How To Personalize a Baby Shower

Ruffles and lace or trucks and blocks? A Baby Shower is one of the most popular ways to congratulate the soon-to-be mother. Traditionally, Baby Showers have been a Sunday afternoon party. Of course, that will depend on the guest of honor! If this is a surprise shower, involve the future mom’s family to arrange her arrival. A successful shower should begin with a budget. There are several questions to guide your decisions here. How many people will be invited? What is the location? What will be the menu? And what is the theme? A guest list is a prime consideration, especially when determining a venue. Grandma’s tiny living room won’t be a suitable location if thirty people RSVP. If a large group is expected, check into renting a hotel conference room, a local hall or church basement, or a back room at a restaurant. Most restaurants will include the space at no charge with the understanding that they will provide the meal. If the shower is held in a home or facility that allows it, you can cut costs by asking friends to bring their favorite dish to share. Don’t forget to order a cake that reflects the shower theme too. So back to the age old question: pink or blue? If the mother-to-be knows the answer, you can select incidentals, such as place settings and decorations, in the proper color scheme. If the gender is still a mystery, personalize the color choice by using the mother’s favorites. Current shower themes include baby booties, zoo animals, a mother bird hovering over an empty nest, hatching eggs, and the old stand-by Mr. Stork. Select invitations that reflect the color pallet and image, and mail them about six weeks in advance of the shower. Baby shower favors should coordinate with the theme and may be a container filled with candy, a soap shaped like an egg, an egg timer for the kitchen, or a keepsake oval picture frame. Another trend is the resurgence of shower games. Plan on spending five to ten minutes for each and reward the winners with small wrapped prizes that they may select from a grab-bag. Assign two people to snap photos and another to maintain a list of gifts so the future mother can send thank you notes. In fact, it’s nice to include packages of thank you cards that coordinate with the invitations among her gifts. Before her due date, present the mother-to-be with a photograph album so she may remember the fun shared that day with her family and friends.