Tuesday Tip – 10 Tips To Planning A Unique Baby Shower!

By the time you read this, my sister-in-law is either in labor or has had her first baby, so to say I have baby on the brain is an understatement. I thought what better way to commemorate than to share my time-proven tips and techniques for the awesomest shower evah!
1. Pick a unique theme
Pastels and storks are so not cool. Impress her with a unique theme that is sure to make her the talk of the baby shower circuit. Is the MTB ready to pop? How about a popcorn themed shower? What about an around-the-clock baby shower? Is she ‘Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend?’ A Tiffany themed shower would be right up her alley. Tiny Prints has an amazing array of invites to choose from to match any theme!

2. Ask The MTB What She Would Like (corollary to 1.)I would suggest taking a list of your unique themes and have her go through her likes and perhaps combine ideas to make the perfect shower theme she can’t wait to see done.

Pregnant women are moody creatures and may take it personal if they aren’t included, even though you don’t want to lift a finger. Plus, since this is about her, you may want her to have some input.

3. A Nontraditional Shower is A-OK (corollary to 2.)Be hip, be cool. Throw baby shower caution to the wind. Invite dads to the shower, but make sure it’s co-ed friendly, no man wants to hear exactly how long and painful your labor was. Gift goodies for the MTB, and have a sprinkle for a second or third time mom.

4. It Doesn’t Have To Be At Someone’s House
I know, you all want to spend hours ohhing and ahhing over the tiny little socks and monkey bibs. Some MTBs don’t want the hassle of their house full of women ohhing and ahhing over the tiny little socks and monkey bibs. Shelling out money for a restaurant or club (which may be free for members) means you won’t have to get bogged down with details like what to serve or clean-up. Plus, it will keep you on track, you obviously can’t stay all day.

5. Use Multitasking DecorBaby showers are a perfect way to find creative uses for items the MTB can later use in her nursery. Using clothing as party decor is a perfect way to display cute outfits and show off some creativity. Check out Project Nursery’s hot lantern and clothing combo strung above the party table and the pacifiers that double as napkin rings.6. Keep Your Guests Entertained/Make Them Work!I’m a big fan of crafts; keeps guests busy and they make their own party reminders. Even better, they can make even more goodies for the MTB.

I never get tired of the idea of having guests decorate onesies. But along with the usual fabric paint why not set up fabric scraps, fusible webbing, and stencils for making appliqued onesies like these from Kojo Design. Do it yourself for double duty decor items a la Cookie Mondays’ country themed shower. You can purchase them colored or dye them yourself.

7. Plan A Fun and Light Menu
Appetizers and desserts are not only light fare but budget-friendly too. Your theme will shape your menu, for example, the Ready To Pop is all about popcorn, but there are so many generic themed treats that work for any shower. Check out these cute pacifer cookies or try your hand at these macaron pops that resemble baby rattles. Beau-coup’s cookies are fun to serve or would make great favors.

8. Fabulous Shower Games Need Not Involve Candy Bars And RibbonYes, we all know every pregnant woman just LOVES people overestimating just how huge she is. And I just can’t wait to to play ‘guess the chocolate candy in the diaper’ game AGAIN. Ugh. You are better than that. Play Who’s Who? Ask each guest to bring a photography of herself as an infant. String the pictures along a wall on, what else, a clothesline. Number the clothespins and have guests write down guesses.

Make the thank-you-note process easier on the guest of honor. I’ve done this at all the baby showers I’ve hosted. I gift a set of thank-you cards, and at the beginning of the shower (a great activity waiting for everyone to arrive), guests fill out the cards’ envelopes with their addresses.

9. Get Help!Does Grandma want to help and makes a mean pie? Let her! Are you co-hosting? Let you cohorts help! Have teenagers looking for a free meal in exchange for manual labor? Perfect! Party planning and execution is a grueling task (I would win medals if it was in the Olympics) and as they say ‘many hands make light work’!

10. Relax! I know it’s hard, you are the hostess after all, just show responsibility and consideration to everyone. The MTB may have suddenly decided her two cents needed to be ten dollars, her mother is working your last nerve, and 3 friends showed up with no RSVP.

Just take a deep breath and relax…and swear you’ll never do this again!

I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Tiny Prints blogging program, making me eligible to get a Tiny Prints gift code worth $50, plus 25 FREE Tiny Prints greeting cards—a total gift value of $149.75! For more information on how you can participate, click here!

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