Planning a Baby Shower

[froggygrrrl]

I'm planning my sister's baby shower, but have no clue as to where I should begin. I'm probably the least qualified person to be planning a shower, seeing as I don't have any children of my own (unless you count the 4 legged variety) and I generally avoid baby showers like the plague (could they get any more boring?)...however, that's not gonna stop me from planning this one!

Sooo...are there any good on-line resources to get me started? Or do you have any suggestions of your own? I would definitely appreciate any help!

 

[goofinoff]

First thing you need to do is to put together a guest list. Figure out your budget and then decide on a location. If you decide to have it at your home or her home I would suggest doing a brunch or breakfast. The food is easier and cheaper.

 

[drivencrazy]

We just went to one a couple of weeks ago (the 4 kids and I) while all the guys went out and golfed!

It was at 2 pm and they had lots of snacks to eat...

cheese cut into little shapes, crackers, chips, cut fruit, fruit dip, tiny tiny grapes, cherry tomatoes... it was all very good!

It was held at the appartment complex that the host lives at, she "rented" the room out by the pool so the kids could swim!

What I thought was really neat was there were onesi's and t-shirts for the baby that every one could paint! Everyone had fun coming up with sayings "I get my looks from my dad," "I'm not messy..." This was a hit and something that will be used! There were these neat "marker paint pen" things that we were using, there was also the "puff paint" but that has to day some at least before moving it!

There were some games as well, like matching baby names to their parents. Figuring out baby related words that were written in other langues. These were all found on the internet.

The funnest game is when you take the TP and guess how big you think the mama is measuring! You pass around rolls of TP and everyone takes how much they think will fit around the soon to be mama... then the mama gets "measured" with the TP and you count to see how many squares she is and see who guessed the right amount! (I had 14 squares and was right!!)

You could do the guess what kind of baby food this is! Where everyone has to taste the food and guess what they are eating!

Or the melted candy bar in the diaper, where you try to figure out what kind of poo is in there!

Really you should ask the soon to be mom if she wants games there, I know that I have been to baby showers w/out games since the mom didn't want them there and that is ok as well!

Also a friend of mine was telling me that with her first child her sister sent out on the invites that anyone that brought in a bag of diapers would get a prize! She then went to the dollar store and bought little gifts (candles...) and everyone got to choose what they would like for bringing in diapers... Mom and Dad didn't have to buy diapers till their baby was 1!! She said this was "the best thing ever!" And she got to try all kinds of diapers and see what really worked and what kinds to avoid!

Most of all, have fun!

 

[FHS_chick_2005]

I have gone to baby showers and the games are all relatively different.. my fiance's sister was going to plan mine (his grandma took over) and she found some games just by going on google and typing baby shower games..

a few I really liked and could help the new mama alot are of the raffle variety.. like everyone who brings diapers gets one raffle ticket per bag of diapers.. so you draw a few numbers and give a few prizes for them.. you can never have too many diapers..

or I have seen where you have the thank you cards, take the envelopes and pass one out to everyone and they address it to themselves and you put them in a bowl and draw a few envelopes for prizes but also mama has all the thank you cards adressed so it makes it easier when sending the thank yous to everyone!

 

[ahutton]

For a girlfriend of mine we did a Super Suppers party. Everyone met with our baby gifts, we each prepared a meal for a family of 4 and then sent everything home with her so they had meals cooked for when she got home from the hospital. She had a 3 year old at home, so the dinner for 4 was perfect for that night and leftovers the next day while her DH was at work. She just bought bags of salad, milk, that kind of stuff. We told her in advance so they had space ready for the spare meals.

It was less traditional but she left with a bunch of cool baby stuff, a couple weeks worth of meals and we had a great time cooking together.

 

[staley7580]

For a girlfriend of mine we did a Super Suppers party. Everyone met with our baby gifts, we each prepared a meal for a family of 4 and then sent everything home with her so they had meals cooked for when she got home from the hospital. She had a 3 year old at home, so the dinner for 4 was perfect for that night and leftovers the next day while her DH was at work. She just bought bags of salad, milk, that kind of stuff. We told her in advance so they had space ready for the spare meals.

It was less traditional but she left with a bunch of cool baby stuff, a couple weeks worth of meals and we had a great time cooking together.

Now THAT is a great idea!!

 

[MontanaZoo]

Since I agree with the OP about how boring baby showers are, when I throw them I do alternative things to the (sorry if you love them, my cousins do too) stupid baby shower games.

First off, you have to decide if you want a before baby shower or after baby shower. I personally like the before baby showers, but my family is showing a tendency to do them after the baby is born because our family is large and it's a chance to get to see the new baby.

Next, decide if you want co-ed or all female. The zoo I volunteer at has a mostly male staff so for the female staff baby showers (none of the guys have had kids yet), they just do a diaper dinner instead. Everyone, males and females, bring diapers (whatever size, whatever count) and in exchange for that they get dinner (usually bbq at the zoo). That way the dad gets to come too.

When I've thrown showers recently, I've done decorating onesies/t-shirts for the baby. I buy all the onesies and t-shirts in a variety of sizes up through like 3T or 4T. Then we have permanent fabric markers, crayons and paints to decorate them. We have the paints for using stamps but you can also color those with markers. www.dharmatrading.com is a good place to get the clothes and the stuff to decorate them. Then, we get to chat, and it keeps everyone occupied. Plus the moms have onesies/t-shirts that they can go oh, grandma or aunt so and so made you this one.

I even did that for one of my friends that moved to Tanzania, she was having trouble finding baby clothes that were soft and she was also pretty lonely having her baby away from all her friends and family. We decorated the onesies/t-shirts for her and I took photos of everyone doing that at her baby shower, then sent everything she needed for an instant baby shower.

Another thing we did for a friend of mine who scrapbooks is that I took a baby scrapbook kit and on the pieces of paper people wrote something to the baby or about the mom or parental advice for the baby's scrapbook (if they wanted) ...instant journalling.

 

[aprilgail2]

The funnest game is when you take the TP and guess how big you think the mama is measuring! You pass around rolls of TP and everyone takes how much they think will fit around the soon to be mama... then the mama gets "measured" with the TP and you count to see how many squares she is and see who guessed the right amount! (I had 14 squares and was right!!)

I totally hate this game- could it be any more degrading for the pregnant person that is more than likely already feeling to fat from the pregnancy? I never do this one and everyone I know would never consider doing it at my shower either so I was happy!

What you do there depends on the venue- if its at a vfw hall or the like we have had the onsie decorating thing there with the clothesline hung up to display/dry them. Another was everyone brought a baby picture of them selfs and they put it on a board and you had to guess which guest was which picture. Normally they are in restaurants around here (many restaurants have party rooms) and they sometimes play guess the amount of diaper pins in the jar or a small game like that. Some have DJ's, some you just hang out, eat dinner/lunch (I guess it depends on where you live but there has never bee na shower I have been to no matter what time where you were not given a full meal and not just some finger sandwich) and watch the mom open all the gifts.

 

[mjkacmom]

I totally hate this game- could it be any more degrading for the pregnant person that is more than likely already feeling to fat from the pregnancy? I never do this one and everyone I know would never consider doing it at my shower either so I was happy!

What you do there depends on the venue- if its at a vfw hall or the like we have had the onsie decorating thing there with the clothesline hung up to display/dry them. Another was everyone brought a baby picture of them selfs and they put it on a board and you had to guess which guest was which picture. Normally they are in restaurants around here (many restaurants have party rooms) and they sometimes play guess the amount of diaper pins in the jar or a small game like that. Some have DJ's, some you just hang out, eat dinner/lunch (I guess it depends on where you live but there has never bee na shower I have been to no matter what time where you were not given a full meal and not just some finger sandwich) and watch the mom open all the gifts.

You know, I've never been to a shower with games - we eat, open gifts, and go. Most showers are held at restaurants, but even though I had mine at my mom's house (my request), we didn't have games. I would've *****-slapped the person who suggested we guess how big my belly was!

 

[Kimberle]

The baby showers around here don't have games. They're like a wedding shower, only with baby decorations instead of wedding.

If you know the Mom is having a girl, this is a really cute gift idea:

Fill a big wicker basket with all kinds of baby, young child shoes. Size doesn't matter, eventually everything fits. Fill it with sandels, boots, rain boots, soft baby shoes, anything you can find. If you have enough time, you can shop the clearance racks. Cover it with celephane and tie with a big pink bow. The card will read: shoes, shoes, shoes, a girl can never have to many shoes.

This was a BIG hit a a recent shower. It's a nice change from the hundreds of baby outfits.

 

[Twilightlover]

I'm planning my sister's baby shower, but have no clue as to where I should begin. I'm probably the least qualified person to be planning a shower, seeing as I don't have any children of my own (unless you count the 4 legged variety) and I generally avoid baby showers like the plague (could they get any more boring?)...however, that's not gonna stop me from planning this one!

Sooo...are there any good on-line resources to get me started? Or do you have any suggestions of your own? I would definitely appreciate any help!

I steal ideas from the celebrities. I love the idea of themed baby showers. For example: Pea in a pod, Munchkin land ( wizard of oz), Winnie the pooh, Noah's arc etc.

If you have a theme you can center gifts and decorations off of it.

Games-
Baby shower bingo: Guest get a car similar to bingo. They fill it out while they eat and then when the guests of honor open gifts they check them off. Usually the first 5-8 get gifts depending on the size of your guest list.

Estimate the belly,: You get ribbon and have people guess how round the guests of honor is by cutting the ribbon to that length. The closets one wins.

Also there is one with candy ( I don't remember the day ) like hat what candy is similiar to the umbilical cord ? Twizzlers! Then the person who guessed correctly gets twizzlers as their gift.

I've been to showers at both restaurants and homes and they all have games.

 

[Disney Doll]

First thing you need to do is to put together a guest list. Figure out your budget and then decide on a location. If you decide to have it at your home or her home I would suggest doing a brunch or breakfast. The food is easier and cheaper.

I agree with this.
Try and keep it simple.
If you do brunch, it could be like 10am-1pm, then you re not taking up someone's whole day.
You could do coffee, tea, mimosa punch, bagels with a couple of spreads, muffines, fruit, some kind of breakfast cassrole with eggs, sausage, peppers, cheese.

 

[MontanaZoo]

The baby showers around here don't have games. They're like a wedding shower, only with baby decorations instead of wedding.

If you know the Mom is having a girl, this is a really cute gift idea:

Fill a big wicker basket with all kinds of baby, young child shoes. Size doesn't matter, eventually everything fits. Fill it with sandels, boots, rain boots, soft baby shoes, anything you can find. If you have enough time, you can shop the clearance racks. Cover it with celephane and tie with a big pink bow. The card will read: shoes, shoes, shoes, a girl can never have to many shoes.

This was a BIG hit a a recent shower. It's a nice change from the hundreds of baby outfits.

Sigh, our wedding showers have stupid games too! Maybe it's just around here. I was at a bridal shower where we had to toss a ball of yarn to each other and give out marital advice...bizarre.

 

[clgwli]

I agree with this.
Try and keep it simple.
If you do brunch, it could be like 10am-1pm, then you re not taking up someone's whole day.
You could do coffee, tea, mimosa punch, bagels with a couple of spreads, muffines, fruit, some kind of breakfast cassrole with eggs, sausage, peppers, cheese.

I think it is a bad idea to do a 10 am shower. That is usually a bad time in our house for anything. I think 1 or 2 pm is better. Give snacks, finger foods. Similar to breakfast, but a more realistic hour with less food needed.

 

[Twilightlover]

Umm if you're pregnant you're not fat you're PREGNANT!! To be insulted by the ribbon game or anything similar is silly. Of course you're as big as a house, you're housing a human being for 9 months.

 

[SandrA9810]

This is a perfect topic that I need. A friend of ours is due in late november so we were planning on doing one nov 5.

I know it's not the weekend, but when half the people work at disney, sat/sun is never any one's weekend. So we figured we'd add a couple of hours to the party, and open selected gifts every so often, so if some one needed to leave, they didn't have to feel like they were leaving in the middle, or if some one got there late, they didn't have to feel like they've missed half of it.

I like the diaper raffle thing, and the baby -t's. They're not too interested in a lot of things because they're gonna move back to the north like next summer to be closer to family. So they want the neccessities, but not a lot of aww that's cute stuff.

 

[SandrA9810]

is it wrong to do a family baby shower, meaning guys and kids are allowed?

 

[mjkacmom]

Umm if you're pregnant you're not fat you're PREGNANT!! To be insulted by the ribbon game or anything similar is silly. Of course you're as big as a house, you're housing a human being for 9 months.

I'm guessing you have never been pregnant. Most pregnant women get very, very tired of people commenting on their size (ie "oh, you're so small" aka you're not eating enough for your baby, or "are you sure there's just one in there" aka lay off the ice cream).

 

[bekkiz]

I agree, NEVER do the ribbon/TP game. There is NO reason whatsoever to point out the size of a pregnant woman. Ever. We get enough comments as it is, and the idea that our friends and family might overestimate could send me into a hormonal meltdown.

However, my friends threw me an awesome, low-key, tasteful shower. I pretty much hate any of the "gross" baby games, so they avoided those. The cutest game, I thought, was they picked out a piggy bank and put some change in it. Everyone shook the bank and had to guess how much change was in it, closest obviously wins a prize. The trick is: the amount of change is equal to the number of days until the due date. And then the mom has a cute piggy bank to take home for the babies.

The favors were a variety of blue candies and people could make their own little goodie bags. They even ordered the custom M&Ms with really cute sayings on them.

I love the paint a onsie activity, that's a great call too!

 

[RadioNate]

For a girlfriend of mine we did a Super Suppers party. Everyone met with our baby gifts, we each prepared a meal for a family of 4 and then sent everything home with her so they had meals cooked for when she got home from the hospital. She had a 3 year old at home, so the dinner for 4 was perfect for that night and leftovers the next day while her DH was at work. She just bought bags of salad, milk, that kind of stuff. We told her in advance so they had space ready for the spare meals.

It was less traditional but she left with a bunch of cool baby stuff, a couple weeks worth of meals and we had a great time cooking together.

I LOVE this idea. Forget the baby gift, I would have loved just this!