Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

One of the most fun laugh-out-loud games, the candy bar baby shower game can be played in several ways, but the most popular way is to play it as a memory game. You simply play this game like you played a classic childhood memory game. Just set up a poster board or cork board that measures 5 squares by 6 squares (total of 30 squares or 15 pairs of baby terms). You can use a yardstick and sharpie pen to draw straight lines while creating the grid. In each grid square, write one of the baby terms being sure to mix them all up (each term will appear twice within the grid). Then, pin or tape small construction paper squares with a number (1 through 30) on them over each grid square so that all the terms are covered up. Going around the room, each guest takes a turn by choosing 2 numbers. If they don’t guess a matching pair, cover the 2 squares back up and the next person in line is up to guess. If they get a matching pair, they win the candy bar associated with the term. For instance, if they get the matching pair of ‘breastfeeding’ squares, they’d get a Milky Way candy bar as their prize.  Be sure that you buy at least one of all the candy bars on the list so that you have a prize for each correctly guessed answer.

A game variation would be to list all the baby terms in a column down a sheet of paper with scrambled versions of the candy bars in a column down the right hand side of the paper. Make copies of the game sheets for all the guests. The goal would be to unscramble the candy bar words and match them to the correct baby terms. The person with the most answers correct wins candy bars or you can divide the candy bars up amongst the guests that have correct answers. Some suggested terms and corresponding candies are listed below (just choose your favorites) -

The Conception: SKOR

Pregnant Belly: Chunky Bar

Epidural or Grandparents: Lifesavers

Umbilical Cord: Twizzlers

Late to the Hospital: Rocky Road

Hospital Address: 5^th Avenue

Choosing A Baby Name: Watchamacallit

Newborn Girl: Baby Ruth

Twin Boys: Mike & Ike

Triplets: Three Musketeers

10 Pound Baby: Whoppers

Preemie: Runts

Hospital Nursery: Cry Babies

Delivery Doctor: Butterfinger

Father or Dad: Sugar Daddy

Cool Mom: Peppermint Patty

Breastfeeding: Milky Way

Breast Engorgement or Dirty Diapers: Mounds

Hospital Bills or College Fund: 100 Grand

Bottle: Bottle Pop Candy

Mom Alone Time: Zero

Mom Nap Time: Take Five

Baby Giggles: Snickers

When you are on a tight budget, the cost of baby shower favors can sometimes put you over the top so consider some of these fantastic do-it-yourself favors. They are both clever and affordable.

Cinnamon Rolls - Bake cinnamon rolls either from a can or made from scratch. Then add a tag reading ‘Thanks from (Mother’s name)’s bun in the oven’.

Tea or Coffee - Buy packets of tea or coffee and punch a hole where you can hang a tag reading ‘A Baby is Brewing - Thanks For Being A Part of The Party’.

Jelly Beans - Buy pink and blue jelly beans and fill plastic bottles or small glass jars from your local craft store. Then add a tag reading ‘(Mom’s name)’s Baby Shower’ along with the shower date.

Homemade Cookies - Buy a cookie cutter and make gourmet sugar cookies to give your guests as favors. For example, duck shaped cookies for a duck themed shower.

Small Shaped Soaps - Available in numerous shapes, small soaps make excellent baby shower favors. Just choose a shape to coordinate with your theme. Attach a personalized tag with the baby shower information like Mom’s name and date.

Small Potted Plant - Buy small pots of African violets, ivy or other houseplants and hang a tag with the shower details. Blooming flowers are perfect for an April Showers bring baby flowers themed shower.

Candles - Buy shaped candles to fit your theme or pink or blue votive candles that you wrap in cellophane. Add a tag with the baby shower information.

Photo Frames - Small 2″ x 3″ photo frames can be purchased and placed in pink or blue organza bags. Just add a hang tag with shower details for an elegant favor.

Edible Candy Bags - Buy Jordan almonds, Hershey kisses or M&M’s along with pink or blue organza bags to hold the candy.

Candy Bar Favors - You can either print your own candy bar wrappers or buy them pre-printed online. Buy your favorite candy bars at a local shop and wrap them up for a great favor.

Keeping the expense of throwing a baby shower down can be difficult so we’ve put together this list of 10 fantastic diy (do-it-yourself) baby shower games that will be fun for everyone.

1)     Baby Item Memory Game - Borrow 10 to 15 small baby items (or buy them if you want some little gifts to give to the expectant Mom after the shower). Place the items on a large tray or cookie sheet. The hostess should parade the tray around the room stopping for just a few seconds at each guest’s chair so they can get a quick look at the tray of items. Cover the tray back up and give the guests a few minutes to write down all the items on the tray. The one that gets the most items wins.

2)     ABC Baby Alphabet Game - Make up game sheets or hand out blank pieces of paper where the guest’s write down the A-B-C’s in a long column down the left hand side of the piece of paper. Then, tell the guests that they have 2 minutes to write down a baby related term or item for each letter of the alphabet. For instance, Bottle for B. Whoever has the most letters filled in wins.

3)     How Big is Mommy’s Tummy Game – Using rolls of toilet paper or yarn, let each guests tear off toilet paper or cut a piece of yarn that they think will measure the same length as Mommy’s new waste-line. Then have each guests wrap their toilet paper or yarn around Mom’s tummy to see who is closest to the right size to determine the winner.

4)     Baby Food Guessing Game – Buy 10 jars of baby food and remove the labels (be sure to mark a number on the side of the bottles with a sharpie and keep a master list of what food corresponds to what number (so you can determine the winner). Pass the jars of food around and have the guests write down what kind of baby food they think is in each jar. The guest who gets the most right wins.

5)     Guess Who? Baby Pictures Game – Have all of the shower guests bring along a baby photo of themselves (newborn to 1 year old). Place the photos on a piece of poster board and hang on the wall or lay them all out on a table and assign each photo a number. Have the guests write down which shower guest corresponds to which numbered baby photo. The guest who gets the most baby photos matched to guests wins.

6)     Guess How Many Game – Fill a jar or large glass container with a baby item like safety pins, baby blocks or blue and pink jelly beans. Depending on what you use, you can give the items to the expectant Mother as a little gift. Then have guests guess how many items are in the container. The one closest to the correct number wins.

7)     Baby’s First Photo Game – Have guests make up a photo using images and items they cut out of magazines (requires magazines, paper and glue) to make a baby photo. Then have the guests vote to determine the winning photo.

8]    Baby Scramble Game – If you have a computer, you can easily make up game sheets for the guests to use at the shower. Take 20 to 25 baby words (like bottle and pacifier), scramble them up (otlebt and rfcaipe) and put them on the game sheets. At the party, give guests 5 minutes to unscramble as many of the words on their game sheet as possible. The person with the most unscrambled words wins.

9)     Don’t Say Baby Game – When they arrive at the shower, give each guest a necklace that has either removable beads or safety pins. Any time they get ‘caught’ saying the word baby during the shower, they must give one of their beads or pins to the person that caught them. At the end of the shower, the person with the most beads or pins wins.

10)     Draw Baby’s Face – Give a round paper plate and crayon to each of the shower guests. Have them place the plate on top of their head and ask them to draw the baby’s face on the plate while they are being timed for a minute. After the time has passed, ask the mom-to-be to pick the best baby face drawing.

Make your son, daughter or grandchild’s First Easter as cute, cuddly and special as they are. Baby’s First Easter Gifts are made extra special when they are personalized with the child’s name and even the holiday year. Here are some great ideas for this Easter season:

1) First Easter Gift Basket or Gift Set - Many companies offer plush-style Easter baskets that are appropriate for play. The ‘My First Easter Basket’ from Baby Gund® features bright-colored removable toys such as a yellow chirping chick that makes noise. The toys come in a pastel colored plush basket. Personal Creations also offers a plush bunny basket that they personalize with the child’s name. The great part about this item is that you can fill it with your own items for Easter morning. Choose some Easter-themed toys and board books for a fabulous package.

2) Personalized Easter Bib or Clothing - Numerous online baby companies sell clothes such as rompers and onesies as well as bunny-themed bibs that are personalized with the baby’s name along with a ‘My First Easter’ caption. What a great way to dress up baby this Easter holiday season!

3) My First Easter Personalized Bunny or Teddy Bear - Watch the baby’s eyes light up when they see their very own stuffed Easter Bunny or Teddy Bear. The Baby Gund® ‘My First Easter’ bunny is super soft and made for baby’s little hands. It’ll soon become baby’s best friend.

4) Easter Themed Blanket - There are so many options when it comes to First Easter blankets. From super-soft fleece blankets with embroidered bunnies to character bunny-shaped security blankets, this is a cuddly gift that baby will surely love.

5) My First Easter Photo Frame - Frames covered in Easter eggs, hopping bunnies, carrots and more provide the backdrop for displaying your favorite photo of Baby’s First Easter. Many online companies such as The Personalization Mall offer these frames online. Another option if you are crafty is to buy a plain wooden frame that you can paint and personalize yourself. They sell Easter cut-outs at places like Michael’s to decorate the frame border as well. Whether you buy it or make it yourself, an Easter photo frame will be cherished for years to come.

Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets offers a wide variety of First Easter Gifts so visit today to find the perfect gift for your little one. And for all of your new baby gift needs year round, they have a huge selection of baby gift baskets, personalized gifts and baby shower supplies.

Own a computer and digital camera?  If so, you can make your own baby birth announcements that are beautiful, affordable and professional looking.  First, we recommend that you visit some of the websites on the internet that offer personalized, custom-imprinted birth announcements to get ideas of what styles you like, wording, and just to get ideas in general.  Second, determine how many friends and family will receive the announcements.  This will help you figure out what type of announcement might work for you. The more complicated the design, the longer it will take to create.  Therefore, if you have a large list of birth announcement recipients, you may want to choose one of the easier designs.  Finally, you’ll need to decide what information you’d like to include on your announcements.  Some people like to include every last detail about the baby including the name, birth date, length, weight, exact birth time, sibling names, parent names and even names of their family pets.  Others simply include the baby’s name and photo.  

If you plan to make your own announcements, we do recommend that you gather the supplies, address and finish as many of the announcements as possible before the baby’s due date.  After baby arrives, you likely won’t have as much time to spend on the announcements so if time is at a premium, you could try to do just 5 or 10 announcements a day until all of them are sent to your list.  Several ideas to consider are outlined below.  Making the announcements can be very fun and a great way to let your creativity shine!  

1)     Create a postcard birth announcement with your baby’s footprint.  You can buy plain white postcards and either a pink for a girl or light blue stamp pad for a girl at just about any office supply store (if you don’t know the sex of the baby, either buy one of each or buy the stamp pad after the baby is born).  You can pre-address and stamp all the postcards prior to the due date.  After the baby is born, use his/her foot on the stamp pad and then stamp the front of each postcard.  Your friends and family will all be thrilled to have their very own copy of the baby’s foot.  We recommend doing this one day when the baby is taking a nap.  Then just write the baby’s name and any statistics you want to include on the back of the postcard.  Or add one of these clever sayings: ‘Ten Little Toes, Each One As Precious As The Other’, ‘We’ve Increased The Size Of Our Home By Two Feet’ (you should use both of your baby’s feet on the card),  or ‘We Have Ten New Toes To Tickle’.

2)     Create a photo baby announcement.  After the baby is born, buy a baby t-shirt with his/her birth information and then take photo of them in the t-shirt.  If the baby has older siblings, you could include them by purchasing “I’m The Big Brother/Sister” t-shirts as well and then take the photo of all the children.  These shirts can be purchased at many online at stores including Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets. Buy postcard paper – three hole punch the photo and then tie together with ribbon.

3)     Using greeting card software, type the baby’s name and birth statistics right onto a picture post card featuring your new baby. Print addresses on the reverse, stamp and mail for a no-hassle, no envelope birth announcement.

Insure that the Mommy-To-Be and guests have the time of their life at your baby shower! Like most things in life, it all comes down to preparation and organization to make sure that things flow smoothly on the shower day. Enlist the help of a couple friends if you ever feel overwhelmed by the planning process. Just follow these 10 simple steps to make sure that you shower is the best it can be!

1)     Put together the guest list. Do you want to invite both sides of the family plus friends and co-workers or will they be throwing their own baby showers? Contact a few of her friends and call her office to see if they are planning anything. If not, ask your contact to put together a list of potential invitees. Once you’ve gathered and assembled the list, make sure that you have up to date addresses and phone numbers for everyone. Also, give the list to the honoree to make sure that she doesn’t have anyone else she’d like to add (or take off) of the list.

2)     Choose a shower date. Normally showers are thrown on a Saturday or Sunday one to two months prior to the baby’s due date. It is also recommended that you contact the mom-to-be relatively early in the planning process to make sure that the date is good for her too. Once you have a few dates in mind, contact the out-of-town family members and the central shower guests to find a date that works best for all of them.

3)     Set a budget range. The cost of a baby shower can add up quickly when you account for the location rental fees, food and drink, decorations and gifts. If you have a large guest list, you may want to consider enlisting a couple of co-hosts so that you can split the shower costs amongst a small group of people.

4)     Choose a shower location. Based on the guest list, you should be able to get a rough idea of just how many guests can be expected at the baby shower. If you are on a budget, try to find a home (either yours or friends or family) that can accommodate the number of guests. Another low cost option is to throw the shower at a neighborhood recreation center or local church. Often times, neighborhood residents and church members can use the facilities for a nominal fee or even for free. You could also consider a restaurant with a banquet room, but remember this will cost a bit more money.

5)     Choose a shower theme.  Does the mom-to-be know if she is having a boy or a girl? Do you know if she has a motif picked out for the nursery? What is Mom’s style? These are just some of the questions to ask yourself when deciding on the baby shower theme. If Mom knows the baby’s gender, you could simply use a pink or blue color scheme. But if you know she is having a boy and she is decorating the nursery in a Winnie-the-Pooh theme, you might throw a shower that has a Pooh bear theme by incorporating that with Pooh themed dinnerware and balloons.

6)     Finalize the guest list, order and mail out the invitations. Invitations need to be mailed out 3 to 4 weeks prior to the shower date. When choosing invitations, be sure to select something to match the baby shower theme that you’ve chosen. Order enough invitations to cover the guest list plus a few extra to cover any unexpected additions to the list. The invitations should include the Mom’s name, shower date and time, location of shower including the specific address (include a map), name of person(s) who is throwing the shower along with their phone number, RSVP date (should be at least 7 days prior to the shower), shower theme and baby registry information (if Mom is registered somewhere). If you aren’t comfortable including the registry information, you can always mention it when people call to say they are attending. If you haven’t heard from everyone on the guest list, you should call them about a week before the shower to see if they are planning to attend.

7)     Choose the menu. Depending on the shower location, you may have several options here. If you decide to use a restaurant, you will need to coordinate the food selection through them. If you are having it in a home or church where you can bring in your own food and drink, you can either make all of the food yourself, have the event catered or buy prepared food from somewhere like Sam’s Club or Costco. They have great cakes at reasonable prices too and we suggest that you order the cake a few weeks prior to the shower date.

8]    Buy shower decorations and baby shower favors. Balloons, streamers, plates, cups, napkins, tablecloths and utensils should be purchased a few weeks prior to the shower. Of course, these items should fit-in with the shower theme. Be sure to coordinate with friends and family to make sure that you will have enough tables and chairs to accommodate all the guests if it is being thrown in a home. You can always rent a few tables and chairs if necessary. You can also buy baby shower centerpieces to put on each table or one central centerpiece to put on the food table.

9)     Choose the baby shower games and buy game prizes. Again, you have a couple of options. You can buy shower game kits online at Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets or you can use do-it-yourself games that cost little money. Be sure to have enough writing paper and writing utensils on-hand. When buying prizes, make sure that you wrap them all and buy a few extra in case you have ties on some of the games.

10) Prepare for the day of the baby shower. Clean up the party area and house if you are throwing a home shower. Set up tables and chairs. Print out name tags and seating assignments if necessary. Prepare the food and get the platters ready. Decorate the location with balloons, streamers and other party gear. Set aside a special table or area for the baby shower gifts that guests bring. Be sure to have lots of film for the digital cameras and batteries for the video cameras on hand.

If you’ve followed these 10 easy steps, you should be all set for a successful shower. The most important baby shower tip is to relax and have fun!

Did you know that the social security administration keeps a running tally of the most popular names given to new baby girls each year? When the proud parents apply for a social security number for their new little one, the SSA puts it in their database. Each year they release a list of the most popular names across the United States and they even break it down into most popular names state by state. If you want to see where you or your child’s name ranked on this year’s list, just visit the Social Security website.

In 2006, the top 10 U.S. baby girl’s names in order of popularity were Emily, Emma, Madison, Isabella, Ava, Abigail, Olivia, Hannah, Sophia and Samantha. If you had twin girl’s in 2006, you likely went with one of the top names for twin girl’s handed out in the U.S. – Ella & Emma, Madison & Morgan, Gabriella & Isabella, or Faith & Hope.

Of course, the popularity of given names varies by state as cultural background and ethnicity play significant roles in the baby name selection process. Take the name Mia for instance, it was the #1 most popular girl’s name in Arizona and the 4^th most popular name given to girls in California. However, Mia ranked 13^th overall in the U.S. In Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota, the name Grace ranked in the top 5 while it ranked 17^th overall in the U.S.

The most popular baby names of 2006 were recently released by the Social Security Administration. Each year the government tracks the statistics for baby names across the United States by tallying the number of times a particular name shows up on the social security number applications submitted to their office. Then each Spring, they release that tabulated data to the public which can be viewed online at the Social Security website.

This year there weren’t any real surprises on the list of the most popular boy’s names in the United States. The most interesting trends showed up in the state by state analysis which clearly showed naming trends reflect the ethnic, local and cultural backgrounds of the parents. Across the U.S as a whole, the top 10 baby boy names of 2006 were as follows (in order of popularity): Jacob, Michael, Joshua, Ethan, Matthew, Daniel, Christopher, Andrew, Anthony and William.  The top five names on this list have been the top 5 names for boys for the last 3 years running.

As for the state by state tallies, the boys name Angel was ranked number 1 in Arizona, number 3 in California and Nevada. However, it ranked as the 17^th most popular name in the US overall.  Two of the top five names in Hawaii are Dylan and Elijah. Yet these names rank 26^th and 29^th respectively in the overall U.S.

Just for fun, you should visit the Social Security Administration’s website to see where the names of your children show up. Better yet, look up your name and your spouse’s name to see just how popular your names were in the year you were born. You might be surprised to see just how popular your name was back then.

If you are hosting a baby shower, you know just how important it is to choose a fun and unique baby shower theme. Themes not only help the hostess keep organized, but they also give the guests some focus and ideas for gifts that they might not normally consider. Here are some unique theme ideas that your shower guests will love!

1. Book Baby Shower – Ask each guest to bring their favorite storybook to the baby shower. What a great way to help Mom build a baby library! Consider using bookmarks for the baby shower invitations.

2. Pamper Mom Shower – Great for 3 or 4^th time mom who doesn’t need more baby stuff, tell the shower guests that they should bring gifts to pamper Mom. Items like bubble bath, scented lotions, candles, etc are perfect.  Spa gift certificates would be great too.

3. Gift Certificate or Coupons Shower – Perfect for the Mom who already has everything because she is on child number 3 or 4, the guests give gift certificates or coupons that Mom can utilize. Examples include a spa, diaper service, maid service or restaurant gift certificate. Better yet, guests can give their time and make up coupons good for things like a few hours of babysitting, a home-cooked meal delivered to the family, or house cleaning.

4. Diaper Party – Ask your guests to forego the typical shower gifts to bring diapers of all sizes as presents. What Mom doesn’t need diapers? She’ll be thrilled to end up with 6 or 8 months of diapers. If guests want to spruce up their gift a bit, they could make a baby shower diaper cake.

5. Time of Day Shower – When you send out the shower invitations for a time of day shower, each guests should be assigned a time of day (meal time, nap time, play time, dinnertime, bath time, night time). Guests should bring a gift that corresponds to the time of day that they were assigned. For instance if someone was assigned nap time, they could give the Ocean Wonders Aquarium which is designed to help baby sleep.

6. Seasonal Shower – Theme the shower around the season or time of year. For instance, in February, throw a heart or Valentine shower. In April, you could do an ‘April Showers bring Baby Flowers’ flower themed shower. In July, you could do a patriotic red, white and blue color scheme and throw the shower as a backyard barbecue. In October, throw a Halloween party where shower guests come dressed in costumes. In December, decorate the shower in a holiday motif and have the guests wrap their baby shower gifts in holiday Christmas gift wrap.

7. A to Z Shower – Each guest is assigned a letter of the alphabet on their invitation and asked to bring a gift that begins with the letter they were assigned. A cute way to carry this theme through to the party is to use ABC themed plates and napkins and then decorate with wooden baby blocks that have the letters of the alphabet on them.

8. Time Capsule or Scrapbook Shower – Each guest is asked either to bring a scrapbook page (usually the host has to buy matching pages and send one with the invitations) or something to add to the time capsule. Examples might include a letter to the baby or newspaper clippings with current events. These gifts will hold memories that can be cherished for years to come.  If you are looking for a fun shower game at your memory making shower, ask each guest to bring a baby photo of themself and then have the shower guests see if they can guess who is who.

Since it only happens once in a lifetime, Baby’s First Christmas is the perfect time to indulge the little one by giving a gift that they can treasure. Online gift shops seem to know just how important this occasion is as they offer a somewhat dizzying array of holiday gift items themed for Baby’s First Christmas. This holiday season commemorate your grandchild or child’s Christmas with one of these five fabulous sure-fire winners.

1)      Baby’s First Christmas Ornament – Whether you choose an elegant Waterford Crystal ornament, a personalized traditional glass ball or a themed ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ ornament, this is a gift that will hang on the tree year after year. Kick off a new family tradition and give the baby a new ornament every year. By the time they are 18 and ready to move out, they’ll have an entire collection of ornaments that they can share with their own family and children some day.

Celebrate baby’s first Christmas this year with a personalized Christmas Baby Gift Basket from Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets. We have a wide variety of baby gifts that your baby will treasure for years to come. Visit Baby Gifts & Gift Baskets today!