March 16th, 2010
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Planning |
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There are many baby shower party ideas that can make it fun. It is a celebration and it is meant to be fun. Playing games at the shower can not only be fun but memorable as well. To make sure the games are fun, they should be properly planned. Before playing any games, it is a good idea to have an ice breaker game if there are a lot of people that do not know each other. One way is to go around the room and have people introduce themselves on how they know the soon to be mommy.
One fun game is guess mom’s belly size. Have each guest take a piece of yarn and cut it at the length they think the belly is all the way around. When everyone cuts their yarn, compare the strings to the actual belly. Give a prize to the person who is the closest.
Another fun game is to never say baby the entire day. Make a necklace with yarn and baby safety pins attached to it. Give each person a necklace as they walk into the shower. Each of the guests should wear the necklace the entire baby shower, as this game will last the entire time. The rules for this game are explained as guests walk into the shower. When the word baby is said, anyone who calls it out gets a pin from the other person who said the word. Before guests leave, pin will be counted, and the person with the most pins wins.
An easy and fun game is to make a centerpiece full of baby safety pins and have each person guess how many pins are in the jar. That person wins the centerpiece.
Baby Bingo is also a classic and fun game for everyone. The bingo cards need to be made ahead of time. Make bingo cards with the numbers one through 15 on them. When the mommy to be opens a gift, she reads off the number that has been attached to it. Eventually someone will yell bingo and win a prize.
One last game that really involves everyone personally is to play a game in which people guess baby pictures. Ask everyone on the invitation to bring a picture to the baby shower. As guest walk in, put them on a collage. When there is time, have everyone fill out who they think is who. Whoever guesses the most right wins!
These are just some baby shower party ideas. It would be too much to do all of them, but a few are some great ice breakers and fun to get the rest of the people involved. Even though this day is about the mom to be, guests should still be involved and have fun with each other and win some prizes. Prizes can be simple things like a body of lotion from a nice store, a $10 gift card to a popular restaurant, or make the centerpiece of the table a prize for one of the games as well. This is a great way to say thank you to all guests for coming!
March 16th, 2010
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Games |
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Baby shower games are an excellent way to break the ice and help people interact with one another. This is especially important if many of the people at the shower don’t already know one another. Using games as ice breakers can really liven up the baby shower. There are a number of simple, easy to set up games that work well to get people talking and laughing with each other. Listed below are some examples of baby shower games that don’t take a lot of time to organize or play, but work very well to get people talking together.
Singing To My Baby: To play the basic game just pass out pens and paper to all the guests. Give everyone five minutes to write down all of the songs that have the word “baby” in the title. The person with the most songs is the winner. You can also give the prize to whoever has the most unique song titles. Each person reads off their song titles and anyone else who has the same songs on their lists scratches them off. This version of the game is longer and gets people talking, so it works well as an ice breaker when you have a lot of guests who don’t know each other.
Pin the Baby on Mommy’s Tummy: This works like Pin the Tale on the Donkey. You will need a large, poster sized picture or drawing of a woman. Make small cutouts of baby shapes and give one to each of the guests. Have them write their names on the cutouts. Each person will attempt to place their baby on the mommy’s tummy while blindfolded. The person who gets closest to the tummy wins. This game can also be played as Pin the Diaper on Daddy. Use a picture of a man and cutouts of diapers. Whoever get the diaper closest to daddy’s hand wins the game.
Your Timing is Perfect: If you need a game of pure chance, this works well. All you need is a timer and some inexpensive prizes. As the mother-to-be is opening her gifts, set the timer for a random time – five to seven minutes works well. The winner is the person whose gift is being opened when the timer goes off.
Baby Charades: This is just like classic charades but all of the songs, books or movies being guessed have the word baby in the title.
Baby Word Scramble: Think of some words that have to do with baby. Use some shorter words and some longer words. Scramble the letters in each word. Give each guest a copy of the list and ask them to unscramble the letters. The first person to unscramble all the words correctly wins the prize.
Baby Alphabet: Write the alphabet vertically on a piece of paper. Give a copy to each of the participants. Set a time for two to five minutes and have everyone write down one baby related word for each letter of the alphabet. At the end of the game, whoever has the most words is the winner.
March 16th, 2010
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Invitations |
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For those planning a baby shower for a friend, one of the more difficult aspects of planning is in choosing and sending the baby shower invitations. Some find that there are too many options in terms of styles and colors and become overwhelmed. Others wonder how to navigate the etiquette concerns that come with drafting and sending formal invitations. When planning your first shower, there are a few things that one should remember that will make the creating and sending the baby shower invitations far easier.
Choose the shower theme first, and find invitations that highlight this theme. There is no need to get too involved in complicated shower themes. Some showers are patterned after high tea services, while others are more informal get togethers. Make sure that the invitations reflect the mood of the party. If it will be an informal occasion, do not send out ornate engraved invitations. For more formal afternoon parties that will require a certain mode of dress, choose invitations in a more formal style to convey that to the guests. Planners should also include any notes on dress code at the bottom of the invitation. This will make it easier for attendees to plan for their appearance.
Showers are not thrown by the mother to be, nor are they generally thrown by a member of her family. Traditionally, baby showers are meant to be thrown by friends of the expectant mother and not someone to whom she is related. If upholding this tradition is important to you, find a friend who is willing to take on the responsibility of sending and addressing the invitations, as well as updating the guest list. Some people do find this tradition a bit antiquated, but sticking to it does not mean that the soon to be mother cannot be a part of the planning process.
Give guests plenty of time to respond. There is no need to send invitations out a few months early, but many guest appreciate being given at least a month to clear their calendars and make arrangements for their attendance. When addressing the invitations, make sure that you are including the name of everyone within the household who will be invited. This can avoid the confusion that comes with not knowing if it is an adults only occasion or one that will include children. It can also be the best way to get a true idea of the number of people who will be in attendance.
Do not email the invitations. While more and more people are using email as their primary means of communication, mailed baby shower invitations should still be sent if at all possible. There is no need to go to great expense to have invitations printed. There are now software programs that enable the printing of professional looking invitations from home, as well as many low cost template invitations that can be personalized by hand. Mailing invitations is a lovely touch that is always appreciated, and makes any occasion feel that much more special.