Baby Shower Ideas & Centerpieces
In anticipation and excitement about the arrival of a new baby, friends and family throw a baby shower to honor the new mom and give the parents-to-be gifts to help them care for the little one. A baby shower is usually decorated with cheerful baby-themed items; however, baby-shower decorations often double as things that the mom can actually use or the guests can enjoy. Centerpieces that go along with the shower theme can be both decorative and functional. Does this Spark an idea?
Baby-Sock/Washcloth Bouquet Centerpiece
Make a baby-sock or baby-washcloth bouquet (see Resources below) by rolling up either socks or washcloths to look like flowers. Attach each to the end of a craft stick or floral wire. Arrange several of the "flowers" in a vase with artificial greenery, and tie a large ribbon around the vase. The mom-to-be can take the flowers home, and will have socks and washcloths to use for the baby. These centerpieces work with any shower theme.
Diaper Shower
Sometimes a mom (especially if this is not her first baby) doesn't need much baby gear but does need diapers. In this case, a diaper shower is a theme in which guests are asked to bring baby diapers of all sizes. Play diaper-related games such as trying to guess what is in the "dirty" diapers (use assorted candies, crumbled cookies, pudding). Make diaper corsages for each guest by folding triangular pieces of paper into the shape of a diaper and holding them together with safety pins. A small diaper cake can decorate each table, or a large one can be used as a centerpiece on the gift or food table (see Resources below). Add small baby toys and baby supplies that the mom-to-be can use as embellishments to the diaper-cake layers.
Garden Theme
Use bouquets of fresh flowers and potted plants as centerpieces for the guest tables. Serve fresh fruits and vegetables along with lemonade, iced tea and fruit tarts or lemon cake. Make a watermelon baby carriage (see Resources below) as a centerpiece for the food table. Hollow out the watermelon and cut up the pieces to put inside, along with other fresh fruit like cantaloupe, honeydew, grapes and assorted berries.
Balloon Centerpieces
Get some helium filled mylar balloons in shapes like rattles, baby bottles and baby carriages. Gather several balloons and tie them together in bunches. Use baby toys and other baby items to act as weights, and attach a bunch of balloons to each item. Use these as centerpieces for any baby-shower theme.
Theme Gift-Basket Centerpieces
Make gift baskets for the mom-to-be, each with a different theme, for guest-table centerpieces. For example, a "bath time" basket can be filled with towels, washcloths, baby shampoo and squirt toys. A toy basket can be filled with baby toys, teethers and rattles. If the sex of the baby is known, you can do a girl or a boy basket with items all in pink or blue. Make a basket based on the parents' hobbies and interest. A hunting or fishing theme could include camouflage blankets, a camouflage baby hat and a stuffed fish.
Advice Book
Get a journal with blank pages and pass it around at the shower. Ask guests to write their words of wisdom (or just sweet messages and well wishes). This advice book is something the mom-to-be can refer to from time to time if she needs some suggestions or just enjoys reading the words from her loved ones.
Favors
Favors are a traditional part of most showers to thank guests for coming. Give guests something decorative that they can also use or enjoy. Miniature baby bottles filled with candies, crackers or other goodies are easy to put together and inexpensive. Bake some cookies using cookie cutters shaped like baby items such as rattles, bottles and bibs. Decorate the cookies with icing and wrap a few for each guest in a decorative box or cellophane.
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