Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Archive for March, 2010

Most baby shower hosts will choose a theme for their shower - one that honors the new mother or ties in with her nursery decorations.  Some themes don't relate to either - they are chosen simply for fun!  I have gathered some of my favorite baby shower themes and will share with you why I love them so much!

Rubber Ducky Baby Shower - The adorable yellow duck provides a multitude of shower ideas.  From duck-themed games to bright yellow decorating to adorable duck favors, you'll find all kinds of duck gifts and baby shower favors.  Be sure to have plenty of rubber duckies on hand for this type of shower - use them for decorating, games, prizes and gifts for any children attending.
Noah's Ark Shower - My girlfriend had a baby a few months ago and her sisters and I worked together to throw her a "Two By Two" shower - based on the story of Noah and his ark.  The candles pictured above were a perfect take-home favor for our guests, and the Noah's Ark Deluxe Baby Basket served as both a fitting centerpiece and my gift to her.  Many mothers love the Noah's Ark theme for their baby's room because it is fun to decorate, it provides bright colors and stimulating designs for baby's development and is appropriate for a boy or girl.
Modern Mom Theme - Give your friend the credit she deserves by celebrating her passage into motherhood!  Our modern mom is pictured on a number of baby shower favors including honey jars, tea packets, chocolate bars and Hershey's kisses.  Accentuate the tables with trendy colors and include a mini spa procedure (facial, massage, foot scrub) during the shower.  This shower theme is a great choice for multi-tasking women who can appreciate a shower that gives back to each guest by way of a little pampering!

Frog Prince Theme - Perfect for a little boy whose parents love the outdoors, an adorable frog prince can "hop in" to invitations, decorations, even a diaper cake centerpiece.  The personalized gift set shown above contains a number of useful items for bathtime, we even offer a frog prince candle that is too precious not to order!!

Two Peas In A Pod - I love this theme for a twins baby shower!  Perfect for boys, girls or one of each, the peapod is a bright and colorful decorating scheme.  You can even find peapod shower games online or create your own peapod decorations out of green balloons and towels.

Jungle/Safari Theme - I worked with a customer recently who was hosting a baby shower for her sister.  The sister actually conceived while on an African safari, and had chosen a Jungle/Safari theme for her baby's room.  I had a great time assisting the host in choosing personalized shower invitations, a shower banner, matching tableware and a themed shower gift for her sister!  There are so many bright colors to highlight with a Jungle themed shower, this customer chose spring green and orange for her balloons and streamers.  The Safari Baby Gift Set shown above is a great gift choice for any Jungle or Safari shower.

Need some more themes? Try these articles for fun tips & ideas:

• Sports Themed Baby Shower
• Noah's Ark Baby Shower
• Farm Animal or Barnyard Baby Shower
• Ladybug Themed Baby Shower

These cakes look so good I can almost taste them! After weeding through hundreds of designs, the duck themed cakes shown below are some of my favorites!  Made with a variety of decorating techniques and multiple levels of difficulty, you're sure to find one to use at your next duckie baby shower.  Photo credit to www.flickr.com.

The first cake shown in this collage is a 3D creation shared by TimScott.  The cake was made by baking 2 duck-shaped cakes, standing them up and sticking them together with icing.  The yellow "fuzz" was made with a decorator tip and yellow buttercreme.  His eyes are made of candy and his beak is orange fondant.  The cutest part of this cake is the way it was displayed.  The decorator used a silver galvanized tub with a blue base, and then scattered marshmallows throughout the tub to simulate bubbles.  I would feel confident recreating this cake, although the beak may get a bit tricky (fondant can be hard to work with) so I would just frost it with buttercreme.  The "mama and babies" tiered design on the right is a fun combination of cake and cupcakes.  Each cupcake has a simple layer of white icing with a miniature rubber duck favor on top.  The mama duck is a single layer cake, covered in fondant with a cupcake head.  Although this particular cake is for a birthday, it would be perfect for a baby shower also!  This cake can be found at Jellycakes flickr site.  The final cake pictured above is a masterpiece of decorating.  It is covered in smooth fondant with intricate edible designs including a clothesline, washtub, and the duck on top!  The stunning and finely detailed cake was displayed by rsvpcakes and it is so beautiful I would hate to cut into it!

The cute design above left was crafted from two round cakes and a pair of sugar cookies for the webbed feet.  Bit-O-Me explains how to create this cake on her blog.  The cake on the right is another awesome mother and baby design, with a pond base and marshy background.  The mama is a single round cake, covered and fondant with a cupcake head and fondant details.  The babies are smaller cupcakes with molded fondant details, but if I were to reproduce this cake I would simply use toy ducks for the babies.  This flickr cake can be found at teri_caza's page.

The last cake I picked to display is my most favorite!  It is also one that I think could easily be reproduced for your ducky baby shower.  The simple round cake is covered in buttercreme, then accented with green grass at the bottom.  The top was designed with a circular layer of blue fondant, but you could easily ice the "pond" with blue buttercreme instead.  The fishing pole is a simple dowel poked into the cake and wrapped with a piece of string.  The hook is colored icing and the top is finished with four rubber ducks.  This adorable creation is displayed by Leeroy Rokkenrohl.

Want more ideas for this theme? Try this article on throwing a Duck Themed Baby Shower

From personalized baby blankets to bathtub toys and books, ducks can decorate not only your shower but also your baby gift!  If the baby has already been born, consider getting him or her a personalized ducky blanket.  The soft fabric is great for snuggling and your new mom will love baby's name embroidered on the front.

Some of our gift baskets include tear-free shampoo and bubble bath along with duck tub toys, a ducky hooded towel and soothing baby lotion.  The duck-themed gift box pictured in the center is too cute to wrap so this item can do double duty as a gift and a shower centerpiece!  Other great duck or bath-related gifts include a baby tub (I loved mine - it fit over my kitchen sink), bibs, clothes (new moms can never have enough onesies or sleepers) and duck toys.  There are hundreds of duck books to stimulate baby's mind, two of my kids' favorites are "Duck Soup" and "Duck at the Door".  The books can be combined into a larger gift box or given separately.

If you'd like to get the baby something he can use later, there are some cute duck-themed raincoats, galoshes and hats.  Nothing is more adorable than a toddler, decked out in his ducky rain gear, splashing through the springtime puddles!

Are you hosting the baby shower? Try this article featuring ideas for a rubber ducky baby shower!