Baby Shower Ideas

RE: Baby Shower Ideas Post By Willem (Guest Post) (06/30/2006) Babies need toiletries for a very long time; so find out which brand the mother prefers and give that as a gift. Or give home-made (on the computer) vouchers Good for one evening's baby sitting/one cooked supper/two hours doing the washing/dishes/one morning's entertaining the older siblings or whatever. RE: Baby Shower Ideas Post by hairyjoe (27) | (06/28/2006) Profile | Contact Thanks for the ideas. Books seem to be the answer but I like the shawl idea. You asked about amount able to spend. I work part time and my husband doesn't have a job but picks up all he can on the side. So there really isn't a lot of money. We also just had major flooding in our basement and lost everything down there. So my time off has beenspent weeding thru the mess. Thanks for the help! Keep the ideas coming. Karen RE: Baby Shower Ideas Post By Marisa (Guest Post) (06/27/2006) Books! Yes, books, books, books. I have a 2 yr old who has been read to since she was a zygote and books of any kind are an integral part of her day. If she received books for every birthday/christmas/whatever gift, we'd both be thrilled. The best thing about books (especially baby books) is that they fit any budget. The A.A. Milne book is wonderful, as is any hardcover classic, but practical books for babies are great, too (and cheaper). When my daughter was younger, she would bite, rip, throw, etc. all her books, so she only had books with cardboard pages, or the "bath" books with plastic/foam pages. Many, if not all, classic childrens' stories are made in "board book" form now--Dr. Seuss, Goodnight Moon, Guess How Much I Love You, and even Winnie the Pooh. My suggestion is to get as many classic story board books as will fit into your budget, and then find a small basket at a thrift or craft store to present the books in. If you size the basket so that the books fit with no room left over, it makes the gift look more expensive--any extra space left around the books means that you couldn't afford to buy more books to fill it! Even if it's a tiny basket with three books in it and a pretty bow, it will look amazing. Plus, the basket can be reused in the nursery. I still use a baby shower basket I received to hold diapers. Good luck! RE: Baby Shower Ideas Post by hpjrt (1) | (06/27/2006) Contact One of the nicest things I've ever received or given as a Baby Shower Gift is a little on the Expensive side ... but it really depends upon your budget. I like to purchase hardcover copies of A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh ... not the Disney version ... the original. It's very tasteful ... and a lovely legacy because you're encouraging reading to the child. Now, the book is pricey ... but if you can go to that amount ... it's a great gift ... and should pass muster with the most pretensious of recipients. If that's too expensive for your budget, look into a nice shawl that can cover both Mom and Baby during those late night feeds. Get something pretty ... but stay away from real wool because of potential allergies. [Synthetics should make it less expensive as well!] It's also different ... something not everyone might think of. If neither of these things fit into your budget, perhaps you could give us an idea of that budget so we can come up with some other ideas. Mary RE: Baby Shower Ideas Post By Christine (Guest Post) (06/27/2006) I went to a shower & we played a game where the hostess had a laundry basket full of baby items & we had to guess the price. The Price Is Right baby version. It was a ton of fun. Christine In. Request: Baby Shower Ideas Post by moderator (763) | (03/29/2006) Profile | Blog! | Contact I am throwing a baby shower at my house for my sister and my house is not big, just a modest ranch. We are having dinner. How can I make sure everyone has a good time? Any ideas of what to do? Sunflower71 from Detroit, MI Answers: RE: Baby Shower Ideas 03/30/2006 A nice easy game to play at a baby shower is to hand everyone of your guests a pacifier on a ribbon to be worn around their necks when they arrive. You pick out one common word; example, baby, cute, little, etc. This word is taboo. If a person is caught using the word they have to give up their pacifier to the person who caught them. At the end of the shower the person wearing the most pacifiers wins a prize. It's always a surprise because you could have a lot one minute and loose them all just a quickly. By biffy62 RE: Baby Shower Ideas 03/30/2006 Fun ideas! We hosted a baby shower last year for a friend and I was in charge of games. One fun game we played was "Name That Baby". I typed up game sheets with clues about famous babies and the person who wrote down the most right answers won a prize. Questions included: Name the baby girl on the Flintstones. Name a famous candy bar. What is the name of Gwyneth Paltrow's baby. Name the famous 1920's era gangster. You get the idea. This was lots of fun, especially since we had guests ranging in age for 18 to 80. By barb RE: Baby Shower Ideas 04/06/2006 Another game that is alot of fun and harder to do than we think is the( Pin in the rice ) You get a big bowl and pour a large bag of regular cheap rice in it, Then buy 1 to 2 packages of small saftey pins and pour them into the bowl of rice, Mix it up really good. Blindfold the person then direct their hand to the bowl, Give them 1 or 2 minutes ( I used a timer ) they have to grab a pin, The person who grabs the most pins in that time period wins a prize. That game was a big hit. Good luck and enjoy yourself : ) By Lisa L. (Guest Post) Some Baby Shower Ideas Post by ThriftyFun (4042) | (03/29/2006) Profile | Blog! | Contact Ask shower guests on the invitation to "Help Mother Hubbard to fill her Cupboard" by bringing two jars of baby food to the shower. I always set out a big basket for the ladies to set their jars in. Diapers I also request that everyone try and bring a bag of diapers (newborn size) this really helps the new mom. For the first couple of weeks she is set on diapers. Motherly Advice As one of the party games I have a blank book that gets passed to each guest to write down some motherly advice in. A quick tip or some other secrets that a new mom needs to know or just a quick congratulations. Necklace for Mom I also set out on the table a couple of bowls of alphabet beads for the guests to make a necklace for the Mom with her and the new babies name. At first we go around the table and as each guest adds a bead, they tell the Mom to be one thing they love about her. Prayer Candle I also give each guest a candle to light on the day of the delivery. I ask that each say a prayer for Mom and Baby. It is a loving thing they can do for Mom and the baby. By Debra in Colorado Need Baby Shower ideas Post by ThriftyFun (4042) | (03/01/2005) Profile | Blog! | Contact I am throwing my first baby shower for my sister-in-law. Since her family is in Sweden, we are having family only, males included for a total of ten guests. I have been reading up a little and games seem to be the thing. I'm not sure this would work out with my family as they tend to like to eat and talk a lot. So what do I do? Also, we are time-limited to approximately 3 or 4 hours at most. I would like to make it in the afternoon, say around 2 PM in late May. Her due date is July 13th, first pregnancy and they know it's a boy. Questions: How should I decorate? Saw balloons saying "its a boy" and "baby shower" . Also banners, say baby shower. Should I use crepe paper, all in blue necessary? What kind of food? I would prefer not to cook a big meal, (not the greatest cook here) so I really need some help. Would sandwiches, fruit and veggie salads, potato salad, etc. be all right? About the cake, do I get one specially made, what is printed on top? Also, regarding gifts, do I just ask her what she wants and then give a list to everyone? I know they have already done quite a bit of shopping. They don't want me to do a registry thing. I know these are a lot of questions, but I have never given one before Any and all tips re this or anything I forgot or don't know about, would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks so much. Anjeena Answers: RE: Need Baby Shower Ideas Dani (Guest Post) Baby showers are so much fun. The best advice I can give is relax! It makes it that much more fun for you too. I have hosted several baby showers and I usually do have games. Two of my favorite are games the guys have to do. One is to have two guys race to see who can finish a baby bottle filled with juice first. This one gets lots of laughs. The other one is to have the mother feed the father (or vice versa) baby food while the person being feed is blind folded. Then they have to guess what they just ate. Another game that is usually played is the guess how big around the mother is. You have sting or yarn. The mother stands in the middle of the room and everyone then cuts a piece of string as long as they think she is around. Brings lots of laughs too. Too all your other ideas I would say yes. They are all great and don't worry about having a big meal. Finger food is always best at a party. A wholesale store is great for this like a BJ's or Sam's club. Have a great shower RE: Need Baby Shower Ideas Post by jaywing if you're planning on playing a game, one fun one with males included is to buy baby food, and take the labels off of it. Have everyone guess what it is, and the person with the most correct answer at the end of the game wins a prize. Or, have a relay race to do the following: Change the baby's diaper, feed the baby, burp the baby, get it ready to go outside in the cold. so on and find a doll to be the 'baby' Have them work together as a team, that way they can talk while they are playing the game. As for a cake: Meijer, Walmart, Kroger... all those stores have bakeries that will decorate your cake for you. you just have to ask in the bakery. That'll save you some time the day of the event. If anyone is not sure what to get, have them go together and get a stroller or other big gift for her. RE: Need Baby Shower Ideas Margie Minard (Guest Post) You didn't say where you are located, most of the US are having fairly decent weather in mid May. The last three baby showers I have hosted have been picnic-type ones that included the men. Some have brought covered dishes... NEVER turn down the offer of help! It actually makes it more fun for everyone to participate, too. The most memorable one we had was just after the terrible 9-11 disaster, and we decorated in red, white, and blue and our son shot off fireworks (just bottle rockets, etc.) at the end. We had everyone out in the machine shed since we live on a small farm, with a bonfire outside, roasting hot dogs. I don't think we even had a regular baby shower cake at all. Another "shower" that we had was for a girl and her husband from our church. It was also set in the machine shed and I had made the baby a little quilt with chicks appliquéd on it and wouldn't you know, one of our chickens had hatched six chicks and had them begging from the guests. It was like live decorations! The last one was for our own daughter and husband and we met at a state park that was centrally located to us and the guests and we had a cook out and potluck. We had the baby food game, a work scramble and the "how many sheets of toilet paper will it take to span Kari's tummy" game. Always keep a list of the requests from the mommy and daddy, but if lots of things have already been purchased, just keep it handy if someone asks. Mostly... HAVE FUN! RE: Need Baby Shower Ideas Post by acope I have hosted a few myself , so here are some of my ideas. You will be the talk of the town if you can make or buy a 'baby cake' for a centerpiece. It is made of diapers rolled up in two or three layers and decorated in baby stuff. It's just for decoration but all of the diapers and decorations can be used by the mother to be. A fun game to play, especially with men involved is the dirty diaper game. You get several kinds of candy bars, open a diaper, microwave 1 candy bar in each diaper, pass around and they have to smell it and guess which candy bar is in what diaper. I had them numbered and had everyone write down their guesses and the one with the most correct won. If you play the baby food guessing game as mentioned in another tip, be sure to use potatoes... they are so nasty! Be sure to have the camera handy to take pics of all the gross faces. You can play musical chairs to toddler or baby music. Adults love musical chairs too! I did a game that was very intriguing to my guests. I found a list on the Internet of hints about certain nursery rhyme characters. I had about 10. I read the hint and the guests had to write down who they thought it was. This is especially hard for people who do not have children or have grown children. Any food will do. I kept mine simple once... chips, dip, punch and cake and it was just as big of a hit as going all out. The funniest game to play is to fill baby bottles with koolaid or something and have a contest to see who can drink it the fastest. Again, I cannot stress enough to make sure someone is taking pictures and then preserve them in a memory book. If someone is at a loss for a gift, you can always get diapers or clothes in 18 month and up. I wouldn't worry much about decorating, maybe just a banner or two. Walmart has some really cute baby items in their craft department if you were going to make party favors. One I especially remember being cute was a play binky with a little curling ribbon tied onto the ring and a pin hot-glued to the back and they were worn at the shower. Good luck! RE: Need Baby Shower Ideas Suzie (Guest Post) Regarding games: Put two cups of uncooked white rice in a bowl with a few dozen regular paper clips. Blindfold the player and have them see how many paper clips they can find in 60 seconds. They can hand them to the person next to them as they're looking and that person counts them as they go. Also, for a cake... make a simple sheet cake and have it say simply "Welcome Baby Smith" or whatever their last name is. Good luck! RE: Need Baby Shower Ideas (Guest Post) Don't stress. Have fun! I find that playing too many games gets annoying when people know each other well and want to talk. The one game that I do like is "baby food tasting" Take the labels off a few jars and have everyone taste each one and try to guess what it is. The person with the most correct answers gets a prize. When it comes to decorating, keep it simple! Since you are having so few guests I suggest white table cloths with centerpieces that the new mom can actually use made of bottles, pacifiers, teething rings, etc. with pretty bows tied around them. I personally find streamers impossible to hang so I don't recommend them unless you have a knack for them. Food for 10 people in the afternoon can be very easy. Bake some cookies, bake or buy a decorated cake, make a veggie tray and a cheese and grape tray. Or, if you feel you need to provide an actual meal go with a frozen lasagna and prepared salads. RE: Need Baby Shower Ideas Pat (Guest Post) Go to one of the online translators like babel fish and make a matching game. Make a list of baby words like diaper, pacifier, rash, bassinets, etc. and print out a list of the words in Swedish. Then, mix them up and have the guests match them up (I'm assuming most of you don't speak Swedish). She may laugh at this. It would also be nice to have some Swedish food and maybe a CD of Swedish children's music (easy to find on the Internet), as she is so far from her own family and pregnancy makes you pretty sentimental.