Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Archive for August, 2010

If you have never hosted a baby shower before you may not realize just how much it costs. You have the expenses of baby shower favors, invitations, food, plates, forks, cups, drinks, and games and prizes and possibly even more. However, there is a way that you can throw a wonderful baby shower on a shoestring budget. It just takes a little planning and some creativity.

Invitations

You can go out and buy the invitations or you can get creative and make them yourself. It’s not always easy to come up with the right material but you can make invitations with construction paper or stock paper. If you know calligraphy, you can create a formal invitation that is unique and beautiful. If you are going to use a theme for your baby shower then purchase stamps that display the theme so you can stamp each invitation. Save on stamps by passing out as many invitations as possible. A personal invitation means more when it is hand delivered.

Decorations

Over time, it’s easy to accumulate streamers from various occasions but streamers are not that expensive to buy per roll. You can decorate with streamers in a variety of different ways. Streamers can be tied, twisted, placed in a special design, and can come in many different colors. Search online for templates that can be printed out and applied to cardboard to hang up at the party. Place some string through the top and hang decorations from the ceilings. Use the streamers to highlight or accent.

Purchase some small pieces of material from your local sewing shop and cut them in half. Fold them up to resemble a cloth diaper and use a small safety pin to pin the diaper together. These homemade cloth diapers can be made with any color or theme, depending on what you want the decor to look like. You can place name cards in the diapers, a number used to draw on the doorprize for the evening, or a baby shower souvenir. Flower seeds are a great souvenir to place inside the cloth diapers with a little note telling everyone to plant their flower seeds on the day that the baby is born. You may want to place the flower seeds in saran wrap or zip lock bags so the seeds will stay fresh until they are planted. You also want to make sure that the flowers fit the season. You can also use the cloth diapers to place mints or nuts in.

Games and prizes

There are several baby shower games you can play with guests that cost little to no money. Draw a baby face, measure mommy, and guess who the baby is. To draw a baby face, you need a paper plate and crayon. For the measure mommy game, you need cheap toilet paper or yarn. To guess the baby, you simply need all the guests to bring a baby picture of themselves and have the guests match the baby picture to the right person. You will still need a prize for the winner who got the most right.

Prizes should be simple like candles, bath and body kits, or a disposable camera. It’s best to keep the prizes simple so you can use most of the money on everything else. After all, it’s about the mommy-to-be and not so much about what prizes there are to take home.

If a friend or family member is having twins, you can do her a favor and purchase her a double stroller. They are also great for a newborn and a toddler or two older siblings. Relatively new on the scene, and much less expensive than in the past, the double stroller is a modern convenience no mom wants or needs to be without.

If you know the mom well, ask her if she’d mind a second-hand stroller. If she’s open to it, you’ve just made your job of finding the perfect double stroller a lot easier (Great if you’re purchasing it for yourself, too!)  Second-hand and consignment shops offer a tremendous selection of double strollers for a twin baby gift. Most resale shops will not take a stroller into their store unless it is in pristine condition. They want to sell it, right? If you check the Yellow Pages, local newspapers and online, you’ll find all kinds of thrift stores in your area. Some are better than others. Don’t go to the Goodwill or Salvation Army with the expectation that you’re going to find a brand new double stroller. Usually, since they take donations, they’re not picky about missing screws, bolts and accessories.

Do yourself a favor and visit a resale shop that specializes in baby and kid items. There, you will find your double stroller at a fraction of the new cost. Don’t give up if you don’t find one on the first day out. Check back often and give the clerk or store owner your name and number and when she gets a double stroller in, she’ll let you know.

But what if you are only willing to consider new? That’s fine, too. You just have to know what to look for. Buy the stroller that’s the best quality you can afford. This will be mom’s go-to accessory and she’ll be using it every day. Look for:

• A stroller that collapses for storage with one hand so mom can pop the clip and get it into the car easily
• Seat backs that recline all the way so children can nap comfortably while out on a stroll
• Sturdy wheels, the fatter the better. This will make it safer and easier to push
• Back breaks so there’s no chance the stroller will roll away
• A roomy storage compartment underneath for diaper bag
• Sun canopies for both children
• A model that seats the children side by side is best. There are also models where one child sits in front of the other, but those are harder to maneuver
• A cup holder for mom’s latte or a sippy cup
• A size that will fit in mom’s car when folded and will be easy for mom to push (if she’s tiny, go for a smaller model)
• A center handle bar for pushing vs. just two handles spread apart. The center handle option is easier to push
• A durable fabric that can easily be washed when spills occur
• A color that is pleasant and matches mom’s tastes (she may not like black)
• A weigh capacity of 50 pounds per seat. Children up to 50 pounds still want to ride in the stroller.
• Padded seats for less cranky babies
• T-shaped seat belts so baby’s legs can’t slip through

Hopefully this information helps with your search for the perfect new mom gift! Good luck with the search, and check back and post your thoughts or finds!

Find baby shower ideas for twins in this article on throwing a Peapod Baby Shower.