There are no rules to holding a modern day baby shower – it can be for any babe (your first or fourth!), you can hold it yourself or your friends can organise it for you, you can invite guys and babies and not just single girl friends!!
Baby showers make a great celebration of your pregnancy and allow you to catch up with friends before you have the baby and life becomes busy for a bit. We recommend having your baby shower when you are between 6 and 8 months – once you have a tummy to celebrate and before you get too tired!!
Hold a themed baby shower to help you get what you need. People like to help out (even if they can only contribute a small amount) and they like it when you can be specific about what you need so try these ideas:
*cloth nappy theme – ask everyone to contribute towards a bulk pack of cloth nappies or give them the brand you are buying so they can all buy one or two nappies each – this will build up your collection!
*registry – many online baby stores will do a registry so you can get the bottles, wraps, etc you need
*a linen party – ask people for blankets, wraps, sheets etc. Be sure to say if you only want natural bedding like wool, cotton, bamboo etc and even offer some websites/shops that sell these.
ON THIS PAGE:
Planning your baby shower – basics and checklists so you dont miss a thing!
A Green Eco-Friendly Baby Shower – taking the natural approach to your celebration
Planning your baby shower:
We have loads of ideas and websites below, but here is your checklist for a hassle-free baby shower!
Set a date and time. Think about the guests you want to come, and whether they work or have babies. Weekend afternoon teas work well!
Choose a venue. Think about the size of group you are expecting and whether you can cater for drinks, toilets, food, seating and games.
Clear it with the mum-to-be if you are planning the shower for her!
Send out invites. Print your own, buy ready-printed of the internet (see below) (not too many shops have them) or have a local printer make some. Allow at least 3 weeks notice for maximum attendance!
Plan the food. Choose food that is easy to prepare, easy to eat and easy to clean up after! See below for ideas!
Plan the games – use the MummyandTummy game guide!
Plan some decorations or party favours.
The weeks before. Gather decorations, gifts, prizes, etc
The day before. Using your RSVP list, buy the food and anything else you need. Bake if you need to. Charge the camera batteries and empty the memory card.
On the day: Ice cakes, set up food platters, decorate the table etc, lay out the games. Welcome guests, play games, take photos and have fun!!
Invites:
Include the date, time and location, and a contact number for RSVPs. Be sure to write the theme and include any details of a gift registery if you have one.
Use a word processing programme and some clip-art to create your own invites. Search the internet for ideas!
Try Trade Me and party favour websites for baby shower invites that are already pre-printed.
www.babyshower.co.nz for pre-printed invites and games
www.vistaprint.co.nz will print for you
www.b-net.co.nz is a one-stop information website for creating the best baby shower!
www.poppyseed.co.nz – georgous range of party items, may be able to adapt invites to suit your theme?
Google poems to use on your invite!
Food:
Food should be simple because the whole idea is to relax! Choose items that are tiny to reflect the theme, and preferably can be made a day ahead (or even earlier and then frozen).
Suggestions: fruit platter, mini muffins, tiny bite-sized biscuits, tiny pikelets with cream, sandwiches cut small, cake cut small and iced, iced cupcakes, chip and dip platters. Think about the recommended foods to avoid (like soft cheeses and processed meats).
Drinks – make a large (non-alcoholic!) bowl of punch, or have bottle of juice, lemonade, coke and tea/coffee and keep it simple!
Decorations:
*Fasten a length of string across the top of the room, and hang the new baby clothes across it – very simple but very effective!
*Make a flag banner from fabric
*Hang bunches of balloons in the corners of the room, or fill the floor with balloons for a very dreamy feel – pink, blue and green!
*A large noticeboard or cardboard pinned to the wall. Place strips of double-sided tape and get guests to put up their own baby pics – you can use this for a game (below)
*Other game charts as per below could be enlarged onto coloured paper and hanging these will also create decorations
*traditional banners and streamers
Party Favours:
You can buy these online (international shipping is available from tinyprints.com and www.beau-coup.com, or some party websites in NZ have them (see above). Try www.organicbaby.co.nz for an eco-flavour or make your own!
*Pot a tiny plant in a little pot for each guest
*Pack a little bag with jelly beans or pebbles in blue, pink or green (or all three!) bags
Games:
*Spoon jarred baby food into bowls. Place a numbered sticker on the bottom of each bowl and a corresponding one onto each jar (then hide the jars!). The idea is to taste the food and guess what it is!!
*Melt various chocolate bars (banana-flavoured ones, pink marshmallow, nutty ones etc) and spoon into different nappies. Guess the flavour (putting them in the nappy, to look like a BM, makes it very distracting!)
*Hand around a ball of string and ask everyone to cut the length that will fit around the mum-to-be’s belly. Closest wins!
*have everyone bring a baby photo of themselves and stick to a noticeboard (in secret!). The game is for everyone to try and match the baby photo to the guest!
*Print out our Baby Shower Games guide (email us for details) including date and gender betting, Pin the Baby to the Belly and more!
Gifts:
Many online baby stores have gift registrys. Otherwise you could indicate a theme on your invite, which may help prompt useful gifts ideas (such as cloth nappies, sleeping bags/wraps/pjs etc, cotton theme, bath theme, book theme etc).
You may like to have a notebook handy so a friend can record the gifts you receive (and who from!) so you can send out invites later!!
More:
Create a baby shower keepsake.
If you have a pregnancy journal, use this, or you can buy a nice notebook from stationary stores to record gifts, gifts, store photos etc. Have all your guests write messages in your book – dreams for baby, wishes for you, any thoughts or good advice etc.
Use scraps of material (or cheap simple white baby singlets) and use fabric paint or pens. Have each guest decorate a piece, you can sew these together into a blanket or flag.
Set up a home portrait studio and have friends take photos of your belly, you and your friends etc for some good laughs and neat photos!!
MummyandTummy says:
There are no rules, so make your baby shower a fun and relaxed time to celebrate your pregnancy with your friends and family!
The Green and Eco-Friendly Baby Shower!
We’ve had a baby shower with each of our babies, not in the traditional sense of ‘showering’ us with items to prepare for the baby, but more as a celebration of our pregnancy and to catch up with friends and family before the baby comes and chaos with it!
For me, it wasn’t until I had my first child that I began to feel strongly about chemicals and other nasties in our air, skin and food. All of a sudden, this pure and innocent baby was being subjected to the dirty world we were creating and I wasn’t proud or happy of that! So began my natural journey!
You can imagine how two and half years later, and pregnant with my third baby, how things were changing in our household. Admittedly I wasn’t as eco or organic as I would have liked, being somewhat tired, and on limited time and money with two babies. But we were taking steps forward every month, and Im proud of how far we have come.
Planning the baby shower with number 3 had to be different. The idea of an eco-friendly baby shower came with loads of ideas from the net, and adapting some of the natural and recycling ways we had adopted in our home. I also wanted a scrapbooking afternoon, so we combined the two (but that’s a whole new story!).
To start with, I created a hard-copy invite using recycled paper scraps and stamps, and then scanned it into our computer. I used a word processing programme to create a digital version, which was then emailed to all our friends and family (except a small handful who got the hardcopy versions, like grandparents!).
Then I bought some little peat pots, which are made from recycled materials, filled them with potting mix, and planted heaps of little seeds. I bought organic tomatoes from organicbaby.co.nz, which sprouted in just over a week, but the concept of the little seedling representing new life would work with other seeds.
The easiest way to cater for family and friends is to have a pot-luck meal! This spreads the cost and gives loads of variety and everyone is usually more than happy to bring a plate to share. We supplied the meat and a basic salad, and our guests bought another dish to complement it. I always buy extras such as breads and drinks, which can be frozen and stored, for several weeks in advance to spread the cost. We buy much of our produce local (our homegrown lettuce wasn’t quite ready!), if you’re planning your baby shower, look for locally grown and organic food and drinks.
When the girls arrived, each place setting had the little pot holding the now grown seedlings, and a white envelope. It was a way of giving to our guests in return for the support and gifts they have given us. The envelopes were the Organic Baby sample pack, filled with vouchers, samples and more, for eco living and organic beauty – and they went down a treat!!! See below on how to order yours!
We used our cutlery and crockery, and extra plastic plates, and the whole lot was put in the dishwasher. I love entertaining, and I have used the same plastic plates for every event this year (over half a dozen!) simply by washing in the dishwasher when we are done!! They are left for a day to dry, then put away for next time! Very cheap and easy! We also have cloth napkins as an alternative to paper serviettes.
At the end of the day, we had just half a small bag of rubbish, a plate of food scraps for the pigs or dogs, one extra load for the dishwasher and lots of smiles and laughs! Hows that for eco-friendly!
Here are some more ideas for your eco-friendly baby shower:
v Create a banner! This is a fabulous way to decorate for your event, cheaper than balloons, and create a keepsake for your baby in years to come! Use recycled material scraps. Once the baby is born, add their name and you can hang as a decoration for each coming birthday!
v Ask your guests for specific items if they offer a gift, so you get the gear you need rather than ten packets of baby wipes! If you’re brave and your friends and family wont be offended, ask for money (any small amount!) to put towards the cost of a bigger item like the cot or a set of modern cloth nappies.
v Have conversations with your friends and family and tell them you are opting for natural cotton, wool or merino clothing and bedding (organic where possible). Hopefully they wont give you polyester baby clothes!!!
v Pot a tree (or a branch!). Have your guests suggest baby names onto recycled paper scraps and hang onto the tree! Or, call it a ‘money tree’ and supply your guests with envelopes if you are expecting/asking for monetary donations.
v Tell your guests you are going for the eco-theme so they opt for recycled wrapping etc and know what to expect (there are still wary and unconverted people out there!!).
v Place a range of baby items on a tray and let the guests see this for one minute, before covering up and having your friends write down the items they remember!
v Use a teddy bear and have guests put a cloth nappy on the bear in record time! (This one is hilarious if there are men around!)
v Have your guests bring a baby photo of themselves, then have everyone match the photo to the guest!
v For party favors, grab an Organic Baby sample pack for each guest, or give potted little vegetable seedlings. Boxed soaps (like ecostore’s fab range) are also a nice touch!
v For prizes, give gifts such as natural soaps, extra plant seedlings or a small bag of homebaking!
v See www.mummyandtummy.co.nz for more ideas and to get a printable PDF file of baby shower games!
The whole morning was a great success and everyone enjoyed themselves. Its so great to catch up with friends before the baby comes, and to show that we’re living healthy and naturally (rather than just talking about it!). It was a wonderful way to celebrate the new life that we are expecting soon!!!
Where we got it:
Organic Baby sample pack – www.organicbaby.co.nz
Recycled peat pots – The Warehouse, nationwide, or check out your local garden centre.
Tomato seedlings – www.organicbaby.co.nz or www.ecoseeds.co.nz
Baby shower games – www.mummyandtummy.co.nz
Ecostore soaps – www.ecostore.co.nz (or www.organicbaby.co.nz or available in supermarkets nationwide)
Modern Cloth Nappies – we got ours from www.realnappies.co.nz but check out http://www.thenappynetwork.org.nz/ or www.organicbaby.co.nz for more suppliers.
