Decorations, Favors and Food

• A small bassinette or antique carriage filled with flowers makes a pretty party decoration. A bassinette also works well as a gift collector. 

• As a remembrance of your shower make pacifiers out of Lifesavers(TM) and jellybeans. Take two mint flavored Lifesavers and glue them in a shape of a pacifier with one Lifesaver on the top and the other one as a handle. Then take any color jelly bean and glue it in the middle of the circle. Wrap a string or ribbon around the handle. Use a mini safety pin will attach it to your guest, name tag or gift. These can also be made with melted white chocolate chips instead of glue to make them edible, and are adorable scattered around on tables. 

• Have everyone bring baby photos of themselves (color copies work great so you don't have to worry about the photo getting lost). Put them all on poster boards and have everyone at the party guess who is who. This works well when most of the guests know each other. 

• Float rubber ducks in the punch bowl. 

• Baby wreath for the door: Fill clear plastic baby bottles with white tissue paper and hot glue to wreath. 

• White chocolate booties: For favors, make booties out of white chocolate. Use standard plastic mold from a craft store. Melt chocolate in a microwave for 3 minutes at half power and then pour into mold and stick in freezer for five minutes so they easily pop out of the mold. You can add 1 or 2 blue or pink chocolate wafers to make an attractive "baby" pastel. 

• Clothesline decoration: Hang disposable diapers on makeshift "clothes line" across the dining room. Glue or hot glue ruffles, ribbons or even strips of baby wrapping paper across the width of the diaper. Hang with clothes pins. On the center diaper (decorate all of them differently) write "The Bottom Line is Cindy's Having A Baby" 

• Make "baby blocks" out of various sized boxes covered in different soft colored baby or solid wrapping paper. Glue borders on each side with bias tape or ribbon. Put in center of table with cake and candles. Stack to look like blocks. Makes a great centerpiece. 

• Baby shower food: Food at luncheon could be finger sandwiches, small individual tarts, mini quiches and small appetizer-sized servings. To accompany white or pale pastel cake, pre-ball and re-freeze pastel sherbets and ice creams using an ice cream scoop. Put in clear glass bowl. Stemmed or footed bowls look best. You could even tie with coordinating pastel ribbons. Tie a ribbon around the ladle handle as well. 

• Silverware packages: Wrap the guest silverware in pale colored baby wash cloths with a paper napkin on the inside and tie with a ribbon. Place into a doll cradle for guests to retrieve on the buffet table. The guests use the paper napkin and after lunch give the terry cloth one to the mom-to-be. Inexpensive 12-pack pastel washcloths from any discount store work well as baby washcloths. 

• Living favors: For a memorable, usable, and lasting favor, get paper cups or small terra cotta pots and plant small blooming plants, attach ribbon, or netting and a tag with a special poem. They can be used as decorations for the baby shower too. 

• Cute and very easy shower favor: Wrap a handful of Hershey's Kisses & Hershey's Hugs(TM) in colored netting or tulle and/or patterned cellophane or foil wrapping paper & tie with a ribbon, attaching a little note that says "Hugs & Kisses from Baby Smith." You can also tie on little plastic rattles, pacifiers, etc. (usually available very cheap at craft or party stores) and it really looks adorable. 

• Make little diapers out of blue or pink napkins put together with a pin. These make a nice addition to the party decorations placed on a platter by the cake or on the food table. To make a game out of it, add a little mustard inside just one. The lucky guest who has the mustard wins a prize. 

• Put on name tags with diaper pins. 

Games and Activities
On The Artistic Side

• A great social activity for a shower is to supply coordinating fabric squares of the same size to each guest. Have them paint and sign their name on the square. After the shower, you sew the fabric squares together and make a quilt with one square painted with the saying "Friends are the fabric of life". It's a great remembrance for the mother, a useful quilt for the baby and an activity that keeps the party going. 

• Baby artists: Hold a pad of paper on top of your head and draw a baby without looking. I like to have everyone put their names on the back so the mom-to-be can look at all the pictures and choose her favorite without being influenced by who did the drawing. 

• Paper babies game: Give each guest a sheet of paper (blue or pink if you know the sex). Have them fold it in half. Hold sheet behind back and tear the folded (on the fold) piece of paper into the shape of a baby. When finished, everyone brings torn sheet forward, unfolds, and holds up for the mother-to-be to choose the best one. The shapes that people come up with are hilarious! 

• Baby sculptures: Give each guest a golf ball-sized piece of homemade play dough to sculpt a baby from. Then put the "babies" on a tray and have the guests vote on the following categories: "Cutest", "Only a mother could love this one", "Best dressed", and "Most anatomically correct." 

Advice and Memories

• Diaper messages: Have each guest write a note in permanent marker on the front of a small baby diaper. Give the diapers to the mother to be for use during those middle of the night changings! Amusing for moms and dads to read these wise sayings and bits of advice when they can barely keep their eyes open. 

• Baby names: A fun activity is for each guest to submit name suggestions for the baby. These are usually humorous and make a great baby book addition. 

• Baby book pages: To add to a three ring baby book, give each guest a page with several short questions which they can fill out during the party. Questions could include: Favorite boy and girl names, tips for soothing baby, favorite parenting advice, predicted birth date, time, sex and weight, hair color, etc. For baby to read later, be sure to include contributors name and relationship to mom-to-be. Also provide mom-to-be with a list of attendees and gifts received for the baby book. 

• Welcome baby sign: Have your resident artist make a pretty sign to "Welcome Baby Smith." Leave room for signatures around the margin. Have guests add their signatures to the sign and put it in a frame for the parents to hang in the baby's room. 

• The most needed gift: Support the parents-to-be with "coupons" filled out by close friends and family for items like "one hot casserole" or "three hours of babysitting." These could be sent to the attendees blank with the invitation and added to a baby book page at the shower. 

Couples Shower

• Daddy's supplies: With the dad to be and other men in attendance, here is an idea for a few laughs. Wheel out a cart full of things from the garage wrapped with notes attached to each item. We called this "Items daddy would use if mommy isn't around." These garage items might be a chamois labeled diaper, antifreeze tester labeled aspirator, motor oil labeled baby oil, goggles labeled peeguard, etc. 

• Couple diapering teams: Place baby dolls (one for each couple) on a table. Have each couple stand in front of their doll. The object of the game is for each couple to use one hand each (if the male uses his left hand, the female must use her right hand or vice versa) and put a diaper on the doll. The one who puts the diaper on the fastest and correctly wins. 

Gift Games

• Guess the gift game: Get 10-15 little baby items such as nail clipper, toothbrush, bottle nipple, safety outlet plug, etc. and then wrap and number them. Let everyone feel them all and write down their guesses. Then let mom-to-be unwrap each one so people can see how many they got right. A great way to get a start on those little, but necessary, essentials since the mom-to-be gets to keep all the items. 

• Gift bingo: Before you begin opening the gifts, hand out blank bingo sheets and let the guests fill in each square with the name of a different baby gift they think the expectant mom will receive (blanket, hat, onesie, rattle, book, etc.). Everyone marks his/her bingo card as the gifts are opened. Whoever gets bingo first, second and third wins a prize - usually a plastic baby bottle filled with jellybeans, M&Ms or other candy. At a couples shower, it's a great way to keep the guys' attention while the gifts are being opened. 

For Game Lovers

• Baby shower game booklet: If you are planning on playing multiple games which require paper worksheets, you can create a cute booklet for each guest. Use baby wrapping paper and cut out the shape of a bib. Cut the paper that the games are on in the same shape and then attach the cover to the game(s) with ribbon at the top. It's really cute. The first page of the booklet could read: 

• The (family name) Production Company
  Announces the Baby Model #1 (if it's 1st child, 2 for second and so forth)
  
  Name of Father - Designer and Chief Engineer
  Name of Mother - Production Manager
  Model is due to be released in (Month and year of due date)
  
  Two Lung Power. Free Squalling. Double Bawl Bearings.
  Screaming Seats. Changeable Seat Covers. Economically Fed.
  
  The Management does not plan to release another model during the balance of (year baby is due)

• Baby shower name tag ice breaker: Prepare name tags in advance with a picture of a baby related item (bottle, carriage, diaper, safety pin, toy soldier, theme from children's story... like Mother Goose, Jack & Jill, etc.). I just bought some stickers as I'm not good at drawing. If you know the guests names in advance, you can write their name on the tag before the party, otherwise, do it as the guests arrive. As each guest arrives, the tag is placed on their back so they can not see it. You tell each guest that the object of the game is to guess what baby-related item is on their tag with only asking other guests "yes" or "no" questions. Once they guess what's on their tag, they can then put their name tag on their front side. It is good for getting guests to interact. A prize could be given for the first or even the last person to guess their name tag baby item. 

• How big is that belly? An interesting game for the forgiving mother-to -be is to have each guest guess the girth of the mother's stomach, cutting a piece of string to their estimated length. Then the mother-to-be cuts a piece of string to her actual size around and compares it to the guesses. Closest and most ridiculous can win. 

• Memory game: An easy party game is to take baby items and lay them on a tray. The hostess makes one pass through the room slowly. After she leaves, the guests attempt to list everything that was on the tray. The tray items could also be gifts for mom to keep. 

• Baby bottle race: Cooperative guests can race to drink punch from baby bottles. It is amazing how bad adults are at using bottle nipples! 
  Grabbing clothespins: Get a rope put laundry pins all the way across the rope .The player has to get as many pins as possible with one hand .The player with the most pins wins. 

• Baby food game: Get 10 jars of baby food. Number each jar then take the label off the jars and have guests try to guess what is in the jar. You may want to either leave the meat ones out, or warn the vegetarians in your group in advance that some are meat if they are going to taste. 

• Baby bingo game: If you know what the baby's name is going to be, you can create bingo cards with the name of the baby at the top instead of BINGO (example: AARON, BRETT, BECCA, etc.) When a guest fills a row they shout the baby's name. Everyone enjoys it, but try to play it at the beginning of the shower because it has a tendency to take awhile! 

• Baby pins in rice game: Put package of small safety pins in a bowl of dry white rice. Each guest has a turn to pick as many pins out as possible in 1 minutes time blindfolded. They sift through the rice with one hand and use the other hand to hold the pins they have removed. It is odd but the feel of the pins and rice are the same. The winner is the person with the most pins. 

• Don't say baby: Ever try NOT to say the word "baby" at a baby shower? Make a necklace for each guest with cord or ribbon. Attach 3 to 5 small clothespins to the necklaces, by clipping them on. You can buy the miniature clothespins at a craft store, they come in several colors. As each guest arrives, give them their necklace and explain that anytime someone says the word "baby" they can call the person on it and take a clothespin from them. The person with the most clothespins wins! 

• Baby bucks: Similar to the last idea, try "baby bucks." You pass play money out to each guest and when they catch another guest saying "baby," crossing her legs, or whatever you decide the action to be, you take her baby bucks. After playing games, take the "bucks" away from prize winners and auction off the last prizes to the guests who still have some bucks left so that everyone gets a chance to go home with something. 

• Baby word scramble: Scramble the letters in baby-related words. For example, PEIADR is DIAPER and TALRET is RATTLE. Have guests race to unscramble a short list of words. 

• Babies in ice game: The night before the shower, freeze small plastic babies (you can usually find at craft stores) inside ice cubes in ice cube trays. Freeze one per guest. When guests arrive, give then their "baby" in a plastic cup and have each guest guess when their "baby" will be born (when the baby will come apart from the ice cube). Make sure to write down each answer to the minute. The guests cannot hold the cup to get it to melt faster. 

• Jelly beans in a baby bottle: Get a pretty baby bottle, fill it with jelly beans (I'm filling mine with all pink jelly beans as we know the baby is going to be a girl). Make little pieces of paper for the guests to fill out to guess the number of jelly beans in the bottle. Put the baby bottle on a table (I'm putting mine near the punch bowl...makes a nice pretty decoration) and put the little pieces of paper next to it (shows guests name and their guess of the number of beans). When the contest is over have one of the younger guests count the jelly beans (gives them something to do), or you count them before you put them in the bottle. You could give a prize to the one who is closest. 

• Not for the faint-at-heart! A customer suggested this party game for a lot of laughs. Various flavors of chocolate were melted into diapers in the microwave. Guests had to guess which flavor of chocolate was in each diaper by smelling them. 

• Diaper door prize: Hold a door prize drawing for any guests bringing diapers. Be sure to warn your guests on the invitation! Most guests will comply and the parents-to-be receive diapers in various sizes. 

Themes

• Little Baby Luau
  This customer wrote: "We got pink flamingos, palm trees, and various cutouts and shaped balloons. We also tied in the baby theme by choosing a jungle baby selection of plates etc. and of course got umbrellas for the drinks. Everyone wore leis and we played beach music. A mix of baby confetti and tropical confetti made everything mesh well together." How about coconut halves as your vessel for punch. I found some wonderful ice cube trays that froze the ice into little dolphins. Those grassy Hawaiian skirts make wonderful table skirts for the food table. Check with Oriental Trading Company for decorations.

• Long Distance Shower
  "I am giving a baby shower to a friend who is actually the grandmother. The mother has moved out of town and can not travel to the shower so we are going to have her attend via computer camera. We will be able to show her each gift and she will be able to see each guest. The grandmother and great grandmother will be opening the gifts. This shower is on a Sunday at 4:00 p.m. and we will be serving champagne and lots of decadent deserts. The shower is southern bell style and although there will not be a 'theme' the decorations will include boxwood and lemon centerpieces accented with yellow roses as well as fresh yellow flowers in every room. The baby gifts will be collected and placed into an antique white iron baby bed that has beautiful white embroidered linens. The bed will be the focus piece when you walk in the door. We have also set up a table with baby photos of the mother and father. The table will have 'scrap book pages' for the guest to sign. These will later be placed in to the baby's book."

• Couples Shower Options
  Showers don't have to be afternoon luncheons! Consider a couples shower held in the evening. From an elegant dinner party, to a bash with gag gifts for the parents-to-be, you are sure to make some memories.

• Simply Elegant
  Soft colors, flowers and nice linens and china never miss the mark. Welcome baby with an elegant luncheon or garden tea. Games optional!

• Baby's Room Becomes Theme for Shower
  I recently hosted a baby shower for a good friend and we used her baby room decor as the theme for the party! She was doing her daughter's room in light colored denim, red and white gingham with daisies and ladybugs! It was too cute!! I had my local bakery make the cake in the shape of a daisy flower; white with lemon filling and lots of little marzipan daises on the sides. We used denim blue plates and napkins, red and white table clothes, and lots of decorating items in daises and ladybugs. I thought it would be nice to use her decor so that the items we bought she could then have for the baby's room. As party favors I made candles in terra cotta pots decorated (hot glued) around the top with red and white gingham and little silk daises. The guests were thrilled to receive them!

• Second baby un-shower
  To celebrate the birth of a second baby, when a shower is not traditionally thrown, consider asking each guest at an upcoming dinner/picnic/barbecue to bring a pack of diapers to give to the parents-to-be. One hostess delivered these in a wheelbarrow at a family picnic. Another less conventional family all wore adult-size diapers to greet the parent's-to-be!

Decorations, Favors and Food

• Potted plants make nice favors that double as table decorations. Wrap the pot in material or tulle and tie with a ribbon. 

• Flowers make nice favors or prizes and look great on the table. 

• Frame the wedding invitation and place it on the food table as a decoration with a photo of the couple. 

• Something old, something new: Help the bride collect the items for her special day by presenting these items at the shower. Perhaps grandmother could give her something old, and the bridesmaids something new. Mom could provide something borrowed and blue! The flower girl could give her the penny for her shoe. 

• Stemware can make an elegant table, especially if you tie the stems with ribbons. Consider using goblets for water or punch. Stemmed and footed dessert dishes make a pretty presentation as well. 

• Gift bow bouquet: Bows are collected as the bride opens gifts, with ribbons still attached. Slit a sturdy paper plate from one edge to the center. Slide the ribbons in with the bows on top of the plate. This bow bouquet can be used at the rehearsal as the brides bouquet. 

Games and Activities

• How well do you know him? Ahead of time ask the husband-to-be a list of 15 questions like, "what is your favorite color?", "what is your favorite sport?", "what is your dream car?", etc. At the shower, ask the bride how her groom answered the questions. For every question she gets wrong have her chew a piece of bubble gum. Pretty soon she won't be able to talk! 

• Bridal gown creations: You divide your guests into two groups by having them count off 1-2. The bride is the model for the #1 group. Then, have a girl who is the approximate size of the bride to be the model for the #2 group. Give each group 6 rolls of toilet paper and scotch tape . They have 15 minutes to make a bridal dress!!! There are no winners ,but, even the older ladies get involved. It's hilarious and they usually do really well! 

• Veil craft: Provide various materials, comic, recycled or realistic to your guests and have a contest for the best bridal veil they can create. 

• Memory game: An easy party game is to take kitchen or wedding items and lay them on a tray. You make one pass through the room slowly. After you leave, the guests attempt to list everything that was on the tray. The tray items could also be gifts for the bride to keep. 

• Stick the kiss on the fiance: This version of "pin the tail on the donkey" requires a blindfold, a photo or cartoon of the groom and kissing lips stickers. 

• Gift opening exclamations: Without warning the bride, write down the phrases she uses when opening gifts. Then after the gifts are opened, read the list retitled as "this is what will be said on the wedding night." 

• Gift bingo: Before you begin opening the gifts, hand out blank bingo sheets and let the guests fill in each square with the name of a different gift they think the bride will receive. Everyone marks his/her bingo card as the gifts are opened. Whoever gets bingo first, second and third wins a prize. At a couples shower, it's a great way to keep the guys' attention while the gifts are being opened. 

• A great social activity for a shower is to supply coordinating fabric squares of the same size to each guest. Have them paint and sign their name on the square. After the shower, you sew the fabric squares together and make a quilt with one square painted with the saying "Friends are the fabric of life". It's a great remembrance for the bride. 
  

Themes

• Gardening Theme Bridal Shower
  For the gardener bride and groom, decorate with plants and flowers. "Label" the gift table, punch, and cake with signs made to look like seed packets on Popsicle sticks. Suggestions for garden gifts include garden hose, tools, sprinkling can, gloves, rake, hoe, seeds, gift certificate to garden shop, etc. Have vegetables and dip instead of a cake! Check out Naptime Productions Garden Design Morning Star invitation for a perfect match.

• Luau Theme 
  Pink flamingos, palm trees, and various cutouts and shaped balloons make festive decorations. Don't forget umbrellas for the drinks. Pass out leis and play beach music. Sprinkle tropical confetti on the tables. Grass skirts make great table skirts. Check with Oriental Trading Company for decorations.

• Christmas Decor Theme
  Perfect for the holiday-loving couple who does not need household items. Decorate a Christmas tree with wedding bells and white tulle. Give gifts that create the holiday season for the couple's new home.

• Couples Shower Options
  Showers don't have to be afternoon luncheons! Consider a couples shower held in the evening. From an elegant dinner party, to a bash with gag gifts for the bride and groom, you are sure to make some memories.

• Kitchen Shower
  This popular theme gives the guests a gift category and makes it so easy to fold in decoration ideas! New kitchen dishtowels or wash clothes can be tied with ribbon to make silverware packets. Mix serving utensils into your flower arrangement. Have guests bring their favorite recipe or kitchen tip on an index card. Give kitchen items as favors or prizes. Make a cake that looks like a tea kettle.

• Time of Day
  In each invitation, insert a time of day. Guest brings gift item to be used at that time... i.e. 8:00 a.m. might suggest a breakfast tray.

• Wishing Well
  The hostess provides a decorated "wishing well" where the guests can drop their small gifts. Normally these have a theme like kitchen utensils, gardening or bathroom. They are frequently mentioned on the invitation or when the guests RSVP.

• Southwestern Theme
  Especially for a bride-to-be who loves southwestern style. For decorations use raffia and form "poufs" by tying leather strips around the raffia w/conchos and green and red chilies. The raffia "rope" can be used as a swag at the main door entrance and/or to lay on the food table, wrapped around the punch bowl and around the various party trays. Terra cotta pots of various sizes can hold the napkins and forks/spoons. Potted cacti can be displayed among the food trays. The cake could be in the form of an Indian pueblo village, decorated with tiny ladders, very small chilies and hand painted pots and baskets.

• Honeymoon Theme
  Decorate with items representing the honeymoon destination. Gifts can tend toward romantic or humorous. Each guest could bring a gift to put into a basket to give to the Bride & Groom as a honeymoon basket.