As the hostess to the perfect baby shower it is important to consider the venue in which you are going to have the baby shower.

Many baby showers are held in the hostess’ home. This is a great cost saving idea, but one must be sure the house is big enough to accommodate the guests without anyone feeling crowded or packed in so tightly, they do not feel welcome. A great thing about having the party in the hostess’ home is the ability to control the timing of the shower. You can either have a more formal occasion with catered food and scheduled activities or you can host more of an “open house” where guests can come at their leisure. The open house option sometimes allows the new mom an opportunity to have quality time with many different guests. A great baby shower favor to give during an open house shower would be a baby shower heart shaped tea infuser or heart shaped measuring spoons that each guest can cherish and think of the new mom and her amazing new adventures each time they enjoy a mug of tea or are baking a luscious treat.

Restaurants are another popular location for baby showers. The convenience of having all of the food and drinks served to the guests is wonderful. This is usually a more costly alternative venue, but it makes the hostess’ job of feeding all of the guests “a piece of cake”. Speaking of cake, many restaurants will serve a beautiful baby shower cake for dessert. How easy is that? Restaurants with a party room are great for some added privacy. Using the main dining area can result in guests being shifted around to accommodate the party and regular customers. Also, with the “party room” you are able to control the unpleasantness of inconsiderate smokers nearby. Any new mom and her doctor will thank you for this. The perfect themed baby shower favors would include “on the go” items such as mini purses that contain mini manicure sets or a hand bag shaped mini frame for each guest. To embellish each place setting, you could use trendy shoe or purse shaped name card holders.

Many places of worship will let you use a fellowship hall or large classroom for a baby shower. Make sure to make a donation to the church for letting you use the facilities. Usually space isn’t a problem when taking this route. If the place has a kitchen that the staff will let you use, you are in great luck! This will make food preparation and serving a breeze. Make sure you get permission before serving Aunt Ethel’s Amazing Champagne Punch. Many churches do not allow adult beverages. A great baby shower favor for this venue would be heart shaped ice cream scoops or “Love Grows” wildflower seed kits. Each guest can cherish a sweet treat or a beautiful bouquet of flowers long after the shower is over.

As a thoughtful hostess, keep in mind the many different venues that you can have the perfect baby shower. Let the new mom’s personality guide the way.

One of the most important decorations you will have at your party is the baby shower centerpiece. This is what everyone will look for as soon as they walk in through the door.

There are a lot of fantastic ideas for centerpieces, but you should consider a few things before choosing exactly what kind of baby shower centerpiece idea is best.

What is the theme of the party? You will want to have your centerpiece directly relate to your theme. This will tie everything together, and make your baby shower space look really great.

For example, will you be having a sports related baby shower for a little future quarterback? Then your centerpiece needs to also be sports related. You wouldn’t want to have a jungle baby shower theme with animals and the whole nine yards, and then choose a golf centerpiece. Stay with the same theme so your decorations won’t clash.

Do you want your cake to be your shower centerpiece? Some women choose to just use the baby shower cake for the centerpiece.

If you will be doing this, there are a few things you can do to boost your baby shower centerpiece idea up just a bit. Place certain things around the cake, to dress it up.

For example, if the cake is a flat sheet cake, place it on a cake holder or pedestal to prop it up at a small angle. This will allow your guest to see your cake better. Then, dress up the area around it by placing a large vase of flowers on either side of the cake.

Try to choose beautiful flowers that match the colors on the cake. If the cake is a round tiered cake, just leave the cake the way it is, but you can still dress up the surrounding area.

If you would rather have a different baby shower centerpiece idea separate from your cake, there are a lot of things you can go with. A very cute idea is to choose a very large vase of flowers that match your theme, and place flower picks in the vase that coincide with your theme.

For example, if your theme is ‘Winnie the Pooh,’ you can choose the flowers to match the colors of your decorations. Then look for ‘Winnie the Pooh’ flower picks. If you can’t find any, try to find some small ‘Winnie the Pooh’ stuffed animals.

Take some barbecue skewers and tape them on the back of the stuffed animals. If you don’t mind being merciless, just pop the skewers right through the cloth on the animals and place those in your flower vase.

Another really beautiful baby shower centerpiece idea is to go with the large vase of flowers. After you have arranged these, place smaller clear glass containers around the vase of flowers, and place floating candles in them.

Light the candles, making sure there is nothing close enough to them that would catch fire. The floating candles will create a pretty glow, and draw the guest’s eyes toward the centerpiece. Use extreme caution if there will be children at the baby shower.

It isn’t difficult to find a really great baby shower centerpiece idea, if you use your creativity and imagination. These tips and ideas should help you come up with something that will be a big hit at the baby shower and a favorite among the guests.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Clarke

So you’re interested in hosting a babyshower but would like a few hints, no bother read on. Maybe it’s a good idea to remind readers that showers are not fixed in time: you can opt for the traditional shower or a more modern fun oriented shower. Remember you may be doing the organizing but the mom-to-be is the guest so keep her in mind! Always remember that you are throwing the shower to celebrate an occasion while helping the expectant couple out by giving them some shower gifts.

The first question we need to clear up is who is going to host the shower. Traditionally close relatives don’t host the shower. Think about it they could be accused of simply looking gifts and presents for their relation. Nowadays, that restriction has more or less gone and really anyone can plan and host the shower. That includes family members, friends and or co-workers.

It is not uncommon for the expectant mother to have more than one shower – maybe her work colleagues want to organize one, maybe who old school pals want to organize one, or those that her or her husband socialize with – anyway you get the drift. If you know there is going to be more than one shower check to see what themes are been used, it would be a bit of a disaster if two showers came up with the same theme! Also, try finding out what shower gifts were already given to avoid duplicating the shower gifts. A quiet word with the other organizer might be a good idea for both of you.

Now we’ve covered those points on to some timely tips. The first is to send invitations in a timely manner. Around 3-4 weeks in advance to the guests who live near by. For long distance shower guests, around 4-6 weeks in advance. Include directions in the invitations, you don’t want the shower guests to get lost.

When you’re guest arrive be sure to great them all at the door. A very worthwhile suggestion is to name tag everyone, remember not everyone will know everyone else in the room. If someone seems lost in the crowd introduce them to a few people and help them break the ice.

Finger food is quite acceptable at a shower but if you are sitting down and have a pre-planed seating arrangement spend a bit of time thinking about who is going to sit with who, put people together who know each other or have something in common. A middle aged nurse won’t have much in common with a computer wiz kid!

Instead of placing gifts here and there, it is appreciated to bring the gifts to the mom-to-be as she opens gifts. Don’t ask or even expect her to carry anything, especially bulky items (before and after the pregnancy). Because the time of the shower is around 1-2 months before or after, she is likely to feel weak during this time. Write down which shower guest gave which gift. This will help the mom-to-be when it comes time to send thank you cards.

Be sure to have enough shower party favors on hand. A little extra is good just in case! Get the party started on time and keep events moving at a good pace. You would be surprised just how long it can take to eat, open presents, play games, talk and eat cake. Walk guests to the door as they leave and thank them again for coming to the shower. Everybody feels special if they are given due attention.

Remember that if you are hosting the party then you should show the utmost responsibility and carefulness. A well-planned shower would be appreciated by everyone invited. You are not just attending the shower party. You are also running and organizing it too. When serving food, serve mom-to-be first and then your shower guests. You as the shower hostess should serve yourself last.

Games and babyshowers, are a bit like mother and child, the go well together. Though if this is your first go at organizing or hosting a babyshower then you might not be aware of all the games you can play. Below is a few ideas for you to try and I hope you have fun.

Guess The Date
Set up a large grid ahead of time with the dates of the month when baby is due. You can have guests write their name on the date when they think the baby will be born. For a tie breaker, you can have the guests also write the time and weight of the baby. The host or hostess can be responsible for sending a prize to the winner after the baby comes.

Wet Diaper:
Break up into groups of 3-4. Each group gets a disposable newborn diaper, large pitcher of water, and a measuring cup. Each group predicts how much water they think the diaper will hold without the water leaking out. Write down the guess before you start. The group that comes closest wins a prize.

Bobbing for Nipples:
Buy several packages of baby bottle nipples and put them into a baby bath tub full of water, and play just like bobbing for apples.

Pregnant Twister:
Have a Twister game – 2 fanny packs, 2 10lb weights, and 2 pillows. Place the weights in the fanny packs and strap the fanny pack around the pillow around the stomach of the guest. Guests will compete one on one against each other until they lose. The winners of each round will advance to the next level – The last one standing is the winner!!

Diaper Poker: (Diaper Blackjack)
Each Person brings their own bag of diapers (any size) for their ante into the game. The diaper ante can equal any amount the hostess desires. (1 bag = $100 Dollars) Winner collects a prize

Baby Stroller Race:
Set up a course outside using a hose, yard decorations, trees, etc. that a stroller can navigate around. Make the course as long or short with curves, or turns. Time your guests as they navigate the course with the baby doll in the stroller, deducting points for going off course, losing control, or throwing the baby doll from the stroller. To make it more interesting, you can schedule a pit stop half way through the course where they have to stop and feed & burp the baby, change the diaper or rock the baby to sleep. The winner is the one who completes the course with the quickest time w/the baby doll still in the stroller.

Make a Baby:
Give Guests play dough and toothpicks and have them create a baby using only these 2 items. Time guests for five minutes (if a couples shower – blindfold the couples and make them work together to create the baby) Hostess picks the winning baby.

Babies First Savings Fund:
Note on the invitation about a raffle for a big prize, BRING YOUR MONEY! Each person at the shower can buy one raffle ticket for a $1 or ten for $5. At the end, a winner wins a nice prize like a gift certificate for dinner or Wal-Mart. Sometimes if you have extra prizes you can raffle prizes left over. The money collected starts the baby’s 1st bank account. OR… When you mail out your invitations, note on the bottom that the first guest to show up at the shower will receive a prize (who don’t like a free gift?) Add whoever is last will have to empty all their pocket change into the babies piggy bank (which is provided by the hostess) this will lead to everyone to do the same just because it is for the baby.

Pass the Prize:
Here is a game that is a lot of fun. Have everyone stand in a circle. Make the list up before everyone arrives. It would go like this: Pass to a person with red hair. Pass to person with glasses. Pass to the person across from you. Count 3 people to left and pass to that person. Pass to person who’s not wearing socks, etc. etc. You can make the list as detailed as you want and with whatever directions you want to use. Give a gift to a person and then start going down the list. Whoever has the gift when you get to the end of the list wins the prize. If it is a big group you can start the game with 2 gifts to 2 different people.

Baby’s Name Game:
Pass out paper and pens to each guest. Have them write the baby’s name (if unknown, the mom-to-be’s name works well) down the edge of the paper. On go, have them look through their purse and find items beginning with each letter. The one who gets them all the quickest wins. For more fun, have the winner go through her list and show everyone what she had.

Baby’s Price is Right:
This is so much more fun than the tray game. You purchase all of the baby items you want to get and then set them on a tray. Ask everyone to guess the prices of each item. When they are done with that they add up the total. Whoever is closest to the correct total amount wins!!!

Clothes Line Game:
Get a bundle of clothes in a laundry basket, a clothes line and clothes pins. You have two people hold each end of the clothes line, then you have a guest hang as many clothes as they can in 30 seconds (this is the hard part) while talking on the phone and holding a baby doll

Advice for Years Ahead:
Have every one draw a number from a bowl (as many numbers as there are guests–mom and hostess too starting with 0 for the birth day). The number represents the future age of the baby. Give every one a pieceof pretty paper and a matching envelope and have them write a letter to the baby at that age. No one is allowed to read it. They should be sealed and given to the mom to open on future birthdays.

Big Belly Race:
This is an excellent couples or co-ed shower idea!! Blow up some balloons, have all the men in the room (or women) put one under their shirts, and then have a “RACE” to see which one of them can tie their shoes the fastest!! This is truly FUNNY and the mom-to-be will absolutely love watching them. (Be careful though, all the laughing might put her into labor.)

Baby Pictionary:
This game is based upon the original Pictionary board game. Before the shower, place words relating to baby activities and items on small cards. (ex: Changing a diaper, giving birth, feeding time) At the shower, create teams and give each one a pad of paper and pencil. Let one member of the team see a card, then tell them to draw the word or phrase for their partners to guess. Use a timer or just play until someone guesses. When the time is up, the teams total up the number of words they have guessed correctly and the one who has the most wins a prize.

It can be difficult trying to make up your mind what to buy for a baby shower gift. In the end though it boils down into two categories: the practical gift or the sentimental gift

For my money practical wins out simply because it saves the new mum time and money. Money which she can ill afford at this stage in her life.

On the other hand those who buy sentimental gifts will tell you that they buy because it’s a gift that will last. Of course you can hedge your bets and go for win/win. Wrap up a lovely ‘baby’s first book.’ along with a packet of diapers and baby wipes.

It may be a bit on the steep side but if it really is a special gift you’re buying then why not go for a beautiful embroidered baby pillow and blanket.

Still not to sure, still want to make sure that you’re buying something she’ll need, then how about this. Shortly before baby is due pay a visit to the mum to be and ask to have a look at the nursery, keep your eyes and ears open and I’ll guarantee you’ll find something that mum hasn’t got.

Practical baby shower gifts might include baby garments, shoes, burping cloths (thick cloth diapers work really well for this), blankets, towels, baby care packages, diapers or pampers, baby wipes, baby sound monitor, baby mattress sheets, bibs, etc.



Planning a baby shower can be lonely! Not because you turn into a recluse and won’t see the light of day until you the baby shower is over. But because YOU, alone, are responsible for entertaining 15-20 people, coming up with fun baby shower games, cute invitations, creative favors, tasty food, and pretty decorations. That can be quite a daunting challenge and one that can make you feel like you are all alone, a little frightened and very stressed.

So, as someone who has planned many a baby shower, let me share my number one piece of advice to anyone planning a baby shower: Don’t try to do it by yourself.

Find one or two other friends or family members of the mother-to-be who would be willing to help in the baby shower planning. If you don’t know any of the expectant mother’s friends or family, there is not a thing wrong with asking her whom she would suggest to help you plan the baby shower. Now, some women may want to plan a baby shower all by themselves. That is a wonderful thing, if you have the time, money & motivation. But most women who have planned a baby shower will tell you that by including another person in the planning, the stress of planning a baby shower is much less.

One of the best reasons to include another person in the planning is that you will have twice as many ideas, twice as much creativity, and twice as much energy. You can brainstorm baby shower ideas together, you can bounce ideas off of each other and you may have different circles of friends & resources from which you can draw from to plan the baby shower. Many times when I was planning a baby shower, I had some ideas that I thought were fun, but I wasn’t sure if others would think so. And until I found someone to bounce my ideas off of, I felt quite lonely and unsure.

One of the most significant times that you may feel lonely when planning a baby shower is the last few days before the baby shower, because it is crunch time and you, by yourself, have to get everything ready. So, another important reason to include others in your planning is to share in the baby shower preparation. Not only will one or two more people make your baby shower planning easier, but you can divide and conquer the various components of a baby shower. For example, you could prepare the baby shower games, prizes and invitations. And the expectant mother’s sister-in-law wanted to help so she can prepare the baby shower favors, food and decorations. And presto! Your preparation is cut in half. Talk about taking a load off!

And another reason to recruit another person or two in your baby shower planning, is to reduce the financial burden placed on the lonely baby shower hostess. Depending on your baby shower budget, your baby shower might cost more than you were expecting. So, it is more economical to include another hostess or two when planning a baby shower. Often times, when planning a baby shower alone, a hostess will buy ready-made food, invitations, favors & more – because she doesn’t have the time to make everything herself. Ready-made baby shower items are usually more expensive than make-your-own. So, if you include another person in your planning & preparation, then you won’t have as many things to worry about, and you will have more time to make your own invitations, favors, food & more. So, by all means, get another hostess to help!

And in every baby shower that I have planned with another person, the other person was ALWAYS happy to help. Planning a baby shower is fun and can be a social event for the two of you. When you have another person to help plan, you will have fun getting together, laughing about the fun games you will play, deciding on the baby shower menu, and oohing over the cute little baby invitations. Most friends of the expectant mother would really enjoy the chance to honor her by helping to plan her baby shower. So do not feel like you are imposing on someone else by asking them to help plan!

And for that matter, do not feel like you are weak and can’t do it by yourself because you ask someone to help you. Planning a baby shower is a big job, and you should treat it as such by inviting someone else to help. By so doing, you will enjoy it more; you allow someone else to enjoy in the planning; and usually the baby shower will turn out to be more enjoyable for everyone because (with two hostesses) more time & detail can be spent on preparing the invitations, games, favors, food, etc. So remember that when planning a baby shower, the rule of thumb is: The More The Merrier!

With a new child on the way It’s time to celebrate and baby showers are the perfect way to express love and thoughtfulness to the mother and baby to be.

Perfect baby boy shower invites are essential to planning successful baby showers for a boy. Consider ordering baby shower invitations online for timesaving convenience. You can find a cute, funny, or sentimental baby boy shower invitation easily.

There are many things to consider when designing baby shower invitations for a boy: style, theme, and important baby shower information. You’ll want to include details about the mother’s preferences, such as nursery colors and decor, and if the mother has any specific needs. For instance, maybe she’s inherited a crib from her family, but really needs a stroller.

Also, be sure to list where the mother is registered for baby shower gifts, and if she doesn’t have a baby registry, encourage her to do so.

Baby shower invitations for boys can come in all sorts of styles, ranging from playful to traditional. For a real keepsake, opt for baby shower boy invitations with a photo. Some excellent choices are a picture of the expectant mother, or perhaps the expectant mother and father, a picture of the newborn if the baby shower is planned after the birth, or the newborn and mother. Choose the one that works best for you. Scrapbookking is a popular hobby today, and your baby boy shower invitations will likely be a treasured memory for the family for years to come.

Now, what information should you include on the baby boy shower invites? After you have chosen the style for the invitations, you need to add the important details of where and when. Be sure to pick a time and place that is best for the mother.

When baby showers take place before the birth, it’s best to plan them at least two months in advance. This allows for the occasional unexpected early deliveries and gives the mother time to arrange and organize all of her new things before the heaviest and hardest part of her pregnancy. Remember, mom needs lots of time to rest and adjust to all of the new changes.

If the baby shower is taking place after the delivery, you want to plan the baby shower for at least 4-6 weeks after. This gives mother and baby time to adjust to their new routines before being the center of attention at a big event such as the baby shower. Baby showers given after the birth have an advantage because the name and sex of the baby are known for sure. This makes baby shower gift giving more personalized and even simpler for the mother by saving her time, sparing her from needing to make unwanted exchanges.

Think of how many baby shower or other type of invitations will be needed in your lifetime! Take out the middleman and do it yourself to add your own unique style and ensure it’s done on time and done right the first time.

A final tip: proofread thoroughly before the final print of the baby shower invitations for a boy to make sure that all of the information on the invitations is accurate. Names, dates, addresses, and phone numbers need to be spelled correctly.

Baby showers are a fun and delightful way to honor your sister, neighbor, co-worker or friend. This is your special gift to them. A baby shower invitation is only the beginning to planning the best baby shower and making the baby shower a memorable occasion for all the participants.