while you may think that such a thing does not sound appetizing, then have no fear because these cakes are for decorating …. not for eating!
A diaper cake is simply an arrangement of diapers that look like a cake. It’s a great way to give an interesting and useful gift because the diapers can be used … and, as we all know, anyone with a new baby is gonna need a lot of diapers!
The trick to baby shower diaper cakes is that you need to have a cardboard base. Then you roll the diapers into a cylinder and set them side by side all around the base. Then, make a smaller cardboard base and put it on top of the diapers for the next “tier”. You can go on this way for 3 or 4 tiers and the result is actually quite stunning!
Here’s some video instructions that show you how to make one:
So, there you have it – baby shower diaper cakes – a gift that is unique, decorative and useful!
Baby Shower Party Favors
March 14, 2010 by admin
Filed under Shower Tips
Baby shower party favors can be an important part of your baby shower decor so you want to have something that is attractive and also useful. Here are some ideas for party favors that will brighten up the party and put a smile on your guests faces:
1. Photo Frames – how about a nice photo frame that matches the color or theme of your party. The guests can use it to put a picture of the new baby in when he or she arrives!
2. Candles – These make a nice party favor for any party and are very useful. You can buy the colors to match your decor but the best thing about them is that they will make the party smell great!
3. Food – giving little candies in netting is a standard shower favor, but you can take it one step further (and save yourself some money) by baking cookies or making your own candies and serving them up in a cute wrapping.
4. Themed favors – if your shower has a theme then giving out baby shower party favors that match the theme can be fun. Give little crystal pieces or knick knacks that depict the theme and your guests are sure to remember your shower every time they look at it!
When it comes to baby shower party favors, you don’t have to go overboard and spend a lot of money, but if you create something that is thoughtful and from the heart, then they are sure to please everyone.
