I need party ideas...(Updated in 1st post)

[desiab]

I am hosting a baby shower for my sis-in-law who is adopting twin girls. I am looking for some ideas for favors, food, theme, and games. One idea that I found last night that I think might be really cute is "Two Peas in a Pod".

Anyone else have other suggestions for meaningful things to do during the shower?

UPDATE:

A few months back you gave me some awesome ideas for my SIL's shower and I just wanted to thank you and give you an update.

Unfortunately, there is not going to be a shower because the adoption will not happen. It appears that the lady (who my SIL had communicated with for 5 years) was not really who she was pretending to be. There never was any babies to adopt. My SIL was so excited for this to happen and in the process got taken in by a dishonest person. The authorities had to be brought it and the lady I believe is being prosecuted for impersonation and fraud.

I have been so heart broken for my SIL.

There are some truly sick individuals in this world, so please be careful.

desiab

 

[diznygirl]

I did one, "Tea for Two" and of course had a tea theme! Finger sandwiches, little desserts, lots of flowers and white linens...... I think that would be perfect for little girls.

Congrats to your SIL!

 

[Snow Brite]

My favorite shower game is one where we take little baby clothes and put them all jumbled up in a laundry basket. Then each person has to hold a baby doll, keep the phone on their shoulder reciting a grocery list while they fold all the clothes in the basket. It is always funny to see who can do it all and who cannot, but that is good practice for motherhood! The person with the best time for getting all the clothing folded wins.

We always use brand new cloth diapers for napkins, pacifiers for napkin rings, baby bottles filled with pink and blue jelly beans (or just pink if its a girl) as decorations, receiving blankets and baby towels for tablecloths, sippy cups to drink from, etc. Then the new mom gets to take all these "decorations" home at the end of the party.

Have fun....its a special time! Take lots and lots of pictures.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I'm in baby-shower o'rama these days and have lots of ideas that I've seen and some I've done (I've helped plan a few and am getting ready to lead games for my SIL's in 2 weeks).

One of the best ideas I've seen is to create a "time capsule" for the baby. Every guest brings something to put in a decorated box that is sealed up for the baby to open on his/her 18th birthday. I've seen people bring magazines, newspapers, photographs of the baby's parents doing silly things, DVD's or CD's of popular music/TV shows, newly minted coins, letters written to the baby, etc. It's very cute! One shower had combined this idea with a "past - future" sort of theme - everyone brought a baby photo of themselves and we played a game trying to match up each person to their baby photo. There were lists of things that were popular and current events from when the mother was born, and we had a game where we came up with a list of "current events" and "Top 10..." songs, movies, books, etc. for the year 2024 (when the baby would be 18 years old). That was funny, and it really broke the ice and got us all interacting with each other.

I have a ton more ideas I've seen recently, but I don't want to take up all the space here. Let me know if you'd like more...

 

[clh2]

Sounds like fun.

What about making a diaper cake for the centerpiece? While you can purchase some very cute ones (with equally cute price tags) you can easily make one, if it fits your budget better.

Here's a link (you have to scroll down a little bit to get to where you can click next on the instructions.

diaper cake link

 

[desiab]

diznygirl, I really like the idea of the tea for two. A few months ago, I hosted a tea for a friend and it was beautiful! But my SIL and her family are not the tea type. She is a good ole country girl who likes simple things. I mean no disrespect in saying that! Thanks for the congrats. She is over the moon that things have worked this fast. She had only casually mentioned this to a lady she met online and within weeks she had gotten a call from the lady about a possible placement.

Snow Brite, I think that I am going to borrow your game idea. This will be even more appropriate since it is twins.

imarriedgrumpy, hit me with all the ideas you have! I love having a variety of things to choose from.

clh2, thanks for the link! If I can't figure out how to make the two peas cake I will probably go ahead and make a regular one.

My sis-in-law loves the idea of two peas in a pod and found this diaper cake:

These are the invitations, but a less expensive option would be nice since there will have to be a lot of invites ordered.

Also, we are considering these favors, but again less expensive would be nice.

Looking at each of these--it is possible that they could be made. I would have to start working on them now. The shower is two weeks after they come home and I am flying with my SIL to pick up the twins.

DH's niece made this wreath for my shower and I may get her to make two more for my SIL.

Thanks for all of your replies,
Mardesia

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

I gave my best friend a "Two Peas in a Pod" neckalace as part of her gift for being in our bridal shower in December. It might be a nice gift for the mother-to-be or any of the her important and close family members. Very reasonable priced: (TheParagon.com...search "Two Peas in a Pod"... or Item 8999)

We had also looked at the whole idea for a wedding. Here is a cute candle set we found at a reasonable price: (BridalPeople.com)

I also found these while searching to find that neckalace again! Could be great for a busy new mom to be for Thank You notes: (loris-candy-wrapper-creations.com)

One of the other things we looked at was, "The Perfect Pear" and use pears. You certainly don't have to go the wedding route with them, although that's how they'll be pictured!

Candles: (WrapWithUs.com)

For this them, I'm thinking:
1) Set the tables with real pears and parchment, calligraphed name tags that were pinned with "hemming pins". They would look really beautiful and classy!

2) For favors, beautiful little organza bags in alternating cream and a natural green and tied them off with raffia ribbon. Fill them with the Pear JellyBelly jellybeans! Adorable, yummy, and not that pricey.

3) For flowers use daisies.

4) A "personalized drink" similar to a pear-tart martini or the like. An Appletini in the greens could be fun, too.

5) All the linens were in the natural greens, creams, and burlap overlays. Adorable! Very summery, too.

Natual and pretty, yet chic and sophisticated, too. I *love* party planning!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

For my SIL's shower (she's expecting twins, too!) we're doing a guessing game using common and not-so-common baby items. We've picked out a dozen baby things and put each one in a numbered, sealed brown paper lunch bag. Each guest will get an index card that they will number 1 - 12 and then we'll pass around the bags and they will have to feel the bag and try to guess what is inside of it. We're using things like unusual safety latches, baby "safety" nail clippers, plastic links (those ubiquitous circles/ovals that can be used to attach toys to everything), a bottle brush, a teething ring, a funny little plastic bag dispenser with a duck on the top of it (it's for securing dirty diapers when you're out and about), and other odd-shaped baby items. SIL will get to keep all the stuff at the end of the party. I saw this one at a shower two months ago, and it was a lot of fun!

We've also done a relay where the object was to change a diaper and dress a baby (doll) - only we had to wear blindfolds. THAT was funny! The winner was the person who did it all correctly in the least amount of time and without "injuring" the baby.

There's always the "name that baby food" contest - I'm unfortunately getting good at that one. Don't mind the fruits, but the mixed meats and veggies are not my favorites...but I can usually tell by the smell what those are, so I don't bother tasting it anymore!

Another game I've seen lately has been to put 4 - 6 different strongly scented (and poo-colored) food items into diapers and make people sniff the diapers to guess what is inside of them. I've seen peanut butter, mashed bananas, melted candy bars of all kinds, purreed pumpkin, mashed peas, and mustard all used for this one. The diapers with their contents are usually tacked to a board on the wall, although at one party the host had put these "dirty" diapers on 4 different baby dolls and we had to sniff the doll's butts to guess what was in the diaper.

We've also done a "purse scavenger hunt" which has been a blast! At one party we did it as individuals, but twice now I've been to parties where we didi it in teams and it was very fun. There's a list of items that we have to find, and you get various points for each item. Finding a pacifier in your purse is worth 50 points, for example, while having a cell phone is worth 5 points. A picture of a child is worth 10 points per child, a Disney credit card is worth 25 points, a 2 cent stamp is given 50 points, etc. etc. You can customize the list to be "pairs" for the twins shower - pictures with two children in them worth 50 points, two cell phones is 25 points, two blue pens is 10 points, etc.

In my Bible study group, we make a welcome book for each baby. Every person writes out a welcome for the baby on an index card and decorates it with stickers, and we take a picture of each person as well. Then we put each welcome note and the corresponding picture in a photo album for the baby. It's a great gift - many of the kids like to look through them as they get older.

Have fun! I have more, but it's time for dinner...

 

[desiab]

I gave my best friend a "Two Peas in a Pod" neckalace as part of her gift for being in our bridal shower in December. It might be a nice gift for the mother-to-be or any of the her important and close family members. Very reasonable priced: (TheParagon.com...search "Two Peas in a Pod"... or Item 8999)

I just saw this necklace and showed it to DH as a suggestion for SIL's gift.

We had also looked at the whole idea for a wedding. Here is a cute candle set we found at a reasonable price: (BridalPeople.com)

I have been scouring the net trying to find a wholesaler for these to save a few bucks. There will be a lot of ladies at this shower. My husband and her husband are among 7 siblings!

For this them, I'm thinking:
1) Set the tables with real pears and parchment, calligraphed name tags that were pinned with "hemming pins". They would look really beautiful and classy!

2) For favors, beautiful little organza bags in alternating cream and a natural green and tied them off with raffia ribbon. Fill them with the Pear JellyBelly jellybeans! Adorable, yummy, and not that pricey.

3) For flowers use daisies.

4) A "personalized drink" similar to a pear-tart martini or the like. An Appletini in the greens could be fun, too.

5) All the linens were in the natural greens, creams, and burlap overlays. Adorable! Very summery, too.

Natual and pretty, yet chic and sophisticated, too. I *love* party planning!

I absolutely love the classy pear idea. I may have to run this by my SIL tomorrow. That idea would be a lot less expensive to pull off.

Thank you for your ideas and suggestions. I love hearing them and I too love planning parties. Currently I am also planning a 35th anniversary party for my parents, a family reunion for DH's family, a Toy Story Party for my kids, and this baby shower.

Don't ask me questions about the plans for those parties or I might just tell you.

 

[disneygirlatheart]

The game we played at my best friends recent shower was kind of like the one snowbrite listed. Except you take a clothesline and put clothespins on it. Two people hold it up. You have a baby doll and a cell phone. You take off as many clothespins as you can, holding them in one hand. Whoever gets the most wins.

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

-At BridalPeople.com, the two peas in a pod candles as shown are $2.75 each. Item number 6052

-Indentical as above at lamourcollection.com item number WS6052 for $2.85 each.

-Indentical as above at $2.49 at chicweddings.com in menu under "Accessories" in left hand column.

Do any of those work for you price-wise?

ETA: I found this, too. It's an adorable diaper cake, but it's $129.99 Here
is the link to where I found it. It's a whole online store for twin baby showers!

 

[desiab]

I have this diaper cake book marked on my laptop along with a bunch of stuff from that very same website.

I saw some really cute salt and pepper shakers on ebay for $1.80 each if you buy 72. My DH said that was a bit much, but I think that would make adorable favors.

I need to come up with a budget for this party. There are some other ladies that want to help, but are not able to contribute much in the way of finances. I am not independently wealthy either, but I can afford to do a bit more. But when all else fails, there are grandparents to kick in monetarily!

 

[UnderTheMistletoe]

I am sure whatever you do decide is going to be lovely and memorable! How can it not be with so much love and attention going into the details? MOre importantly, that love and attention to detail will be there when the two bundles of joy arrive. Technically, you only get spoiled with a baby shower once. I know I'll be doing some serious spoiling when that time comes for our friends and family.

PM me if you want to brainstorm or anything...we'll be in Florida Friday to Thursday though I want to be in the loop!

xoxo

 

[kuusimo]

The funnest game we played was at the shower of my oldest. It is a memory game with prizes attached. The funniest part was trying to guess what the prize was going to be attached to the name. Example- Medical Bill=$100,000 grand candy bar, Labor= Gobstoppers... I have about 30 of them. If you would like the list just PM me. It is a very "light-hearted" game though, if you are going for a more serious theme it may not be appropriate.

I have a dear friend who had twins, and the shower thrown for her was a "diaper" shower. They asked everyone to bring diapers. Everyone also brought an outfit(s) even though it was not expected. She was stocked with diapers for the first 8 months!

 

[desiab]

The funnest game we played was at the shower of my oldest. It is a memory game with prizes attached. The funniest part was trying to guess what the prize was going to be attached to the name. Example- Medical Bill=$100,000 grand candy bar, Labor= Gobstoppers... I have about 30 of them. If you would like the list just PM me. It is a very "light-hearted" game though, if you are going for a more serious theme it may not be appropriate.

I have a dear friend who had twins, and the shower thrown for her was a "diaper" shower. They asked everyone to bring diapers. Everyone also brought an outfit(s) even though it was not expected. She was stocked with diapers for the first 8 months!

That game does sound very cute and I think it would be fine for her shower. She is so easy going about most things and likes to have fun. I would love to have the list PM'd to me or even just posted in the thread. I am sure others would love to have it as well.

I am sure that most ladies will be bringing a lot of diapers to the shower. With the number of girls in both sides of the family, she is getting a mountain of beautiful, gently worn clothes.

When I was pregnant with my children I would buy one to two packs of diapers each week. With this third child I am still using diapers that I bought and she is 1. My DH thought is was a crazy idea for my middle child, but he apologized several times over once I was on leave and we didn't have the extra money. For the third "he" asked when I was going to start stocking up.

 

[desiab]

I am sure whatever you do decide is going to be lovely and memorable! How can it not be with so much love and attention going into the details? MOre importantly, that love and attention to detail will be there when the two bundles of joy arrive. Technically, you only get spoiled with a baby shower once. I know I'll be doing some serious spoiling when that time comes for our friends and family.

PM me if you want to brainstorm or anything...we'll be in Florida Friday to Thursday though I want to be in the loop!

xoxo

Well I hope that you have a good time in Florida! My SIL (who this shower is for) is leaving tomorrow to go to Destin with 4 other ladies. I only wish that I was going right now.

I am very forgetful, so please post us a quick note here when you get home and we will brainstorm some more. I have enjoyed your ideas immensely.

 

[kuusimo]

Here you go. I found a lot of the candy at dollar stores, or drug stores. You just take the first word and create two of those words for the memory board and then have the list handy for when the person who gets "memory" you give them that candy item:

Umbilical cord--red vine licorice
Medical bill—payday/$100,000 Candy bar
Ten pounder--Whopper
Preemie--Runts
Daddy--Big Hunk
Diaper--Tootsie Roll
Girl--Sugar Baby
Labor--Gobstoppers
OB-GYN--Butterfinger
Teen years--Nerds
Babysitter--Lifesavers
Stretch marks--Laffy-Taffy
Postpartum belly—Jelly Belly’s/ Rollo’s
Water break—Gusher’s/Juicy Drop
Baby acne--Dots
Bundle of joy--Baby Ruth
Screaming baby--Symphony
Epidural—Sweet Escapes/Skor
Morning sickness--Chunky
Mastitis--Milk Duds
Breastfeeding—Milky Way
Baby Blues—Rocky Road
Grandpa—Sugar Daddy
Feeding Schedule—Now & Later
Toddler Years -- Twerps

Enjoy!

 

[desiab]

Bump for update.