One of my favorite parties to host and design is a baby shower. There are so many options for themes and we’ve come a long way in the past five years when it comes to baby shower decor – do you remember those tissue paper storks and tootsie roll “poop” diaper games?! Many first time moms are older and as such, baby showers have become more sophisticated.
Many showers today reflect the mom-to-be’s personality instead of being so ‘baby’ focused. After all, the party IS for grown ups! With that in mind, there are still some cute little touches you can add to the shower’s decor to bring in that ‘baby’ element without getting too cutesy. Here are 6 of my favorite ‘baby’ touches.
1. Spell “Baby”
One of the best ways to add decor to a baby shower, or any party, is to add a hanging banner or swag. These are so versatile and can be placed behind a food table, over a doorway, or along the front of a table. By using lightweight wood letters to spell out the word “baby,” you get a decorative piece that is related to the shower, but can be painted or embellished for your specific color scheme or theme. Another great alternative is to use free standing wooden letters and place them on the table. Again, these can be painted to match your colors.
2. Wire Forms
A really fun decorative piece to invest in is the pregnant wire form. The traditional form gets a whimsical twist with it’s full belly, and these are great to place on tables as a centerpiece or to use on a gift table or food table. There are a couple of sizes available, and you can add ribbon around the belly to match your colors.
3. Diaper Pins
I love to turn functional items into decorative items, and diaper pins are a fantastic tool for this. Their cute design is perfect for pinning napkins to look like diapers, or for pinning on to a strip of ribbon wrapped around a napkin.
4. Baby Bottles
Baby bottles are another ‘useful’ decorative item. They make terrific vases for flowers! All you need to do is fill with water, snip the nipple and add a single flower stem. They look great lined up in the center of the table en mass.
5. Baby Food Jars
I love the distinct shape of baby food jars, especially since they can be recycled and used in an endless number of ways. I like to use them for baby showers by serving dessert parfaits inside. They are the perfect single size portion and the wide mouth opening makes it easy to work with. Just add any combination of cake or brownie with cream or icing and you have a parfait. If you want to add an extra layer of fruit or crunchy topping (like toffee or crumbled cookies) that’s great too. Top with whipped cream and use baby blocks to spell out a word and you have a super cute dessert presentation. Other uses for baby food jars are mini flower vases or favor containers to hold small candies.
6. Baby Name Game
Shower games can be controversial. Some people hate them, some people love them. I like to keep them simple with nothing that is embarrassing or gross. Pop culture is so prevalent these days and makes for a great starting point to a baby shower activity. My favorite?…The Baby Name Game. This activity lets guests match up the celebrity parent with their child’s name. Of course part of the fun here is that the baby names are pretty unique so they’re sure to invoke a giggle (or gasp) here and there. Some are easy and some are hard, but whoever gets the most correct matches wins a prize.
You can use the list above and print as is or have it printed on coordinating card stock to match your theme. Below, is the key with all the answers you’ll need to pick the winner.
These are my top 6 ways to add ‘baby’ touches to a baby shower. For more themes or to see all these parties in full, check out our baby shower section on Celebrations At Home.
