Giving a Baby Shower

I haven't read all of the responses so I don't know if someone has already said this, but one game I always see played at Baby Showers is when each guest has a diaper pin and they can't say the word "baby" if someone catches them they get their pin. The guest at the end of the party with the most pins gets a prize. I love the idea of the diapers with melted chocolates in them that someone mentioned previously. I saw it on "The Girls Next Door" and it cracked me up.

You need 3 or 4 different flavors of baby food.
Take the wrapper of the outside and number the outside of the bottles. THen write down what each bottle is next to the number. ALso you will need spoons. Pass the baby food jars around and they can either taste it or smell it and they have to guess what it is.

It depends on what time of day the shower is as to what to serve. If it is before noon, serve brunch. If it is an evening shower, serve hearty appetizers and cocktails. If it is an afternoon shower, cake and light apppetizers. I hate games at a baby shower. I have been to several showers and we did not play games. I specially requested no games at my shower.

The budget and time of day you host the shower can dictate what you will have to eat. If you host the shower around lunch time, soup, sandwiches (dollar rolls, chicken salad), salad (lettuce, pasta or fruit) and a relish/fruit tray would do. If you host the shower mid afternoon (2-4) I think lighter appetizers (veggies and dip, fruit salad, etc.) are just fine as people would have most likely already had lunch and not be expecting a meal. There are lots of websites that you can get shower games/ideas from, just do a google search, but I really like the dirty diaper game and sweet baby concentration.

Hi A.,
I just wanted to share a few ideas with you on having a baby shower. When it comes to food, finger foods are the best choice. Cucumber sandwiches or any small sandwiches for that matter. Relish & fruit trays are always a plus and of course a cake.

A great game would be Guess The Gerber's: You will need Gerber's infant food, pads of paper and pens. Take the labels off of 10 baby food jars and have the women at the baby shower guess the food by appearance only (carrots, peas, sweet potato, prunes, bananas). If there is a tie, blindfold the women and have them taste one of the jars and guess the right flavor to win their prize.

Also, here is a web site that has everything you are looking for, recipes, games, invitation ideas and much, much more. Hopefully this helps.

http://www.babyshower101.com/index.html

A.

I only have one child who is now 9 but my shower was a wonderful experience. I had a couple family members do the shower together and we had light lunch items like finger foods, cake, punch, veggie/dip and we played a few games. The hostess did go in on a gift with a group of people (stroller). I am sure they paid less on the gift than the others (my mom told me) because of the cost of the actual shower. Hope this helps... enjoy.

I am the shower expert! I have thrown showers for people I wasnt even that close with just because I love to. First of all, if you're going to throw a nice shower that should be gift enough. Your looking at covering the expenses of the invitations, decorations, game prizes, food and drink. My first tip to people is always schedule the shower during the 7th month. This allows for any early deliveries (as in your case) and it also allows the parents time to shop for any other things they may need that they didnt receive as a gift. The menu is going to depend on what time of day you host the shower and the type of guest you expect. If you serve snacks than it's best to avoid a meal time. Unless it's a surprise, find out what theme the mom-to-be wants and base all decorations and the cake around that theme. I also usually go ahead and pick up a couple packs of thank you cards while I'm in the party aisle. It saves the mom-to-be one less chore and ensures that she will send notes to her guests. The most popular shower games are the toilet paper wrap (pass around a roll and have people tear of the amount of squares they think will fit around mommys tummy), purse scavenger hunt (design alist of obscure objects and have every one look through their purses for who has the most items on the list), baby bingo (using a simple bingo grid, have your guest fill in common baby gifts, then as mommy is opening her presents they can mark off any matching presents).

I recently heard about a baby shower that I thought was WONDERFUL! You could consider some ideas from her notes. This is what she wrote....When we walked into the shower, there was some Indian/Moroccan type of music playing. To the left there was a beautiful arrangement of food and sparkling juice. We walked out onto the back porch area and my friend had constructed an entire tent with candles, decorations, and a little spa for people to do their nails. It was amazing!!! We ate a delicious lunch. Then we opened gifts and they had set up a bingo game where everyone got to pick what they thought I would get (then write it on their bingo card). The first to get Bingo got a prize. It was a very clever idea. After gifts we ate a magnificent cake and an amazing ice cream/yogurt with fruit mixed in! Even the little ice cream glasses where decorated with jewels. It was amazing!
After the desert we showered our guests with favors which included a candle, a wish necklace, and a jewelry box with jewels on the outside! Oh and we cannot forget the little jeweled tins with skittles in them.

I went to a friend of mine's baby shower a couple months ago and they played a game I had never heard of before. What they did was take about 5-7 newborn diapers and smear different chocolate items in them. The diapers were numbered and the guests had to smell it and guess what it was. It was a blast!! She used different candy bars. Just an idea.

Hi my name is K. and I have thrown one baby shower for my boss a few years back.
It can be as simple or as fancy as you want. Pick your color scheme and let it be your guide.
I just blew up some balloons(these can go according to whether boy or girl or use all colors) and tied around the room, decorated my table with a paper table cloth...which depending on how fancy you want to be can be cloth, plastic, or paper.
Have your cake, a dish of nuts and mints with punch and also napkins. Depending on time of day..........you might serve finger sandwiches but certainly not necessary. You can also serve coffee if you choose. You set the gifts on another table close to the cake table and set chairs around to set in or do this in your living room and use a card table.

The whole thing really depends on the expense you can afford to go with and also to what degree simple or elaborate.
You should be able to find games for a shower on line.
Does your friend know you are giving her a shower and does she know your financial situation? If she does and understands then she will be please with anything you do for her.
They sell alot of things at the dollar store that you could use cheaply and still look nice. to make streamers, balloons and so forth.
You will do fine............and I'm sure your friend will appreciate you so much.

As far as your gift.......just go accordingly to how much you spend on the shower it's self........You can get some cute outfits or things for a baby that are very nice and not too expensive.
Good luck.
Hugs,
K.

I wouldn't do too many games but one that is kind of fun is put baby food in an unmarked container & have the guests guess what it is. May need a bunch of spoons. :) At my daughters showers the hostess did make nice food like a casserole or chicken salad plus dips & snacks. Most young people like to eat you know. Then a cake. By the time you open gifts (have a pad of paper handy to write who they are from) & eat, your time is usually up. On the gift: either ask everyone if they would like to go in on a large gift like figure out how much it would be if so many went in or also I remember on the invite they asked people to bring a book like say a book would also be appreciated- athat way they would go to the registry too. Of course tell where she is registered. If you are the only one giving the party I would just get a nice gift like a blanket (they get tons) or even a toy that you liked but don't need to go overboard unless you want to since you are providing the food too.

When thinking about the food. Thinking about what time you will be having the shower and the type of guests you will have. Will the time be around lunch time, anywhere from 12 pm and 2 pm? If so, I would serve some type of 'real food', even if i's a deli tray of meat and cheeses with bread/rolls, a veggie tray, chips, tea/coffee and just a variety of 'lunch type' food. If you want something really simple, with not a large amount of food, note that on the invite you send out...like "small munchies served", or "light refreshments", or even "appetizers and beverages served". That will let people know to eat a main meal before comming....and bring snacks themselves for any children they may have. And don't forget the cake. Will there be other kids attending? you might want to have finger foods for them to snack on, this will keep them occupied while the mom's try and enjoy the shower as well. You also might want to have coloring sheets, activities or a "kids table" where they can sit and color and play. If you go to a party store you can get some fun trinkets that will entertain even the youngest guest. On the food....another idea is to have a "dessert" shower......my friend had a dessert selection and it was neat......it was all in protions of "tasting size" and she had a variety of them to choose from. Just remember to have some sugar free desserts and some fresh fruit for all your's guest's needs.

A theme is fun for the shower, but often will be more in detailed to plan, if this is your first, then make it simple so it's nice....not chaotic for you.

Games....well that's up to you. I was at a shower that they played no games...just a kitchen timer. WHen it went off whose ever gift the guest of honor was opening, they wona prize. My cousin threw a shower for her sister....she had 3 games, that were a bit confusing that she rushed with getting online and that's what I remember about that shower...it was bad and unorganized. There was one game at a shower where the host passed around a candy bowl of different varietys of candy and they were not allowed to open it yet...then we went around the room, and for each piece of candy, you had to give advice or tips to the mother-to-be about parenting and life after the baby is born, It was the most simple thing, but it was also really funny at times and you got to hear how other people learned from mistakes, and trials of their own.

Most people do not like to be the center of atttention, so a simple shower is usually the best way to go, but keep the kids in mind when planning activities.

Good luck...what ever you plan I'm sure will be fine.

GOOD LUCK!

I love baby showers they are so much fun. The menu depends on the time of day that the shower is hosted. If it is an evening shower anytime before 7 is when at least sandwiches and sides should be served, 7 and later is when you could have appitizers/finger food. A daytime shower that would apply to the hours between 11-1 anytime after 1 you could go with finger foods. Don't forget a cake, we have often taken a copy of the invitation to the bakery and they can screen print it and decorate the cake to match. As far as the types of food and snacks, I would check with the mother and see if she has any special requests. If you are looking to serve at meal time, resonable priced suggestions would be if you belong to Sams, Cosco ect. they have bulk dollar rolls and you can make a deli tray with different meats, cheeses or stuff them with chicken salad. Veggie/ Fruit trays are also resonable there. You could serve with cold pasta salad and a couple different kind of chips. Finger foods I would ask the mom her favorites and add a few of your own favorites. You can buy pink or blue party plates at the dollar store and buy just the napkins to go with your shower theme to save on decor cost (they also have balloons) also for decor find out if the mom has a certain type of bottle preference and fill bottles with candies (m&m's ect)and tie balloons to them as centerpieces. A game that requires little effort and can also be included in your gift to mom is take four plain gift bags and write a B on 2 an A on 1 and Y on the other you can decorate them to match the theme, in bags B fill with baby products that begin with a B (bottles,bibs,burpcloth,binkies & blankies ect.) A (baby asprin,aspirator) Y (baby yogurt, yellow duck, washrag, towel, blanket ect) People guess what is in each bag and write down, people with most correct win a little prize (candle, note pad, vase, all can be bought at dollar store) This spells out BABY and also they are cute decor, you can also do this if names are already chosen with the name spelled out. Another gift that can be decor is a diaper wreath or diaper cake they are very easy to make you can e-mail me if you need to know how sorry for rambling on and on. Good luck with the shower and e-mail if you need more suggestions. I have great party favor suggestions.

Wow...I LOVE throwing showers. You are the one that knows the mama to be best so ask her if she wants games and what kind of food... I did NOT want games at mine and I wanted fruit and veggies for eats also, not much junk food. It depends a lot on the mama. The last shower that was thrown for me was INCREDIBLE. The host did all the decorating to match my nursery colors. It was awesome and gave the guests a sense of what it looked like. She decorated with little rubber duckies, those links, paci's and foam letters. It was so cute. She had a hanging bug rattle on the door too. As far as the gift goes I think that all depends on your budget. At two of my showers I got all of my bedding for the crib...it was so nice. At one shower the host gave me the baby quilt and another the host gave me my bumper. Getting those 2 items was such a relief...it just depends on what you feel as thoughyou can spend. Either way I hope she will recognize your generous heart and love for her and her new baby to be! Have so much fun putting on the extravaganza!!!

What we did for my nieces baby shower was have a luncheon- we just got a sandwich tray from Wal-Mart then got some side salads. The games we played were, buying some low dollar baby items then the people had to guess the price, kind of like "the price is right" then the mom to be gets the items. There was also the saftey pin in a bowl of rice, blindfold a person and they have to dig out the small saftey pins out of a bowl of rice. As to what is to be expected all depends on what time of day you give the shower, if you give it around lunch time then yes I'd plan food of some sort,or you can always make it a "potluck" snack food type thing, I've done that before--everyone brings their favorite snack. Cake is always a good thing,again you can always just make a sheet cake and decorate yourself, although you can get one at most grocery stores for not a lot of money. Just relax and remember go with the flow, don't so much have a set schedule plan stuff but if you don't fit it all in then it's all good. Just have fun and spoil the mommy to be.

I think the food issue depends on what time of day you hold the shower. Especially, if you are putting this together on your own, it can get expensive. Both of my showers were at 2:00 and there was very LITTLE food, which was fine with me. One of them they had a simple cheese and cracker plate. I think if you have a nice cake and a small snack, that should be sufficient. If you have the shower mid-day, the guests should have already eaten lunch and it isn't time for dinner.

As far as the gift, my girls gave me a diaper cake. I don't know much about them, but they found how to do them on line. There are tons of diapers on these cakes and of course you need diapers!!!!

Good luck.

Shower favors are ususally given. It's just a small gift to say thank you for coming. I gave my daughter a shower and got some really great, and cheap, favors at favorwarehouse.com.

there is one game that i think is fun & could also be used as your gift. You get a basket or even plate & get about 10-15 small items on there (such as bottle, pacifier, soap, lotion, clippers, brush, wash cloth, diaper, meds, etc.) give everyone a chance to look at it all, then give them pencil & paper & see what all they can remember, you could even do a game in between.

Hi A.,

I just went to one last week. Very fun. You could do a cake or cupcakes., For food-keep it simple. If it is the afternoon, just some munchies and a cake. We had cheese/crackers, fruit, meatballs in a crockpot, salsa/chips, Coffee/flavored creamer and a nice touch is to put in a clear glass pitcher, water with fruit. You can put in a few raspberries and some thin sliced oranges. It mildly flavors the water and looks really pretty. Prepare about 1-2 hrs. in advance and keep chilled till shower. Some do punch, but good to have a de-caff, no sugar drink on hand for some guests.

We did not play games, and to be honest, it was nice for everyone to visit and not have the games. But different crowds may like them. There was a sonagram picture in a frame with a large white border with a cup full of colored sharpie pens for guests to sign. Fresh flower on a table is a pretty centerpiece, a diaper cake is great, but somewhat costly to make, Maybe get 2 or 3 people to contribute if you do that. If you do a luncheon, Chicken salad on mini croissants with fresh fruit is great. Maybe a vegetable tray and ranch dip. If you do the ranch dip, it is really inexpensive and so much better to make your own. Very easy too. Or you can do a big pot of soup in a crock pot. Make up the day before and turn on in the morning early. Serve with crusty french rolls. Yum! Recipezaar has some great recipes. You need someone to put in charge of taking pictures and someone to put in charge of writing down who the gifts are from so Mom can send out thank you notes. Giving the shower is a great gift. Good luck.

I am from a small town and we do showers pretty big here so I don't know if this is what you are looking for or not. We usually have somewhere between 10-25 hostesses and end up spending about 10-20 dollars each on food and the gift. Something that I have seen a lot is the Pack and Play or the Stroller/Carseat combo. If there are more hostesses, you could do furniture, but that is kind of pushing it. Less could do a high chair. We all split the food and the type depends on when you do it. If we do brunch, we do breads and fruit, or sometimes salads, veggie trays, mini quiches, or breakfast casseroles. A cake is neat too. Then we do punch and iced water with sliced lemons in a pretty bowl. I also might mention that our hostess gift counts as the only gift we give to Mom. We don't go out and buy separate gifts. I have been part of several of these showers in the last few years, so that is why I have a lot of input. It is different everywhere though, so maybe ask some local people what their's was like. Good luck!

I am the party Queen, I think that I have thrown about 50 over the years. First is there anyone willing to help you? If not I would make it a simple and fun as possible. I would have it at 2 or 3 so you serve a cake and some nuts and maybe some mints. If you have it any later or earlier I think people expect more food then that. Anyway plan a couple of simple games, my favorate is take a paper plate for each guest and give them each a crayon. have each guest place the plate on top of their heads and then give them a minute and have them draw what they think the baby will look like. Everyone has a great laughs and the mommy get to pick which one she likes the best and they win a small prize. Then you can go on line to find alot of other games. One thing I ALWAYS do is buy some thank you cards and put the envolopes on each table. That way you guest can fill out their own Address so the mommy doesn't have to do one more thing before the new baby comes. You can also put out some little cards that people can put advise on for her. Serve the cake while she opens the gifts so that it doesn;t take all day and the guest have something to do while she is opening. Some people can be rude and sit and talk the whole time and then soon no one is even watching her open the gifts. This way they have something in their mouth. HEhe being sneaky.Hope this helps

First of all let me say, I'm 54 so my ideas may be alittle old fashioned. At my baby shower, they had a cake decorated like and in the shape of a little boy (which I had). Fingers sandwichs, veggies with dip and chips, with a very nice punch and coffee for those who liked. The only game I remember (my son would be 33 if he had lived) which may seem odd, but everyone laughed alot. They got a piggy band and a the new bowl from a potty chair which they got me. In the potty bowl, they put a baby ruth candy bar and poured some coke over it, needless to say you know what it looked it. They passed the bowl and the piggy bank around at the same time. The object of the same was that either you put all the change from your purse in the bank or took a sip from the bowl. As you may guess the bank filled up extremely fast. Now, depending on your room and expense acct. You could have supplies to make a scape book. Everyone gets their own page to decorate and have an instant camera so that everyones picture goes on their page. That way you can keep mementos of each friends journey with your child. Or just have different designs for each page for your child. Your child may not know who designed each page, but you will and it will help you remember the fun all had on that day. Good luck

I think it's neat to throw a shower that is themed after the nursery. Some of the decorations potentially could be used in the room. The invitation sets the mood for the party so make sure it is in line with the theme. I like to take a napkin from the theme I'm going with and have a cake made to match the decor. All of these ideas can be done on a budget or over the top expensive. Be creative.

Depending on time you could really find some neat stuff on the internet.

If she wants to play games (some don't so for sure ask her-I've given showers both ways)the diaper game is cute and simple. Pair the ladies into teams and give each team a roll of toilet paper. They have to make a diaper out of the toilet paper on one of the team mates. The mom to be picks the winner.

If you have games you need prizes for each game you play. I went to target and got some cute stationary, photo albums and candles (stuff the mom to be would like because people often give the mom to be the prize.

Bottom line..have fun!!

I have a 5 month old and my shower was awesome. Four of my friends gave the shower and they didn't buy gifts, the shower was their gift, so you really don't have to buy a gift, unless you want to. For food, we had meatballs, the little deli sandwiches, pasta salad, regular salad, those types of foods. We did have games and gave away gifts. It was a great event!

Hi A.! Throwing a shower is fun, but can be stressful. I agree about the food and games. Find out what the mom wants (diabetic requests, cravings, she may not want any games, etc). Don't spend too much on decorations since she would much rather have a bigger gift instead of something that looked cute for 2 hours and then gets thrown away. I usually use items from my kids to decorate - teddy bears, hang onsies, booties, hats from a "clothsline" with clothes pins, use empty baby jars w/candles in them and tie ribbon around them, I put a knitted blanket under the punch bowl. Another fun idea to do and is not costly (takes place of games) is to get white onsies (different sizes) and buy fabric puff paint. Let the guests use the paints to make a onsie for the baby. It is fun to see what everyone comes up with. Use a piece of cardboard under the top to help make a hard surface. Obviously this is a good friend of yours since you are throwing the shower, so I would still spend the same amount on the gift.

At one of my showers the host did a cute thing that really stood out. Without me knowing, she put on the invites that she wanted everyone to buy a special book for the baby, a book that meant something to that person. She had them write a cute message to the baby on the inside cover. As everyone arrived they handed her the book and she put it with the others. She bought 2 really cute book ends for the books to go in!!! This helped to start a cute library for my little one, and when we read them we talk about whoever it was to give it to him!!

I just think that this is a perfect idea!!

It is awesome that you are taking on the task of throwing the shower! Is anyone helping you or are you doing this on your own? If you have help, I would assign each person a couple of things for them to take care of, otherwise keep it simple and don't stress yourself out. If you haven't already sent out invites, I would have it around 2 p.m., so you wouldn't be expected to provide a lot of food.

Ask your friend about games, if she doesn't want them, then the kitchen timer may be good enough. If she does want games, do a seach online and you will find a ton of games. Keep the prizes simple. Target has some great things in their dollar section... At one of my showers, my friend gave $1 scratcher tickets as prizes, with a cute little note that said something about if they won big to split it with the baby. It was cute.

As for decor, we always buy baby items to use a decorations and then the mom gets to keep them when the shower is over. Rubber ducks, lotion, baby wash, botttles, etc. I LOVE the idea someone gave for the clothes line with the onesies hanging from them!!!

For the gift, think about what she would do for you and do the same. I would still spend what you would normally spend.

I threw a baby shower for a friend a couple of years ago and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. If you don't want to do food, then have the party at like 2 or 3 and then just provide snacks. The party I threw had a lot of people, so we just did a pot luck. You can search online for games. The most popular game I did was the baby safety pin search, get a bowl fill it with rice and then mix in the safety pins; blindfold your contestant and then give them 30 sec or a min to find all of the pins. I went to my local dollar store for most of my supplies and that cut down on the cost a lot. Good luck and have fun at the party!