Parenting & New Baby Advice Blog

Archive for the ‘Baby Shower Themes’ Category

Does a mom-to-be have a little pumpkin on the way? You can celebrate with a Halloween or little pumpkin baby shower. There’s so much color and décor readily available at the Halloween season that all you have to do is bring it in.

First off, have pumpkins galore. You can bring in little pumpkin gourds and set them at everyone’s place or make a cornucopia of pumpkins, gourds, and dried corn. To make it baby-themed, place it all in a baby doll carriage or a toy wooden crib as the centerpiece.

Decorate little pumpkins with baby bonnets. Get a bunch of bonnets either as doll clothes or for real babies. You can find these cheaply at discount stores or thrift stores. Place them on top of pumpkins and decorate with baby faces. You can do this with markers or paint.

Another idea is to send out baby shower invitations that have a pumpkin theme. You can make adorable pumpkins out of orange felt and print out your details on the back using computer paper. You can write the theme, “Help welcome Jane’s little pumpkin” or something like that.

Ask everyone to bring a pumpkin themed food for the little pumpkin-to-be. You can have guests bring pumpkin pie, little pumpkin muffins, or decorated cupcakes that look like pumpkins. If you’d rather handle all the food yourself, ask everyone to bring baby food jars of orange foods like carrots and squash. They’ll look cute all stacked together in a big plastic pumpkin.

You can get as spooky or as cute as you want with this theme. You can go with spiders and witches and ghoulish foods, or you can just use Halloween as a jumping off point for color schemes and ideas.

Go with pumpkin orange and black streamers and table toppers and then decide how funky you want to get with the rest of the décor. You can do a cauldron with punch in it and fun “baby finger” appetizers made of bread dough.

Really, the Halloween theme can be anything you would like it to be. You can create a baby shower towel cake with all orange towels tied with black ribbon. You can burn harvest candles and have cinnamon cider mulling.

For baby shower favors, you could do little scented pumpkin candles, lotions, or soaps. You could also bake each guest a plate of pumpkin muffins or bread.

You can sit around telling “scary” baby stories…like how mom will be up all night, never get a chance to shower, and never be able to just run into the grocery store alone again. Ask seasoned mothers to come up with advice to combat these “terrifying” things. It will be really fun and amusing.

Everyone can also come in costume and that will add to the merriment. If you’re having your shower on Halloween, it’s even more fun. If you want, you can hand out masks or costume hats when guests arrive if you don’t want to ask them to invest in their own costumes. Or ask everyone to dress up as a pregnant woman just for fun. It will add to the levity of the festivities.

Make your Halloween shower a day to remember for the mom-to-be by adding lovely touches she won’t soon be likely to forget.

Want more? Try this article for more Halloween Baby Shower Ideas.

So you’ve been to all your friends’ baby showers and they’re all having girls. What can you do to throw a baby shower for the next mom to be that is a little bit different from the norm? Everybody loves pink, but you don’t have to use it in the expected ways. And you don’t have to stick to just one shade of pink.

First, think young and modern, and what could be more modern than a throwback to your mom’s day? That’s right, vintage is the new hip baby shower theme. So pull out those photos of your mom’s baby shower and steal some ideas.

Bring on the pink in argyle, stripes or polka dots. When you look back to some of those 1960s and 1970s baby shower photos, you’ll find that they look ultra-stylish now. Major stores are now offering more and more funky vintage paper goods, wrapping paper and decorations. Check online or at the big box or discount stores for baby shower decorations that have that retro chic feel.

Browns and pinks are very current. Anything you want to set out in shades of pink or chocolate brown will look very modern. Say you have a pink table cloth. Don’t go with a set of pink paper napkins. Go with a contrasting chocolate brown for the napkins, cups and cutlery (plastic is fine).

Your balloons can be several shades of pink from hot pink to the lightest hue of ice pink. Put some brown balloons in with the mix and carry your theme through.

Why not do a baby girl tree in pink? You can find these online especially at Christmas time. A pink faux tabletop Christmas tree (you can find them all year online) decorated with cute little baby items will look charming and very unique. When you send out your invitations, request that everyone bring a small ornament or baby item for the tree. Then give the whole tree to the mom to be. Items can be anything from a little glass baby rattle ornament to a set of nail clippers on a string. You could even tie a string around travel sized baby products and tie them on to the tree as well. It’s such a lovely centerpiece and very different from what everyone will be used to.

Set up a chair where the mom to be can open her presents. Make it special by placing a pink polka dot fleece blanket over the chair and a giant brown bow. Mom can then take the blanket home for baby. Go big with your accent touches. Give out pink candles in little brown polka dot votive holders. Have pink and brown M&Ms on hand and bowls of pink foods like Jell-O or ambrosia.

Your cake can be a masterpiece tower of pinks and browns, or you could have a bakery create cupcakes that feature chocolate frosting with pink fondant circle accents. If you’re doing cupcakes, you can place them on cake stands stacked one on top of another, pink glass, of course. When you stack the cake stands the result will look like a several-layer cake.

There are so many ways to do a 'it's a girl' shower without being overly cutesy.

Zoo animals make adorable critters to center a baby shower around. Cute and cuddly animals make the perfect choice for a darling baby shower whether the mom to be is having a girl or a boy.

You can really have fun with a zoo-themed baby shower. Many companies make paper products with this theme in pastel or bold colors. So it’s easy to get your party theme started. Head out to a dollar store and find some small animal stuffed toys to add to your table display. Include elephants, lions, tigers, monkeys, zebras and giraffes. Place them around a diaper cake that uses zoo-themed diapers and you’ve got yourself an instant centerpiece.

When thinking about invitations, decide whether you want to make them yourself or if you want to design them online. A third option is to buy the cards in a party store and hand-write the information. Any way you decide to do it, make sure your zoo animals are prominent on the front of the invitation. If you are doing them yourself, you could cut out a giraffe and fold his neck down so he’ll fit in an envelope. When guests open their invitations, they will find the information written on the giraffe’s neck. Very cute.

You may want to write a note in your invitation asking guests to bring a small zoo-themed item. This could be a baby blanket with an elephant on it or a onesie with a monkey on it. When guests arrive, have them put their little gift into a “cage” that you have ready. It can be made of out of cardboard box, or you can use a dog crate. Tie it up with a big bow.

Carry the theme throughout the room. You can hang paper or silk palm leaves from walls and the ceiling to mimic jungle plants. Have monkey sounds playing or play animal tunes from a children’s cd. Anything you can do to add to the ambience will make it fun.

Serve foods you might eat at the zoo including popcorn, whole peanuts and ice cream bars. You can make a cake in the shape of an elephant or lion. Wilton Cake Decorating Company has pans available online or at craft stores that are already formed in the shape of many zoo animals. All you have to do is frost it. Consider placing your cake on a tray that has a layer of toasted coconut on it so it will look like you animal is resting on hay.

Another cute option is to make cupcakes with the features of animals on them. It’s easy to pipe frosting to look like a lion’s mane or add banana shaped candies to a monkey’s face to make him look more authentic.

Zoo themed balloons can be fun to add to the festive atmosphere. You can also make signs pointing to things you might see at a zoo. Put signs on the powder room door that look like the man or woman rest room signs in public places. Hand out a map. The map can double as a fun scavenger hunt starting point. Hide things around the room or outdoors if the weather allows. Then head out to find them all. Great fun!

Know a mom to be who is having a boy? You can throw her a fantastic baby shower that focuses on her little bundle of baby boy joy.

Of course, blue is the color that most people associate with baby boys. You can use blue in your design scheme but it doesn’t have to be the plain old powder blue everyone’s going to expect. Make your shower come alive with shades of navy blue, teal, electric blue, or even a faint ice blue. Layer colors in different hues of blue and your party will look more grown up and chic.

One fun way to add blue is to do polka dots. You can do navy blue polka dots against a brown or grey background for a sophisticated look. This color scheme is especially appropriate for a modern shower for a very hip and young mom. Keeping the colors from veering off into pastel land will mean that you can do a lot more with the décor.

Hang navy and silver or gray streamers, use navy napkins with the new plastic “silverware” that’s silver colored. It looks just like the real thing, so much so that everyone will be asking you where they should put the silverware instead of throwing it away. Also, you could float some silver balloons.

For invites, send a navy blue coaster (make them out of paper or buy paper ones) and stamp the face of a baby or a silhouette of a pregnant woman. Stamp the image off center and then write your details on the side or on the back. Punch a hole and string a silky ribbon through it.

Keep your high-end blue theme going with a silk table cloth. No, you don’t have to go out and buy an expensive table covering. Instead, head to a fabric store and buy a long piece of synthetic silk (shiny) fabric. These fabrics are cheap and when you drape it across the food table, it will look very festive. Have some mercury glass silver candle sticks at varying heights. Bring in silver candles that are very chunky and different thicknesses. There’s your tablescape right there.

When it comes time to plan the foods and beverages, go with a blueberry mocktail. Since the mom to be won’t be drinking, invent a cocktail that focuses on blueberries and serve in plastic or real martini glasses. You can combine yogurt and berries to make smoothies or berries and ice cream for decadent ice cream drinks. Add a splash of clear soda and you can have blueberry floats. Get creative with the accents on the glasses. You can do a sparkly blue and silver star on a toothpick or a cute baby face.

Play jazz or blues or classical music to set the mood for a funky good time. Do the unexpected with little touches. Wrap up a bunch of small boxes that each contain gourmet cookies for your guests to take home. Use blue and silver polka dot paper so your wrapped favors will look elegant on the table.

Depart from the usual and expected little boy baby shower. You don’t have to go with just one shade of blue, remember. Set the tone for a mod and hip baby shower that everyone can really enjoy.

Know a mom-to-be who is having a boy? Why not throw her a truck  or construction-themed baby shower? This theme lends itself well to all kinds of baby shower fun.

Start off with the invitations. You can send out little Matchbox trucks with a tag attached to them with the shower details. Or use store bought shower invitations.

Plan on having a construction zone in your home the day of the shower. Get plastic hard hats from a party supply store. Small hammers or a kid’s tool box and tool set are great additions. You can find orange construction cones in the toy aisle, too.

Make a runner that looks like a road. You can do this with black fabric and yellow paint. Lay a long length of fabric down and paint yellow dotted lines on it to look like the middle of the road. When it dries, lay it down on the floor from the door to the snack table so guests will start walking right into where they are supposed to gather.

Get a bunch of toy dump trucks to hold the snacks. You can wash them out, dry them, and fill them with M&Ms, popcorn, peanuts, and other snack foods. Use one big toy dump truck as a centerpiece. You can fill it with favors, or fill it with flowers.

Ask everyone on your invitations to bring a small gift with a construction theme. It can be a onesie with a truck on it, a stuffed construction toy, a small hammer, or a framed photo of a truck for baby’s room. Anything is fine and the gifts don’t have to be expensive. Have a clean used tire in the room and fill it with the toys and gifts.

If you can, bring in an old seat from a car. If you know someone in the car repair business, maybe you can borrow a truck bench seat or an old car seat. Tie balloons to it and your guest of honor can sit there while she opens the presents.

Go as far as you like with the theme. Have little gummy candies in the shape of trucks. Have little pint-sized work boots on the table that the new mom can take home for her son to wear some day. Make fun signs like “Baby on Board” or “Caution: Baby Zone.” Add to the festivities with construction-type lunch boxes. You can fill them with finger sandwiches and bags of chips and juice boxes.

The theme of a construction baby shower with trucks really can be done well on a budget. Look for stickers, toys, and other truck memorabilia that will add to the fun of the party. You might bring in faux Styrofoam rocks for guests to sit on as part of a dig site. Or you could have a toy crane lifting a baby doll. Think cute and get your imagination pumping.

When it’s all up and decorated, you’ll be so delighted and so will your guests and mom-to-be. Be sure to have a big jug of Gatorade on hand for your thirsty guests to sip out of plastic cups. Get into construction zone mode and you’ll all have a fantastic time welcoming the newest little construction worker to the job.