Cheap Baby shower ideas

[Pooh_Friend#1]

My twin sister just found out yesterday that instead of the one baby they planned on, they have now found 2 babies. We are so excited she is having twins. Now all I need is some great discounts on baby stuff, does anybody know of any discounts. I know that Kohls is starting to have their 70% off clearance prices, but what I need is discounts on baby toys, lotions, sippy cups...etc. Do they ever go on sale?

I will be throwing her a baby shower too, so any ideas for cheap baby shower activities/themes would be helpful. I want to make sure she gets all the necessities for twins!!! TIA.

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

After I had my twins I found out that a lot of companies will send you freebies since you've had twins. For some of the companies I had to send copies of their birth certificates. Diaper Geine (sp?) sent me a free one. I had some other companies send free stuff too. Carnation sent me over $100 in free coupons-I remember calling their customer service #. Drypers sent me several coupons for free diapers. All the baby food companies sent me stuff. I called all the baby product companies I could find 800# for and inquired if they offered free stuff for twins-even if they didn't I asked if they could send me any free coupons and be on their mailing lists.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

That is a great idea, thank you.

 

[lemondog]

Babies R Us will give a 10% discount when you buy 2 big ticket items (i.e. cribs, carseats, etc.). Also, check with department stores -- one around here gives 10% as well when you buy 2 of the same item.

There is a baby shoe company that has a great twin program. They're called Preschoolians, and they have a buy 1, get 1 policy for multiples. No other company can beat that, and the little shoes are so cute. I don't know their website, but I bet it would be easy to Google.

And like the above poster said, definitely call or sign up with diaper and formula manufacturers. You can get some great deals that way. Good luck to your sister! Having twins is hard work, but oh so worth it!

Angela

 

[FirstTimertoDiz]

One thing that my sister did for me when she threw my baby shower- she put on the invitation that if each guest brought a pack of diapers (any brand, any size), that their name would be put in a drawing for a door prize. She just got a couple of inexpensive gifts to give out, and I didn't have to pay for diapers for almost 6 months! It was terrific, and with twins, I'm sure it would be helpful.

Lisa

 

[pearlieq]

Two cheap but fun shower activities:

Baby Picture matching: Have each guest bring a baby picture of themselves and post them all on a board. Have everyone try to guess who the baby in the picture is. Cost: Virtually free and always good fun.

Guess the Baby Food: This one is good for a laugh if your friends have a good sense of humor. Get a few jars of various kinds of babyfood and spoon a taste into little Dixie Cups. Give each guest a taste of each kind of food and have them try to guess what they are. You can be nice and stick to basic fruits and veggies or you can be a little evil and put out the strained chicken and beets dinner! Cost: A few dollars for food, Dixie Cups, and Spoons.

Hope you guys have fun!!!

 

[luckey-lasvegas]

My twin sister just found out yesterday that instead of the one baby they planned on, they have now found 2 babies. We are so excited she is having twins. Now all I need is some great discounts on baby stuff, does anybody know of any discounts. I know that Kohls is starting to have their 70% off clearance prices, but what I need is discounts on baby toys, lotions, sippy cups...etc. Do they ever go on sale?

I will be throwing her a baby shower too, so any ideas for cheap baby shower activities/themes would be helpful. I want to make sure she gets all the necessities for twins!!! TIA.

I often see sippy cups in multi packs at Sams club and Costco. For the baby showers that I have thrown I used baby bottles filled with water as weights and tied baloons to them after the shower the new mom went home with the bottles. Dollar stores are always good to check too for baby toys, and also resale stores like Childrens Orchard or wee one reruns.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Wow, I would have never thought of all those ideas. Thanks again. Keep the ideas coming.

I am sure my sister would be interested in the shoe program that Angela posted, hopefully I can find that....now just figuring out how to research it!!!

 

[Deesknee]

When I had my multilples one of the nicest gifts I got was onesies that the girl had hand painted herself. they were in the size she thought the babies would be in in the summer they were toddlers. My kids got more compliments on them. Just pick up a set of white onesizes I've used iron on transfers or use netting (i forget what the real name of this stuff is) and traced from a book (usually coloring book) then used fabric paint. She had given these to me after the babies were born so she put their name on the sleeve of each one. 13yrs or so years later I still have them packed away.

shower favors - cheap small baby bottles with kisses, m&m, jelly beans what ever (the larger the candy the less expensive to make).

Congratulations and good luck to your sister (and you auntie)

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Great ideas everyone! I am the twins mom and the future grandma of the new twins. I was able to pick up a few discounted things but you guys really have some super ideas! Love the party ideas as well.

 

[mommytotwo]

*Price is right-Get a bunch of baby items that the mom to be will be able to use just from one store. Pass out a paper and pen to each person so they can write down their answers. Let all of your guests know that it was purchased at _________ and that the person closest to the price would get a prize. Give the baby items used for the game to the mom to be.
*Guess how big the mommies tummy is-pass around string and scissors and have everyone cut out the amount of string the mommies tummy is-the one closest to the mommies tummy gets a prize.

 

[kilee]

I like the diapers for a door prize drawing idea!!! I had never heard of that.

 

[soccerchick]

You can also include wipes with the diapers. This year at work (we're teachers) we have done diaper/wipes showers and they've been a big hit! Just be sure to get a variety of size 1, 2 and 3.

 

[Pooh_Friend#1]

Thanks for the ideas. I have been to 2 different types of showers and was wondering which one is the "norm."

Shower one: Door prizes are usually stuff that can be donated to the mom to be.

Shower two: Door prizes are used for the guests to keep.

 

[lemondog]

Thanks for the ideas. I have been to 2 different types of showers and was wondering which one is the "norm."

Shower one: Door prizes are usually stuff that can be donated to the mom to be.

Shower two: Door prizes are used for the guests to keep.

Ahh, the great debate. I have been to both kinds. When my friends threw me baby showers I always asked that they give prizes the winners could keep. I mean, after all they deserve to get a little something for winning. I would have felt bad if they had to turn around and give me the gift. I have thrown a ton of showers for my friends over the years and that is how I do it as well. I inevitably have one winner each time ask if she is supposed to give the prize to the honoree. I always tell them it's their choice, but the gift was intended for the prizewinner. Now, when you go to a baby shower and the doorprize is a bib or bottle, then it's pretty clear who the prize is supposed to go to.

Angela

 

[welovedis]

As far as the door prizes, both seem to be the norm around here, I personally don't mind either one, but some people seem a bit miffed when they don't a get a prize for themselves.

If you are giving door prizes or favors, look to the local dollar stores as you can find so much for so little, it isn't even funny. A nice shower I recently attended gave everyone a simple bottle of body wash for the shower with a nice ribbon tied around the top. Simple but something everyone can use!


Here's a link to an ivillage page with lots of those freebies/discounts mentioned above, including the shoes:
http://pages.ivillage.com/uvmom/id10.html

And another:
http://www.doubleblessings.com/resource.html

Also, the National Organization of Mothers of Twin Clubs is supposed to be a terrific resource:
http://www.nomotc.org/

Perhaps you sister can find a local club!

Congrats to you sister and GL to you with all your planning!

 

[ceburto2]

This is a very fun idea for a baby shower: buy wooden clothespins and spray paint them pink, blue or a neutral color, depending on the sex of the baby or the shower color scheme. At the beginning of the shower, give each guest and the mother-to-be a clothespin to pin on their shirt front. If at any time during the shower someone says the word "baby" and someone calls them on it, the person who said the word must give their pin to the person who "caught" them. Whoever has the most pins at the end of the shower wins a prize(something like a small jar candle or some potpourri). Pins get traded back and forth and it's amazing how many times you will slip up and say the word! Also, when someone catches somebody, they receive all the pins that person is wearing, not just one.

 

[soccerchick]

This is a very fun idea for a baby shower: buy wooden clothespins and spray paint them pink, blue or a neutral color, depending on the sex of the baby or the shower color scheme. At the beginning of the shower, give each guest and the mother-to-be a clothespin to pin on their shirt front. If at any time during the shower someone says the word "baby" and someone calls them on it, the person who said the word must give their pin to the person who "caught" them. Whoever has the most pins at the end of the shower wins a prize(something like a small jar candle or some potpourri). Pins get traded back and forth and it's amazing how many times you will slip up and say the word! Also, when someone catches somebody, they receive all the pins that person is wearing, not just one.

I forgot about this game! I did it for a friend but used safety pins and blue ribbon. I tied little bows onto the pins. Some people really were ruthless, in a fun way.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

We played the baby food game. We also were given blank BINGO cards. The BINGO at the top was changed to STORK. We had to fill in the spaces with gifts we thought the "mom to be" would be opening late in the shower.....bib, onsies, car seat, bottles, blanket, towels etc. When we had filled in all the spaces we gave the card to the person to the right of us. While Mom to be opened gifts we checked off the gifts and when you had 5 in a row you called out stork and got a small prize (centerpiece candle). Very cute.
We were also asked bring a small baby item (brush and comb, sample baby lotion, sample sunscreen, toothbrush, rattle, etc. All the items were placed on a tray and the tray was left out for the first 1/2 of the shower. Then the tray was taken away and we were asked to write down as many items as we remembered (you had to give details, Blue teether, etc)....winner got a small prize and mom to be got the items on the tray.
The favors for the people who attended were small candles wrapped in tuelle with a little poem attached......


Here is a candle for you to light
once the stork has made his flight...
With the flicker of the flame
say a prayer in Baby (lastname) Name.

All the little "Favor" candles were put around a large piller candle on the middle of the tables for the centerpieces. Very simple, very pretty!

The people who gave the shower also made one of those "Diaper Cakes" I am sure you can find directions on the web somewhere. We had to guess how many diapers it took to make the "cake" it was cute and the mommy got to keep the diapers. )Shhhh it took 76.......

Also how about a baby pool? They did this at my shower. They had people guess the time and date of Baby's birth. The winner got a prize when baby made her debut. I have been to showers where it cost $1.00 to enter. Whoever wins gets 1/2 of the money and the mom gets the other 1/2. I did win once and of course gave all the money to the mommy!! It was my sister in law!!!!

Hope this helps!! We had a great time. I work at a school and all the teachers got together and we bought lots of onsies, tee shirts, nightgowns, socks, outfits, bonnets, towels etc. We clipped them on a big piece of clothesline and layed them in a big basket with a bottle of DREFT. We then wrapped the basket in Tuelle and then when she opened up the basket she started pulling out the clothesline and it looked as if someone had done all the baby laundry. It was cute and she got quite a bit of her layette. You could do this pretty cheaply if you bought socks, and tee shirts and receiving blankets etc. You can do it more expensive if you buy outfits etc.

 

[pammypooh]

This is a fun game if the mom to be can laugh at herself...otherwise its a no-no....

Pass around a ball of yarn and have the guests cut the length of yarn they think would go around the mom to be's baby belly. If everyone knows each other and the mom to be is a sport, it can be really fun and entertaining - if not...could be a little uncomfortable.

I have only been to showers where door prize type gifts went to the guests - small things like candles, nice decorative guest towels, soaps, etc.

One of the showers that I went to, had a timer and they would set it randomly as the mom to be was opening her gifts. If the timer went off when she was opening your gift you won a door prize.

Pam