giving 1st baby shower ... any advice?!?!?

[lynetteSC]

Hi! I agreed to give my friend a baby shower ... :) NEVER done this before ... in fact, due to selfish personal reasons (fertility issues) haven't even been to baby shower in years and years! :(
Planned on having cake/punch/nuts/mints/veggie tray any other snacks (or things) I have forgotten? Any other advice??? Thanks in advance!!

[JasonLyons]

no

[Kallison]

That is sweet of you to host the shower. How about some little favor, usually they have those. At mine they had pink/blue little felt diapers filled with raisinets to look like, well you know...! I thought it was very funny, however you might prefer something more dignified. We just had a shower for one of the teachers at our school and it was all gift certificates. It was a lot of fun, and a super idea since she is not going back to work for awhile. Another idea is to display some baby pictures of the Mom and Dad.

[lynetteSC]

LOVE the idea about baby pics of the parents! Thanks Kallison!!! :)

[JohnTBap]

We always have a seat of honor for the Mother-To-Be - just a plain chair with maybe some balloons tied on to it. Also, a corsage is a special touch. Don't forger paper and pen to write down who gave what for thank you notes. Tissues because tears may flow. I know of some games, if you're interested. Also, a nice flower centerpiece can be elegant. Make sure the punch is non-alcoholic for the M-T-B. Background music is nice, too. :) Oh, and name tags. :)

[KimRaye]

Coffee? Iced tea?

Your shower sounds a bit different than what I'm used to here. That's not meant to insult as, I did hostess one shower for my best friend who was as pregnant as me at the time! And, all I could muster, on my own, was a diabetics nightmare! LOL Cake, pastries, cookies, everything sweet!

However, what WE usually have is a luncheon or brunch. I know, this requires more work, more money and, More People to co-hostess.

Your friend will LOVE everything you do, trust me!

I have some baby gift Bingo sheets left over, if you decide on a couple of games. (Small, token gifts are usually given for winners though)

It'll be wonderful! :cool:

[CamColt]

I agre with Kim Raye...we usually do meals as opposed to snacks too. Mine was held at a Chinese restaurant where they had a buffet. Ive also been to others where they have coldcuts, salads, some hot dishes(lasagna, etc...).
As for games, dont do anything that forces people to participate.
Favors are a good idea too. We had lollipops made out of pink and blue chocolate, in the shape of baby booites, carriages, etc... They also enclosed a poem from "the baby" to the guest. It was really cute.

[Cindy B]

My baby shower was snacks, appetizers.. I've never been to a "meal" one.

The baby showers I went to were "snack" type, I mean nice snacks, like hot dip, egg rolls, etc...

Good for you to be planning this, that is an awesome step!

[lynetteSC]

Thanks guys for the tips ... lots of things I hadn't thought of! :)

[SeaShelley]

My baby showers were all luncheon types, but have been to some lovely ones with just snacks. I was recently planning on giving my sister a shower, but she nixed the idea (this is her second baby) and asked if we could do a "meet the baby" gathering instead. I thought it was a great idea!

Anyway, while looking for favor ideas I came across this one that I just loved! Wrap votive candles in pink and/or blue tulle and attach the following poem with some ribbon:

Here is a candle for you to light
Once the stork has made its flight
With the flicker of its flame
Please say a prayer in (baby's or mom's) name

Best of luck with the planning!

[lynetteSC]

Seashelley~ That is really NEAT! My friend LOVES Yankee Candles ... Oh boy, what a great idea!!! :) :) :)

[justjulie]

Our showers up here are typically the "snack" type too. You might consider:

cheese and crackers
fruit tray
sausage rolls
mini meat balls
"shower" sandwiches (ham, tuna, salmon) cut into four triangles
pickles
non-alcoholic punch

and the shower cake

[kidzmom3]

I recently gave a shower for a work friend, so I did not go ALL out but this is what we did.

We had it early (nurses who work 3-11) so it was at 10 am. We allowed people to bring their other children. We had primarily breakfast items, which people signed up for (they let me know what it was so not too many duplicates) such as quiche/breads/pastries/donuts/fruit platter/fruit salad
coffee/juices

cake

For favors we did candles/but did not have the lovely poem.

We did not play games/she was not the type; we did have music playing and children playing around

We had disposable cameras and various people took pictures.

we decorated with balloons/baby shower plates/pastel napkins etc. I made the choclates from a mold. Its actually very easy and always gets a big reaction.

good luck.

[Karista]

IF you decide you want to do a couple of games, here are two that are making the rounds around here that everyone seems to love.

The first one is quite simple: In the invitation, ask each guest to bring a baby photo of themselves. As each guest arrives, each photo is assigned a number and pinned up to a board. During the course of the shower people try to figure out who is who - it's pretty nostalgic (especially for the older family members).

Another one which is hillarious (but definitely depends on the type of crowd that you have) is to purchase some newborn baby diapers and then put a candy bar in each diaper. Microwave each diaper for about 20 seconds until it melts (I'm sure you get the idea here). The diapers get passed around and people need to guess what kind've candy is in each one. Again, it depends on your guests, but even our 80-something year old aunt gets a chuckle out of it.

I'm throwing my SIL a shower this fall and we have a family heirloom bassinette that will be passed down to her. I'm going to have it set up at the shower site and use it to hold the gifts.

[Fire14]

Design a shirt for the baby.
Have every guest Take fabric paint and create a baby tee shirt or onsie and make a personal shirt for the baby to be.

[MerryPoppins]

I went to one where we were offered the chance to guess the date when the baby would be born. For $1 you put your guess on the calendar. The money was to be deposited into a college savings account for the baby and the winner got a Yankee Candle.

At my shower, I had a corsage made of baby booties rolled to look like roses. It was really cute, but I don't remember how it was made.

I also went to a shower where we were given a sheet of paper. We had to hold the paper behind our backs and tear out a paper doll. It was really funny to compare all of the "art". There was a favor for the artist who had the most realistic doll.

[Kermit]

If you serve coffee or tea, don't forget decaf so that the mommy-to-be can enjoy it too. :D

[lynetteSC]

Ok guys ... BIG day is almost here for shower! Plan on doing several things/tips I read about here! Thanks bunches!!!!! Any last minute or new advice???? :) :) :) :) :) :)

[wdwfam]

I like to host a shower with a few others and serve a brunch. Actually, it is the easiest type of shower. A different one that we hosted this summer was that each hostess brought a different kind of dessert. The usual nuts, mints, and punch were served at that one. I have had a ton of showers over the years - the important thing is to not stress out over it. The simpler the better. One of the games we had was to take a piece of bubblegum (unchewed) and mold it into a baby. The mom-to-be picked the winner. Another one we played was about nursery rhyme characters, ie "Who sat on a wall and had a great fall?" Hope you have a great shower.

[jan/cape]

I may be in the minority, but I don't like showers and shower games. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind buying a gift, I just don't like attending them. I did however attend my cousin's baby shower a few months ago. They had sheets of paper on the tables that asked for advice for the mom to be. I did think that was a cute idea.

[lynetteSC]

Awwwwwwwwwwww, love the bubble gum and baby advice sheets! Great ideas! :) :)

[Rock'n Robin]

My shower was in 1992 so I hope this game has gone out of style--the guests were to cut a piece of string guessing the circumference of my stomach!!!:rolleyes: The closest one won a prize! With the lengths they were cutting I must have looked like Shamu, because they were all way too big! It was embarrasing for me to have to measure my stomach too--I liked having kids, but I thought I was a whale and didn't even like having my picture taken when I was pregnant.
Then there is the "taste the baby food without the label and guess what it is" game--YUK!
Robin M.

[lynetteSC]

RocknRobin ... Hmmm,. just can't wait for the baby food tasting ;) :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[Disney Doll]

That candle thing is a nice idea. Doesn't Yankee Candle(or one of the other candle companies)have a Baby Powder scent? That would be cute too!

I've been to both kinds of showers...snacks and dinners. Either are very nice, and the snacks don't have to be elaborate.I was just at a luncheon one where they had ham and brie sandwiches on this cute little rye bread, graham crackers with a cool whip/vanilla pudding/sour cream spread with fruit on top(kind of like s'mores, but with fruit), and fancy salad with those fields greens, and a nice vinaigrette dressing, and a cake for the dessert. They servied lemonade, iced tea, and punch. It was fairly simple, but very nice, and quite elegant even though it was simple.

The pad and paper for someone to write down the gifts is always a good idea, because invariably the card gets separated from the gift, no matter how hard you try to keep them together.

I've also been at ones where they do a baby wishing well. You have a little basket, some people go so far as to make or rent a little wishing well, and have everyone bring a small thing to use for a baby(ie-nail clippers, socket covers, little socks, a pacifier, travel-size baby lotion or powder for the diaper bag).

Another nice idea is getting little index type cards with a baby theme on them(or you can make your own using stickers etc)and having each person write down a piece of advice regarding raising children. Later, it can be put together into a scrapbook, along with pictures from the shower, for a nice rememberance.

Good luck. It's nice for you to do this, even though somewhere deep down it's probably kind of hard, based on your own issues. Having had fertility problems myself, I know it's difficult to go to baby showers. Your friend will appreciate your effort, and the amount of love you're showing by doing this.

[lynetteSC]

Thanks Disney Doll! Some great ideas! We have a Yankee Candle store in my mall, so I plan on getting some tea lights or votives to do this! I am also making the labels that say the nifty poem to attach to the candles.
I am actually making her a scrapbook without picture, I made a page for each month until baby turns 1. She doesn't scrapbook, so I hope she enjoys that!!! It was alot of work, but also really fun!
:) :) :) :)