Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Archive for July, 2009

The Sweet Pea invitations have been sent and now you can turn your attention to decorating for the upcoming peapod-themed baby shower. Your decorations and party favors can be adjusted to reflect the number of babies on the way – whether it’s a Sweet Pea, Two Peas in a Pod, or Three Peas in a Pod. Craft a peapod balloon display made of the appropriate number of green balloons (helium-filled balloons make the display more fun), then wrap them in green cellophane and tie at each end to resemble a peapod. You can use the same design theme when creating unique centerpieces – simply roll up green washcloths and insert into a peapod-shaped towel tied at both ends. Diaper cakes are always a welcome addition to baby showers – they are a pretty centerpiece, they can be decorated with theme-appropriate gifts, and the diapers inside are a necessity for any new mother!

Baby shower games are a fun way for guests to get to know each other and win a prize for their efforts. A simple game to set up is a jar guessing game - fill a clear glass jar with green jelly beans or green M&M’s and have the shower guests guess how many treats are in the jar; the one closest to the exact amount wins a prize (like sweet-pea scented lotion). Another fun game is to have guests transfer “peas” from a jar into a peapod (made of construction paper) using chopsticks – the person who transfers the most peas in one minute is the winner!

Make sure your guest of honor is in the spotlight with a one-of-a-kind Sweet Pea Corsage. The “queen for a day” can also wear a tiara made of vines and mini handmade peapods. Or decorate her throne with a balloon peapod that includes hanging green streamer “vines”. Your table decorations can include scattered paper peapods with the title “A ‘pea-ce’ of Advice for the New Mom”. Guests should be encouraged to fill in a helpful tidbit regarding parenthood – mom can even read the tips out loud and declare a winner.

By implementing a few of these decorating ideas and adding some of your own creativity, your peapod baby shower is sure to be a success! Check back soon for food and gift ideas that complement your sweet pea theme.

More Game Ideas:

Cheap Baby Shower Games

Cheap Games for a Baby Shower

If your mother-to-be is expecting one, two or even three babies, a Peapod Baby Shower Theme can be designed to fit your unique situation. Whether it’s a Sweet Pea, Two Peas in a Pod or Pea in a Pod shower theme, we can help you from invitations to decorations, and favors to food for the “pea-fect” shower!

A peapod baby shower theme works well if mom doesn’t know (or doesn’t want to know) the sex of the baby or babies, and if she doesn’t have a particular theme picked out for the nursery. It is also a great theme for mothers who love to garden, if she loves the color green, or if she has had a craving for vegetables – particularly peas - during her pregnancy. If your mother-to-be uses Sweet Pea for a pet name, then the peapod theme is the perfect choice for her baby shower!

Starting with the shower invitations, have some fun with your theme by including peapod pictures and/or phrases. You can word the invitation with a catchy poem such as “Three Peas in a Pod, Three Bundles of Love, A Triple Creation, Three Gifts from Above!” Personalized peapod baby shower invitations can be printed for your shower, or make them yourself with some green construction paper. Simply cut dark green pod shapes for the outline, then paste on lighter green circles for the peas and print the invitation on the light colored paper.

Decorating for your peapod baby shower will be a great adventure! In the next few days I’ll give you tips for unique peapod decorations, party favors and lunch recipes. I’ll also discuss some unique cake decorating designs and give you some fun peapod baby shower game ideas. Before you know it, planning your Peapod Baby Shower will be a snap!

For more baby shower themes, try:

• Clothesline Baby Shower Theme
• Bottle Themed Baby Shower

You have chosen a theme and sent out the invitations, the next step in planning your It’s A Girl baby shower is to choose decorations and shower games. Since you already know a baby girl is on the way, you can ‘think pink’ for the shower decorations - pink streamers, tablecloths, matching partyware with pink and white balloons are the way to go. You can purchase plates, cups and napkins individually or buy complete tableware sets on our website – just choose the size that’s perfect to accommodate your guest list.

When decorating for your shower, it’s easy to be practical and fun at the same time. Add a few balloons around the gift table, decorate the guest of honor’s chair with pink streamers and add a pretty pink tablecloth to your food table. It’s not necessary to go overboard on decorations - especially if you are decorating on a budget. By using a bit of creativity, many of your decorations can even double as prizes or guest favors. A beautiful baby girl diaper cake makes a great centerpiece and can later be taken apart so mom can use the diapers. You can also order a baby girl cookie bouquet as a centerpiece, then send each cookie home with special guests as sweet treat! When setting out punch cups for your guests, tie a pretty pink ribbon on each handle to continue the color scheme. You can even decorate one of the punch cups with a white ribbon and the person who uses that cup receives a special prize. If you will be setting the table for your guests, position a special baby shower favor at each place setting for the guests to take home.

There are a number of baby shower games that you can play, but don’t plan more than 3 games. Between visiting with friends, opening gifts and eating, your guest of honor may feel stressed if there are too many games, especially if you don’t get to all of them in the time allotted. Keep the games simple so that everyone can enjoy themselves! There are a number of game suggestions on the internet, a simple search for “baby shower games” will turn up hundreds of results. You can even make up a few of your own shower games; a very simple game is to take the letters from mom and dad’s names and create as many new baby names as you can think of in 2 minutes. Have each guest share their names and mom can choose her favorite. You can also give a prize to the guest that has the most names on her list that no one else has written down. Another easy game that goes along with your “It’s A Girl” theme is to have each guest put their own spin on the popular phrase “Sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of.” The funniest or most creative phrase wins a prize.

By decorating in a bright pink and white color scheme and planning simple but fun shower games, you are on the way to making your “It’s A Girl” baby shower a sweet success!

More on a Baby Girl Baby Shower

Personalized Baby Shower Favor Ideas

It's A Girl Baby Shower

Now that you have decided to honor the new mother with a pretty in pink, “It’s A Girl” baby shower, there are a number of ways to let your party guests know. You can choose a fill-in type shower invitation, a personalized shower invitation where all the information is filled in for you by professional printers, or you can create a handmade shower invitation for each guest. The handmade invitations will take more time to make, but if you are creative and have the time, this is a great way for guests to find out the shower theme! Check out our fine assortment of personalized baby shower invitations that include matching thank you cards – buy the thank you cards and give them to your mommy-to-be as both a thoughtful gift and a pretty way to carry your theme from beginning to end.

Your invitation must include the date and time of the shower, as well as the shower location (include directions for any out-of-town guests). It is important to mention the guest of honor’s name, especially if you are a friend of the mother-to-be because some of her guests may not recognize your name as the hostess. You may opt to include the nursery or baby shower theme, any type of dress code (Sunday best or casual clothing), what type of refreshments will be included (light lunch, dessert or tea) and any stores where mom has registered for gifts.

If you are creating your own invitation, you can use construction paper or card stock and cut it into the shape of a baby face. If you are really creative, you can use a pink base and attach the cardstock to the base using baby pins or baby-themed scrapbooking supplies – just keep in mind that if you are using heavier items (such as rivets, brads or medallions) on your invitation you may need additional postage. Take the invitations directly to the post office so you are certain they won’t be held up in the mail. You can include a cute little poem as the introduction on your invitation.

Some examples are listed below:

Tea parties, baby dolls and pretty pink clothes,

This time it’s a girl dressed in ribbons and bows!

A little princess will soon be joining the Johnson castle,

You are invited to welcome her royal highness at a shower!

Soft as a whisper, so precious and sweet,

Tiny perfection from her head to her feet!

You should plan on sending out invitations 2-3 weeks in advance of the shower, and request that guests RSVP a week before the shower. The more guests you invite, the more important it is to receive RSVP’s so you will have enough seating, food and refreshments. Include the mommy-to-be when choosing a shower date and making out the invitation list; be sure to invite her sisters, mother, mother-in-law, as well as any close friends, neighbors and co-workers. If you find that your guest list is too long, ask the mommy-to-be which group of people should be left out. When you include the guest of honor in the planning process, your It’s A Girl baby shower is sure to be a success!

More Baby Shower Ideas:

How To Plan A Co-ed or Couples Baby Shower

Theme Baby Shower Cakes

Rattle Themed Baby Shower

Congratulations, a precious little girl is on the way! Or maybe she has already arrived and you are about to celebrate her birth with a baby shower. If mom and dad do not have a specific theme for the baby’s room, or they already have their decorating done, consider spotlighting the little princess with our It’s A Girl baby shower theme. The invitations, decorations, games, and even gifts can center around her beloved arrival and the feminine theme will be fun for mommy and her guests as well!

There are debatable reasons to hold the shower both before and after baby is born, but the best way to decide is to ask the mother. If she’s having a particularly difficult pregnancy or if guests will be traveling from far away, it’s a good idea to wait until after baby has arrived so mom can be more relaxed and guests will have a chance to see the baby of honor. However, if mom is sailing along in her pregnancy with no complications and this is her first pregnancy, you may want to hold the shower before the little sweetheart arrives so you can help mom and dad decorate her room or have enough diapers for the first few weeks!

Keep in mind that the baby – especially if she will be mom’s firstborn – can make her arrivals sooner or later than expected, so don’t plan the shower too close to her due date or your guest of honor may not be able to attend!

If mom is absolutely certain that a baby girl is on the way, or if she has already arrived, you can have fun with a modern baby girl baby shower to treat the beautiful baby girl like the royal princess that she is! Many decorations and baby shower favors feature a chubby cheeked sweetheart with a single curl on her head and a pink ribbon in her hair. From personalized shower invitations to thank you notes and everything in between, you can easily transform your baby shower location into a little girl haven – complete with pink streamers, feminine tableware, “It’s A Girl” shower games, even a pretty pink corsage for mom!

For more baby shower ideas:

• Personalized Baby Shower Favor Ideas
• It's A Girl Baby Shower
• Creative and Fun Baby Shower Game Ideas