BABY SHOWER IDEAS

    These are just a few pictures from the shower. I had wanted to take more pictures of everything but a few unexpected things came up so I ended up only taking a few pictures so I will post what I do have.
These are pictures of the dessert table, I hung a clothesline behind it with some of the items that I had bought for the baby.

                                                   On the dessert table I placed the homemade chocolate pops,  chocolate dipped oreo cookies, cake pops, mini brownies, frosted sugar cookies, cup-cakes, and a variety of candies,  hershey kisses, jelly hearts, strawberry malt balls, spice drops, heart shaped  strawberry marshmallows, and m&m's. I used glass jars that I tied with pretty pink ribbons, candy dishes, and tiered plates that I had around my home.




       This was a small wicker dresser that had belonged to my daughter when she was a baby that I gifted to my cousin, I fixed it up with spray paint and I draped some of the baby items out of the drawers and used the top to place the guest tree picture for guests to sign their name and ink their finger print on. After the shower was over I placed the picture inside a wooden frame that I had purchased and gave it to the mom to be to hang inside the baby's nursery as a sweet keepsake. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of how it looked finished. When I visit her I will try to remember to take a picture of it and post it later.







This is a the baby bath punch that I found on Pinterest that came from http://tidymom.net/2011/ducky-baby-shower-punch/
on it will give you the recipe and ingredients that you will need and there is a picture that is much cuter than how mine turned out. I purchased my ducks from Target.

 This is a watermelon that I carved to look like a bassinet, I will try to post a link to it when I can find it. It was super easy & simple to make, I just drew an outline of where I wanted to cut it then I just carved it out like you would a pumpkin,   then I cut up fresh fruit and put it inside and around a lettuce lined platter, I used an apple for a head, I drew a simple face on it and tucked it inside.





  These are just some ideas for a baby shower that are pretty simple and affordable. If you scroll below you will find the pictures of the items that I made along with ideas for games and keepsakes. The games we played were fun for everyone and were great icebreakers for those who didn't know too many people there and everyone loved the little prizes that were handed out.
         

         

                                                      BABY SHOWER IDEAS

About seven months ago my cousin who has been as close as a sister to me stopped by to give me some wonderful news, after many many years of trying she was finally pregnant! Of course I was very happy and excited for her and of course I wanted to be involved in helping with her baby shower. So I took on being the organizer and planner (there are four of us), I chose to help with all of the decorating, making a dessert/candy buffet, and coming up with lots of fun shower games and prizes.  Except for the baby bath punch, watermelon bassinet, and the desserts, I have left the main menu up to the other three people that are helping to put on the shower. After finding out that my cousin was having a girl, I asked her what theme she would like to go with, as she really didn't have a theme picked out yet, I took inspiration from her crib that she was using in her nursery which is rather a shabby chic style (white with carved roses on top) and as soon as I said it my cousin was in love with the idea. After searching the internet and Pinterest and using some of my own ideas I have created many fun  games, prizes, decorations and treats. I will post what I have made so far and as the shower has not happened yet, I will post pictures of the shower after. I have to mention that I have been working on this with a very limited budget as my cousin is from a huge family and seventy-five people have confirmed that they will be attending. 

      Below you will find lots of ideas to use for your own shower that are very budget friendly and easy to adjust to your own theme just by trading off colors.


                              THE GUEST FINGER PRINT TREE

This is a tree that I printed out on card stock (if you are crafty you could draw one by hand), the bottom of the picture says "welcome to the world little one", notice that that the tree is bare. This will be used on the entrance table, as guests arrive they will be asked to print their finger and sign their name onto the tree. Once everyone has printed their finger and signed their name, I will frame it and give it to the mom to be so that she can hang it in the nursery as a sweet keepsake if she chooses to. I found a site that allowed me to print the tree out in my choice of color along with my choice of message on the bottom, I found  a little frame in Marshall's in which I added printed instructions for the guests to ink their finger and sign their name to "leaf" their mark and sign their name on baby's tree. The ink pads and jelly pen I found at Michael's. The total cost for the tree picture including two frames, the ink pad set, & jelly pen was $17.00 plus tax.

                                           Framed and printed instructions

                          BOOK OF ADVICE FOR THE NEW MOMMY TO BE

        This is a book just for the mom to be, I found a journal in my local Target and the adorable stork pen in Party City. The book and pen will be passed around and it has instructions printed out and attached on top of it instructing the guests to offer advice, favorite tips on parenting, a special message, or a prayer for the mom to be and to sign their name to it. This will make a beautiful keepsake for the mom to be.


                             THE BOOK OF BIG SISTER ADVICE

        As this mom is also a step-mom, we wanted to include her step daughter in the shower so she feels special and a part of it. This is a book just for the big sister that will also be passed around to all of the guests to offer big sister advice or to just share a special message with the child. I found the book and pen at Michael's and just attached everything including printed out instructions to a piece of sparkly pink scrapbook paper.


                                  MARSHMALLOW BABIES

 What we have here are a basket of Marshmallow babies, I found a tutorial on youtube on how to make them. These could be used as a shower favor, but I am using them for a game called Who's Watching Baby? The game is played by handing everyone a "baby" at the beginning of the shower, everyone must watch their baby, if they leave it unattended at any time, another guest may come by and take their baby. The person with the most babies at the end of the shower will win a prize. Originally I had planned on making the babies by using a rolled up diaper with a little sock as a hat and a washcloth as a blanket with a little face drawn on it, this way the mom to be would've had a lot of diapers, socks, and washcloths to use afterwards for the baby, but being that there are so many people it just wasn't economical.

                                         THE DIRTY DIAPER GAME

These are some little diapers that I made simply by folding a little felt square into a little diaper and pinning them on the front and adding a little decoration to it, I used little rosettes and pink ribbon. Everyone will get a diaper at the beginning of the shower, sometime during the shower guest will be asked to check their diaper for a poopy surprise which will just be a little chocolate chip melted inside it. The guests that find surprises will get prizes.


                                    SHH!! DON"T SAY BABY!!

       These are small baby rattles made by Wilton. They come six to a pack for about a $1.50 at Walmart. These are being used for the game "Don't Say Baby", each guest will get a rattle and will be told not to say the word "baby" during the shower. If someone slips up and says it, the first person to catch the slip gets to confiscate that person's rattle. At the end of the shower, the guest with the most rattles will win a prize.


                                           DIAPER & WIPES RAFFLE

Some might say that it's tacky to request additional items for the baby shower being that the guests are already bringing a gift but I feel that I came up with a perfect solution to fit everyone's budget and a fun way to ask for them. I had my cousin's invitations custom printed and matched them up with  Mommy Cards (for those that don't know what they are, they are custom printed personal business cards that have the mom & child's name along with all of the contact information & can also include the child's pediatrician, dentist, & any allergies that the child may have and mom can hand these out to anyone caring for her child or to other parents during play dates) So anyways I used these as raffle tickets, they basically say: Baby Diapers & Wipes Raffle, bring a package of diapers OR wipes of any brand or size to be entered to win a prize and to bring the ticket with their name on it to the shower if they choose to participate. I found the little mailbox in Target for $1.00 but you could use any container of your choice. This is a great way to get diapers and wipes for the new parents, they can never have enough of these and it's also a great way for them to try out a variety of brands to know what will work best for their baby.


               BABY MAKING KITS



Lets face it, watching the mom to be open up gifts can get a little boring after a while so I came up with a game to play while the mama to be is opening her gifts. Each guest will be given a baby making kit and told that we are testing out their baby making skills and their babies will be judged by the mama to be when she is done opening up her gifts. Each kit contains enough home made play dough to make a baby out of, a tooth pick for sculpting, a small bottle or pacifier, and a cupcake liner to use as a bassinet, don't forget to have guests write their names on the bottom of the liner so when judging they will know who's baby it is. Prizes can be given for the cutest baby, the funniest baby, or the ugliest baby. I used small jewelry ziploc bags sold at Walmart in their craft section to put the play dough inside so that the play dough doesn't dry out, then I place everything inside a party treat bag and tied with a ribbon.

    play dough kit contents

  CLOTHESLINE DECORATION

These are some clothes, soft toys, bibs, and blankets that I picked up for a clothesline that will be hanging across the room as a decoration. All of the items double as gifts from me to the mama to be. I had also found burlap card hearts at Michael's which I used sparkly glue to spell out baby and attached adhesive buttons and tied on ribbon to attach it to the clothesline. I also found decorative clothespins to hang the items on the clothesline with.

                                      HOMEMADE PLAY DOUGH

This is homemade chocolate and fruit punch play dough that I made for the kid's table. I also bought small cookie cutters to use along with a tablecloth coloring book and crayons. My aunt is making small goody bags for each of the kids too. The idea is to keep the kids occupied and happy so the shower remains enjoyable for everyone.

                                 TISSUE PAPER FLOWERS OR POM POMS

These came about as decorations because the mom to be was put on bed rest and was climbing the walls and was in need of something to do. After researching the internet I found a tutorial on Youtube and made one, so I brought out tissue paper and baggy ties and showed my cousin how to make them to give her something to do.

                                               what it looks like hanging

                                        CHOCOLATE DIPPED OREO COOKIES

These are surprisingly simple and easy to make, just pick up some oreo cookies, sprinkles, and your favorite coating chocolate, I used candy making wafers that I bought on sale for a $1.50 at Joanne's. I just melted the chocolate and used a meat fork to dip them in the chocolate and then gently tapped off the excess chocolate in the bowl and slid them off onto waxed paper, then topped with sprinkles. After they dried I put them inside small treat bags and tied with a little ribbon. These will make cut favors but I am adding these to my dessert buffet.

                                                        CAKE POPS

I found a tutorial on youtube on how to make cake pops as I had never made them before. I just wrapped them in small treat bags and tied with ribbon.


                                                   CUPID'S CRUNCH

            Found this recipe on Pinterest, it's called Cupid's Crunch. It's very easy to make and so yummy. I will try to post the link later.


                                                        CHOCOLATE LOLLIPOPS

 I made chocolate lollipops using baby molds that I found at Hobby Lobby. These are easy and inexpensive to make and can be used as party favors.

                                           RUBBER DUCK BABY BATH PUNCH

I saw the cutest idea on Pinterest for a baby bath punch, the idea is to make the punch look like a baby's bath with rubber duckies floating on top, I found these sweet duckies at Target.
I will post the link along with a picture of it later. 

Play Dough Fun

HOMEMADE PLAY DOUGH

This has got to be one of my son's favorite activities to do and it's surprisingly easy and inexpensive to make using simple ingredients that you most likely have on hand already and is nothing like the store bought stuff, this is so much better and is much more easier to clean up. Be sure to include your little one's help in the process of  making it because you can  include a little math lesson in it, measuring, counting, and fractions, hey it's never too early to start teaching and they will have so much fun and feel so special to be able to help out with making it.

Kneading the dough helps build those little muscles in his hands.

Speaking of lessons, the learning possibilities are endless, improving fine motor skills, learning colors, shapes, letters, numbers, spelling and they get to use their wonderful imaginations, you will be amazed with what your child comes up with.

  My son loves for me to roll the dough into lots of balls then we
count them together as he places them inside the baggy.

                                       

Here we used alphabet shaped cookie cutters to spell out my son's name.
We also cut out the whole alphabet and sang the alphabet song.

                    
     You will first need to decide what kind of play dough to make, there are so many different recipes out there to choose from. Just google it or you can go with the basic no cook recipe that I have included below which I find to be the easiest and you may choose to leave it add color if you want by just using food coloring or you can make it a wonderful sensory experience by adding in Kool Aid, Jello, Cocoa, spices, or essential oils. We chose to add Kool Aid to ours.

                                        For the basic recipe you will need:

                            2 Cups of All Purpose Flour ( any brand will do)
                            1/2 Cup Salt
                            2 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar (do not leave this out, I bought 
                             mine from Target for $1.55 which is the cheapest I have found it)
                            2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
                            2 Cups Boiling Water
                            Optional add ins; food color ( I bought mine from the dollar store)    
                             small box of Jello, small packet of Kool Aid, 1/2 cup of cocoa 
                              powder, spices or essential oils of your choosing.

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, let it cool, then knead it until smooth. If you are allowing your child to help, it is best to mix it yourself first, then let it sit for a bit to cool before allowing your child near it to prevent them from getting burnt. Be sure to store in Ziploc baggies or airtight containers.

       Here we created a play dough kit, you can use things you already have around the house such as a rolling pin, cookie cutters, garlic press or whatever you want. I bought the rolling pin from target, the containers from an office supply store, and the cutters and press from my local craft store. This would also make a great home made gift.