Planning a Baby Shower - Gordonsville,VA

If you're a kindergarten teacher, you're probably not a stranger to crafty kinds of things, so this might work for you (or then again, it might not). Still, it was my favorite thing from my shower:

My sister brought small squares of fabric to decorate with fabric paint. Each guest decorated and signed a different square (most of them really enjoyed this!) After the squares dried, she sewed them into a book as a memento for the baby. Fabric paint might be a bit expensive and time-consuming -- maybe just buy a multipack of different colored sharpies, which are always useful anyway and could be sent away as part of the party favors afterwards. Keep the squares small so as not to take up too much time!

I would say one of the most helpful/coolest things done at a baby shower was....along with a gift everyone was asked to bring a pack of diapers or wipes and attach a little funny story or piece of advice for the soon-to-be-mommy!

hope this helps!

Here's one game idea - have a long ribbon or string that people must cut a piece from...the length of the piece is of their choice, but they are trying to get a piece that will fit perfectly around (from end to end) the mother-to-be's belly! The one that's closest wins a door prize! - note...door prizes or "gifts" can be from the dollar store! Next, you can make a "cake" or centerpiece out of new newborn diapers...just roll them & tie colorful ribbon around them to keep them rolled. Then you place them in a circle; say of 10 for the bottom layer. Then put 6-8 for the second layer and maybe 2-4 for the third layer - each layer must also have ribbon wrapped around it so they'll stay together. The topper can be a baby rattle or toy as well as you can put other baby toys or baby toy cake toppers in it for decoration. It's a nice centerpiece as well as the diapers can still be used later! Lastly, jello molds in shapes of baby decor are a nice touch too.

I chose to have mine at my church fellowship hall - it's free and more cost effective than renting a guest house or community center - and you don't have to clean up your house, so it's easier....just clean the church and go home and rest. My neighbor is cooking and preparing food - cheaper and easier than a caterer. We are planning games that we can print off the computer - there are tons of baby shower worksheets that are super fun - you can google printable baby shower games and it will come up with a ton of options. You can also do the dirty diaper game - melt chocolate in diapers and have people guess what kind of candy it is....not too expensive. You can make homemade gift baskets for prizes....they are fairly inexpensive if you get stuff a Walmart, etc. Get a little basket, some lotion and chapstick or mani/pedi set, etc. Make three bigger ones and a few smaller items for extra gifts, depending on how many people are invited. We also cut down on shower invite prices by doing an evite. It's also easier to keep track of the RSVP's. Overall it will be fun no matter what...she will appreciate all your efforts!

Whatever you do, please do not embarass her by doing the measuring tape! You know, measuring her around to see how big she is! Not good!! There are a lot of fun games out there...The internet is a great source too! If they know what sex the baby is, decorating is easy! If not, mix and match is good! We lived on a military base (money tight there too!) and we used one of the facilities there. If you have a party outlet store, they have lots of good decorations, supplies and ideas for a reasonable price. I was the one throwing the party, so I made the cake (depending on amount of people a square base cake with 2 loaf pan cakes and get crafty made a basinet hood out of a Kool Aid lid or a clean dry cut bleach bottle bottom and cover with fabric and lace and have extra lace for the loaf cake edge) you can decorate in any fashion from there! And the party store will have tiny babies you can put one in the basinet (I did not as we do not believe in having the baby there if the baby has not come yet). Meat trays are costly, so we did out own and cheese, veggie and fruit trays too! Bought dinner rolls to make sandwiches, you can also have made ahead finger sandwiches, tuna, hamsalad, eggsalad, chicken or turkey salad on sandwich bread cut in quarters on the diagonal (cost effective) or party bread, nuts in a dish and some mints and your set! You really do not need much! Drinks, make a punch out of plain seltzer, Hawiian Fruit Punch and rainbow sherbert (low in sugar, cold and delicious)! We used clear plastic fancy cups to make it seem special! It was great and everyone raved!
Let me know if you need more ideas!! =D Happy to help! And Good Luck and have lots of fun!!

R. B.

One of the great things that I loved at my baby shower:
When my mother-in-law and sister-in-law sent the invitations out, they asked all of the guests that, instead of buying a card, to buy a book to help start our new baby's library! We now have a ton of books to read, and some have such thoughtful inscriptions on the inside from our friends and family. Definitely a special idea!

For my other baby shower that my sister organized, we played a 'guess the baby food game'. We each received a paper plate with 6 small dollops of baby food on it, and had to try each to guess what each of them were. It was definitely interesting, and some were not appetizing, but it was a fun game and got people to interact throughout trying to figure out the flavors.

I would say pick a theme and then go from there. My shower was a jungle theme because that's what I decorated DS's nursery in. A shower I threw for my SIL was Noah Ark themed. It worked well cause she didn't find out what sex the baby was.

1 thing I loved from my baby shower. My hostess had me come a little early and greet each guest and took a picture of me with them. She then had each person write down a piece of advice, saying, etc. She bought a small brag book and put the picture on one side and the advice on the other. It is a great keepsake and cost her maybe $5 (photo paper, scrapbook). Also, something I read about and have done since. Buy thank you notes to match your invitations (or something cute) and have everyone address an envelope to themselves when they walk in the door. Give her the thank you notes and enough stamps to cover the postage as part of your gift. EVERYONE that I have done this for has been SO grateful! It's just one less thing to do when you are hugely pregnant and prepping for a baby!

I threw a polynesian theme for my sister in law - aisian and tropical flavors and lime green and fushia colors (or turquoise had it been for a boy baby). We had tropical driks (umbrellas and curly straws) and non-alcoholic punch with duckies floating in it. We strung a clothesline with pink clothespins holding up pretty baby clothes (hand-me downs). We put together a slide show of baby pictures form relatives in powerpoint and showed it as a dvd. We served cupcakes on tiered platters for dessert. For games we gathered a basket of inexpensive baby items (baby food, bibs, socks, etc., and guest guessed the prices. the person with the closest total won a $5 gift card, and we gave the items to the Mommy to be.

We had too many people at mine to really do games. Everyone seemed fine with chatting and eating.

I have been to several where the baby food game were played and if the baby is named already use the letters from the name to make as many words in a minute.
I also was given my thank you cards and stamps as a gift. The stamps were very appreciated.

For food, check out your local wholesale club. (I use Sam's)/ They have inexpensive veggie and fruit trays. Also they have good sandwich rings (1 usually feeds about 18 people). I would also recommend cupcakes instead of a cake or a smaller cake with cupcakes around it. That is what my mother did for me and I loved it. For decorations/prizes check out oriental trading.

Things I've liked:

Guess the baby food flavor (take the labels off and pass them around).

Give people a "diaper" (folded paper with a pin in it) and if anyone says a word you choose (like baby, or the mother's name) they lose their diaper to whoever catches them and whoever has the most at the end wins.

Guess the price of the baby item (give the items to the couple at the end). Useful things like a pack of diapers, cream, baby lotion, etc.

Unscramble words to form baby items/baby related things.

Guess how big the mom is by passing around a ball of string and having all the participates take a random length. Get a ruler to determine who got closest.

Baby socks rolled into rose buds for favors for all the guests.

Things I did not like:

I'm not a fan of the ribbon hat, although that's pretty tame.

I am NOT a fan of the hershey bar in the diaper.

If your family is the kind not to open gifts at the shower (I just went to one where there were no games and no presents so those of us not in the immediate family were like, "Oh...okay...") kindly pass around that info.

Hi S.,
I had two baby showers with my first child. Some of the games I remember are easy and cheap. Get some safety pins and a bag of rice. Dump the rice in a bowl with the safety pins (make sure they are closed). You blindfold the player and they have a set time, I think we used 30 seconds, to pull out as many safety pins as they can. It seems easy, but it is harder than you may think. The ones who pulls out the most safety pins wins.
Second, get a roll of toilet tissue. Have the shower guests tear of a piece that is equal the the size of mom-to-be around her belly. Like a tape measure but using toilet paper. They can't actually tie it around her, they just have to tear off enoguh tissue to fit. The person who is the closest wins a prize.
Third, as party guests arive give thema set number of clothes pins. We used 3 or 5. Then it is an ongoing game during the showeer that they can't say the words "mommy" or "baby." Whoever hears a guest say it, gets to take one of their clothes pins. The person with the most clothes pins at the end of the shower wins a prize.
For inexpensive prizes, you can try Dollar Tree or even order some miniature bubble baths or hand creams from Avon. Since the shower isn't until early next year, you have time to get the prizes.
Hope you get lots of great ideas for games. Have fun!

Pass out safety pins to every one and tell that at the begining of the shower that you can not cross your legs arms or anything. If someone sees them do it then they take their pin. Whoever has the most pins wins a prize.

Also have a ball of string and just ask everyone to cut a peice no matter how long or short. Before having her to open her gifts, ask each person to stand and talk about how they know her and their blessings to the baby. They will talk until all of the string has been used up by them wrapping it around their finger. Have fun.

Here's three games that we've always enjoyed for baby showers:

1. The pacifier game - make everyone a pacifier to hang around their neck. To do this string a lifesaver on a length of ribbon and hot glue a jelly bean into the middle of the lifesaver. Rules are, anyone that says the word "baby" has to surrender their pacifier (and any others they've collected themselves) to the person that busted them. This can be really funny. Whoever has the most pacifiers at the end of the shower gets some little prize.

2. The diaper game - To set up, get a handful of different types of chocolate candy (m&m's, 100 grand, snickers, milky way etc..) and a corresponding number of newborn sized diapers. Number the diapers with a sharpie and then mash one type of candy into each diaper, recording which candy went into which diaper. This is a guessing game. The players have to sniff the diaper and try to figure out which type of candy it is. Whoever guesses the most correctly, wins! This one is pretty humorous, it made my Grandma laugh until tears ran from her eyes at my baby shower for my oldest son.

3. The baby gear game - set out several different types of current baby gear (can be borrowed from friends or relatives). Number each one with a little paper plaque sitting in front of it. This game is similar to a silent auction, but not exactly. Everyone gets a numbered index card and has to guess how much each item costs. Look the prices up on the internet and tell everyone which store you're using the prices from (wal-mart, target, babies r us, etc.) so they can guess a little more confidently. Have a prize ready for whoever gets the most right. Comparing the older ladies' guesses with the younger ladies can be funny since they remember mostly what things used to cost when they had small children.

Most of the prizes we gave out were basically gag gifts that we could make ourselves like an adult sized baby bonnet. Occasionally we would have something like a grown-up "bottle" as a prize (a reasonably priced bottle of champagne).

Best of luck, baby showers are so fun!

I did not have this at my shower--but thought it was a great idea! You can do a raffle. Ask people to bring a
pack(s)of diapers (different sizes). For each pack they bring they get a raffle ticket for some cool prize. Great way to get a good diaper stash! At my shower they had out newborn diapers and a sharpee pen and everyone wrote a message on the outside of the diaper and those were supposed to be used for middle of the night changings--so you could read a fun message from your friends/family when you were tired and needed a boost. My shower was also a book shower so people were asked to bring their favorite childhood book along with their gift.

Just so you are not TOO hard on your SIL's mom - etiquette says that her mother should not host a shower for her daughter. She may be being old fashioned rather than mean. I liked that my family kept my shower simple with not to many games - keep it to 1 or 2, regular snacks.

You might want to go a little easier on the mother. Traditional etiquette says that she should not throw a baby shower -- the same etiquette that says immediate relatives do not host a bridal shower either. She might be a traditionalist. Below info is pasted from Babycenter.com. That said, you have a lot of great suggestions from other posters. I say keep it fun and lighthearted and don't try to milk the guests for too many items other than the present they brought (e.g., extra diapers, onesies, etc.).

Who should throw the baby shower?

Anyone except the expectant couple — though Miss Manners might disagree. Formal etiquette says that someone who's not a relative must throw the shower to avoid having it look as though the family is asking for presents.

This from Miss Manners...
Gentle Reader,
Your relatives may be happier than most to hear that they have done something that is not proper etiquette. Showers are not supposed to be given by relatives of the guest of honor, and yes, Miss Manners knows that people do it all the time.

baby bingo, see who can get the a legth of yarn around mommas belly and be the closest to the right size. one new one that i did a year ago was a matching game like memory. it was made on poster board and you had to match the sayings. like twins would be one choice and then if someone found the match they got a twix candy bar as their prize. that was 10 prizes right there. then there is one with rope or yarn yung up like a clothes line and say 30 clothes pins on it. everyone takes turns seeing how many pins they can take off with one hand behind their back without dropping any. whoever gets the most wins.

One game I did at my sister's shower was only the cost of a pack of pens and note cards. Give everyone a pen and note card and have them write down a question a new parent would have. Then have them turn it over and pass to the right or left(everyone the same). They write the answer on the back of the card they just received. Then when everyone is done, pass them back so everyone has their original question. Have them read them outloud and whoever gets the most laughs wins :). This was a BLAST! We also did a TRUTHS game :). This one gets a LOT of laughs, but you would need help from her family for this one. Pick 20 things you want to write down, some true and some false. They can be insane ones (for example, when I was two I drove a car into a house. TRUE! I climbed in the front seat and put my mom's car into drive and drove right into the house!) Things people don't really know to be true or false, but REALLY funny. This again is the pens, and paper. Almost FREE! I totally agree to do the diaper raffle with the guests. However, if you are inviting people who are in situations like your brother and sister-in-law, they may not have the money for both diapers and other things they will need, so it's a trade :). I have some left over things that I would be more than willing to ship to you if you want them! If so, shoot me a message and I'll get you my contact info and I'll get yours and get them in a box! They are great for party favors (cheap ones) and we have some Advice Cards left too. With these I had people fill them out in my office so my sister never knew what was going on. They my daughter and I matched them up with pictures of the people who filled them out and put the card and pictures in an album for her. We gave it to her while she was in labor and it gave her a much needed smile! I have so many ideas and would love to give them to you, just let me know if you want more!! Good luck :)

At my sister-in-law's shower, planned by her friend, we played Catch Phrase, and we all loved it! It wasn't a typical baby shower game, but we all had a blast. It seems there are so many games that you get so used to playing, especially for those who have been to more than just a few showers. At another shower we played "I've never." Everyone starts out with 10 pennies and then you go around and say "I've never..." and tell something related to children, motherhood, etc, that you think others will have done. Then all those who have done that have to put a penny in a baby bank. For example, I got to say "I've never read "What to Expect When You're Expecting" every other girl had to put a penny in. I had two or three other books that I loved and relied on those. Another one is "I never changed a diaper at a hospital." I think if you do a few little games like that, those are good for door prizes if you want, or just fun, but if you want something that takes up time, I'd suggest Catch Phrase or maybe a Scene It game. (If the people have kids that are just a little older, or if they like Disney, that Scene It is a lot of fun, but they have a lot of varities of it so you can find one that might fit with the majority of people attending.)

Please have each guest bring a certain age of clothes so they have clothes for a year to a year and a half. You know how quickly they grow out of all those 3 month onesies. My MIL's family gave me 6 mo, 9 mo, 12 mo clothes and it was WONDERFUL!

Because you said your SIL and brother are tight on money, a great thing you can do is have a diaper raffle. I just had one at my shower and it was absolutely wonderful! You can sepcify what brand of diaper and size or just let them bring whatever they want. I got about 11 packs of Pampers sizes 1, 2, and 3. I know they're expensive and it's a huge help having them. For every pack of diapers a person brings, their name gets entered into a raffle. We had a gift basket but I know a lot of people do gift cards too.

We just had a shower for a really good friend of mine and we ordered sandwiches from Costco. Easy - delicious and not that expensive. Two games that were really fun for me were 1. when each person comes put a name tag on their back with a famous mother. Other people give you clues of who you are and then you have to guest the name. It's a great ice breaker when everyone attending the shower doesn't know each other. 2. Design the Onesie that the baby will wear when he/she comes home from the hospital. Of course - that doesn't happen, but it's a fun game. Break up into groups and each group is given a few supplies to design the onesie. It should have something to do with either the mother's personality or the baby's name. Then the mother-to-be decides on the best onesie. It's fun and can be a great way to get to know others as well. ENJOY!

There are game books you can buy at the store or you can do these yourself:
Word Scramble - using baby related words, scramble 8-12 words and have everyone try to unscramble (use a time limit)
Baby Shower Bingo - Print out "Bingo Cards" with all but one square filled in each row. The attendees are to fill in the empty squares with their own words (gifts they think the mom to be will open". Once the gifts start being opened, they play bingo.
Baby Food - take the labels off jars of baby foods (single ingredients no mixtures or meals) and number them (keep your list). Have people guess what they are...be sure to have multiples of the same colors.
Don't Say Baby - you can use party favors on a string, clothes pins, safety pins. Each attendee gets one when they arrive and once you start the gave anyone that says baby has to surrender theirs to the FIRST people who calls them on it. I suggest you let the mom-to-be be exempt when opening presents.
Don't Cross Your Legs - same as above but don't cross your legs (even at the ankles).
How well do you know the couple - similar to what you may do at a bridal shower but you throw in questions about the baby...due date, sex if they know, names if they are picked out.

Have fun!