Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Archive for October, 2009

One of my best friends is having a baby next month.  It is her first child, and she has decided not to find out the sex of the baby until it's born.  Because of this, we have decided to host a baby shower after the holidays so we can spoil the baby with frilly pink dresses or handsome blue suits.

My girlfriend has been busy decorating the baby's room with a neutral theme - she has chosen a beautiful print called "Two By Two" from a local fabric shop.  The fabric depicts pairs of baby animals in various states of play - on a swing, jumping rope and so on.  My friend's sister is busy sewing curtains, pillows and blankets and creating wall hangings by stretching the fabric over wooden frames.  The "Two By Two" theme matches perfectly with our Noah's Ark baby shower decorations, so I can't wait to help plan the perfect Noah's Ark Shower for my friend!

Since we have some time before the shower date, we are going to create our own invitations in the shape of an ark.  We've found some stickers of baby animals that are almost a perfect match to the animals on the fabric, and we'll adhere those to the front of the ark.  When opening the invitation, each guest will be invited to take a "voyage" with us and meet the guest of honor - Kathy's new baby!

I already know what I would like to purchase for shower favors, the adorable Noah's Ark Candle Favors pictured above.  Each candle is finely detailed with rolling waves at the base, portholes on the ark and "cute as a button" animals on board.  The 2-1/2" by 2" candles are packaged in a clear gift box so they will not only make a great gift, but they can decorate the tables until the party is over.

In the next few days I'll share some additional ideas for a Noah's Ark baby shower - some that I'll be using myself in a couple months!

Need more inspiration? Try this post on Noah's Ark Baby Shower ideas.

Chances are that all of the guests at the baby shower you're hosting may not know each other - some may be friends of the mother-to-be, others will be family members and still others may be co-workers.  A great ice breaker for your shower is the "Name That Stork" game.  Have each guest introduce herself and then name a baby item that begins with the letter "S", then "T", "O", "R" and "K".

Another stork-themed twist on a classic game is Stork Bingo.  Create bingo cards with the letters STORK written across the top.  Ask each guest to fill in their bingo card with baby items that they new mother will need.  As mom opens her gifts, each guest can mark off any gift listed on her sheet.  The first one to "bingo" wins!

Incorporate take-home favors for each guest into your shower games by playing an easy quiz game. Give one of these personalized baby shower compact mirrors to each guest who gets a question correct.  Possible questions can include "When is baby's due date?", "What color are the father-to-be's eyes", or "How many siblings does the mother-to-be have?"  Stork baby shower favors can also be used in a purse scavenger hunt - the first guest to produce a specific item (like a pen, a credit card, baby picture, etc) from their purse wins a prize.

There are a number of generic baby shower games that work well with any theme.  Some can be modified to fit into your stork theme and others work well just as they are.  It's fun to have one or two games at your baby shower, but don't overdo it.  Remember that the focus should be on the mother-to-be and her upcoming miracle!

More Stork Baby Shower Theme Ideas: Stork Themed Baby Shower

Guests will be introduced to the baby shower theme for the first time when they get your invitation in the mail.  Make it a memorable invitation with a few of these helpful tips:

If you have enough time and creativity, consider making an invitation out of cardstock, scrapbooking supplies and/or stamping materials.  Use shades of blue or pink on the invitation so guests can narrow down their gift choices if the mother-to-be knows the sex of her new baby.  Make sure your stork is carrying two bundles of joy if twins are on the way!

While custom made invitations are a great idea, they are also time-consuming and require a certain amount of creativity.  Luckily, we offer great stork baby shower invitations that arrive ready to mail to your guests!  You can even include where the mother-to-be is registered to make shopping easier for your guests.  The invitations shown above are customized with the specific details of your shower.

If you need more ideas, try this article on hosting a Stork Themed Baby Shower.