Are you planning a baby shower for a girlfriend? Perhaps the idea of using traditional and cliché baby shower games and activates doesn’t thrill you. Well that’s because we’re modern women (and mom’s!) and it’s time that we gave the baby shower a makeover! In this article you’ll find some new ideas, tips and tricks to making you the most requested baby hostess around!
Keep This in Mind!
People love to get things! So if you play games at the shower be sure to have prizes. It doesn’t have to break your budget. At a very successful baby shower I threw I put Hershey kisses in a small, blue (she had a boy!) drawstring bag for the “baby bingo” game. People were going crazy trying to win.
Modern Mom Baby Shower Games
* Make your own baby Bingo, but instead of putting traditional baby items on the board put names of celebrity babies or children.
* Another idea for the E News crowd is to make a matching game and match the celebrity to their baby. This is okay to use if all of your guests know each other and are comfortable, it’s a better idea to use Bingo to get people talking!
* Competitive Eating! Think about it, you’ve seen it on the news, its even covered on ESPN and what fits with pregnancy more than overeating ( it did with me at least). You could even use baby food in a jar and whoever packs down the most jars of purred grub wins!
* Design baby clothes!! This is my favorite baby shower idea. What you’ll need to buy:
1) plain white onesies in different sizes ( these can be found in the baby section of most stores)
2) fabric markers, possibly multiple packs depending on the number of guests (theses can be found at any craft store and most craft sections)
3) cardboard, you can use a cardboard box, just cut it into squares to fit inside the onesies. This will give so something to press on and keep the color from leaking through.
All you need to do now is be creative! If you’ve mastered Garfield then make the new baby a Garfield onesie or if you can’t draw just write! I made my nephew one that said “My Aunt Trish is HOT!”
Some other ideas:
> Chick Magnet
> Available for Playdates
> I saw a “Family Guy” that said “Get off your butt and do some parenting!” Just keep your eyes open for inspiration it’s everywhere!
What to Serve?
While an expecting mother should never take part in any alcohol consumption, there’s no reason why those of you not expecting can’t. I’m not suggesting you do shooters or anything where you’ll have to arrange for a DD, but think about this; baby showers usually consist of people the m2b (mother-to-be) has worked with, is friends with, her family, and neighbors. That adds up to “clicks”: work people on the sofa, family in the kitchen, friends huddled in the doorway and we want to bring them together! Serving a light drink like a mimosa can help guests get to know each other , feel more comfortable, and have more fun! (idea- you could even use this for the competitive eating, put some mimosa (with no pulp OJ!) in a bottle and see who can suck it down the fastest!) Coffee and Tea (decaf for mom) are also great drinks to serve. They’re popular with most people and very economical.
Food!
I love the idea of serving fondue. It’s a social food, encouraging people to talk and mingle. However if you don’t have a fondue set or one available to borrow just plain desserts are great too. Get a wide variety of desserts to please everyone.
Think:
> Fresh Fruits with melted chocolate drizzled on them. You could get milk, dark and white!
> Biscotti
> Fudge Brownies
> Angel Food Cake
> Nutella spread onto fresh French bread (Nutella is a wonderful chocolaty hazelnut spread that can be found near the peanut butter in most stores)
> Ice cream with sprinkles and all
You can make this as elaborate or simple as you please and never sacrifice any of the gourmet taste or glamorous appeal!
Favors!
Here are some ideas for original, adorable, and cheap party favors! Take a clean baby food jar with cap and fill it up with bubble bath or lotion. It’ll be easy to find pink or blue bubble bath or lotion at any store or use yellow or a pretty green if it’s a surprise! Then there are endless options you could…
* write on the jar the baby’s name if you know it or even the mother’s name with the date of the shower.
* tie a ribbon around the jar, it adds elegant flare
* if it’s a clear bubble bath put some small plastic pacifiers in the jar to float around
Another way to use baby food jars is to put potpourri in them. Fill a clean baby food jar up with a sweet smelling lavender potpourri. The scent of lavender relaxes and soothes, give this representing the hope that the m2b has a happy baby who sleeps well through the night. After you fill the jar with the potpourri cover it with a thin cloth, so the scent can seep out easily. Here’s where you can add your personal touch. Find a cloth pattern or color that you love, cut it into pieces large enough to cover the top of the jar with about 3 inches extra. Secure a rubber band around the top to keep the cloth in place. Finish by tying a ribbon around the rubber band to hide it.
There you go hot mamas! These ideas will help you throw a shower that everyone will enjoy. The world should thank you for bringing the baby shower into our generation because this is not your mothers baby shower!
