Big Sister Party ~ Ideas

I think that is a GREAT idea and if you don't mind, I may steal it!! I am also due in June and have a 20 month old daughter.
I think that if you have all of her fave characters and cake and presents, you won't go wrong. The Big Sis T-shirt is wonderful as well. I am glad that I signed up for this site. Thank you. Sorry that I don't have any ideas for you!

Awww....that is such a GREAT idea!
I have ALWAYS made sure to bring the siblings a gift when I go to anyone's baby shower. So they don't feel left out you know?
I would ask everyone to address the gifts to the Big Sister, and let her open all the gifts and explain how she can help use each one with her new baby sister. Not sure how old she will be at the time of your shower, but an age appropriate explanation of course.
All I can say is Wow! What a great idea. Kudos to you mama.
Congratulations!

For future reference(your question was from 2008), why not go ahead & have a baby shower, but make it a "big sister" party too. Specify it on the invitation along w/her size & "gift ideas" section. Everyone usually includes where they're registered-include ideas for your little girl too(books,etc.)For my little girl who was 4 when her sibling came along, we had a cake for the baby & another cake for her. We gave her a "Big Sister" shirt,baby doll, baby doll supplies-like play diapers,a play bottle, a rattle,blanket,hat & booties for her new baby doll & diaper bag I made to match ours & a little stroller. People brought her books on becoming a big sister & other little fun things that were just for her(like princess dress-up shoes). When we talked about the baby shower in the planning stages, we always said "the big sister party". We let her pick the decorations at Party City & she helped put a lot of the decorations (w/assistance from Daddy of course). The guests that had girls her age or near her age were invited as well. We gave my little girl a crown party hat to wear & let her know that she is the special big sister. She seemed to have a lot of fun & smiled so big the whole party. When the baby actually arrives, have something at the hosiptal ready for her that "the baby picked out for her" or is "the baby's gift to(his/her) new big sister" & have your daughter do something as well(pick out an outfit or stuffed animal). Have little things ready to give to her along the way(stickers,coloring books,crayons, hair accessories, etc) as small gifts since a lot of your visitors will probably only be bringing things for the new baby & may cause some feelings of being left out. Hope this helps! Good luck!

We didn't do a big sister party but I read about them online while pregnant. It sounded like a good idea, but we were coming home from the hospital on Christmas Eve so had enough going on! What we did do that helped our two year old with the new baby was give her a baby doll at the hospital that she got to take home, she still carries it everywhere. We also gave her a "big sis" necklace that she hasn't taken off since! Several of my friends brought her small gifts in addition to baby gifts, both at my shower and after the baby was born, which helped her feel better about the attention (or lack of), and I let her pick out some gifts for the baby, both at the store and out of her toys that she doesn't play with anymore, which made her feel important and like she was part of the decision. She also carried an ultrasound picture around for days of "her baby". Good luck!

P.,

Your idea is beautiful and very conscious of the impact a new baby will have on Kaitlen. My only suggestion is that it would be even better to do it BEFORE your baby is born! Why?
1) The excitement of the new baby will be in full swing and Kaitlin will have already picked up on being "less important" by the time you are able to have a party for her.
2) You will be recovering from a birth--and there are never any guarantees that you will be energetic, or that the new baby will let you sleep, etc. Just the way it was impossible to understand what it would be like to give birth before you actually did it with Kaitlen, it is ALSO impossible to really realize what having the second one with an older child will mean. It takes a lot out of you at first!
3) If you have the Big Sister Party BEFORE the birth, you can incorporate more easily the idea of how very important she is, and the way the whole family circle is now going to "open up" for a whole new person. It's much easier than trying to help her with the concept after the fact.

With that said, I had a special "blessing way" (a Native American style ceremony) for my daughters, as well as one for myself, with each new pregnancy. Here are some of the things we did...
-I invited the women who have been important in my daughter's lives, as well as their father and one special friend their age.
-We each brought a special candle for my daughters, said something special about them that we wanted to wish them as they helped me give birth to their baby sister, and placed the candles in a large bowl of sand. The candles were lit during my labor, as a reminder for them of how important everyone thought they were.
-We each wrote something about what a great sister they would be in a tiny little book I got, and they got to keep the book in a special place.
-Small gifts were given.
-We walked them up some steps, to symbolize that they were moving to a new, higher place in the family.

I want to send my blessings to you and your family. With so much thoughtfulness, you must be a wonderful mom!

You are very wise to be aware of Kaitlen's feelings. Many times I have observed the sadness and confusion on the faces of the older children, when every one is making a fuss over the newest baby. By making the emphasis on Big Sister/our family ..... you reinforce the concept that ALL members of the family are special. And by bringing this out on Mamasource, you have reminded a lot of others about this. Good for you!

I don't have any advice but I just wanted to say that your plan sounds like a great one. I think it's sweet and I like that you've incorpurated your oldest into the party.

We had a family shower my current pregnancy. My kids are 9,12,15 and one on the way! The invitation was issued with each name and made clear that the family was expecting. While I didn't put it on, it was wonderful! There were games and all the usual shower stuff. There are alot of things out there designed for the big sib to "help" with the little one too. I found a sibling blanket once that has foam padding inside so you could swaddle the baby, fully supported, and your 17 mo old will be able to hold the baby herself. Good luck!

We had a big sister party when dd was age 5. I ran it similar to a birthday party but invited mostly family members and a few of her small friends that were already big sisters. I called it the "big sisters club." We had cake, she opened presents, we took lots of pics of the big sis and she wore a t-shirt that said that she was a big sis. I think she had a great time and for that one day, she was the center of attention.

this is the coolest idea ever!! way to go mom!

i would buy the invitations you can make yourself. i've seen them at hallmark and at target. that way you can convey whatever message you want. you could do the invitations with something like this...

come and celebrate with kaitlin as she gets ready to be "the big sister" to Alixe. we want kaitlin to know what a big girl she has become and we're preparing her for her new arrival.

please join us saturday, march 15 yada yada yada...

hopefully, your guests get the idea and maybe your family members can put the word out for you that is what you are doing. have fun!

I think this sounds like such a great idea. Good luck, I'm sure the big sister party will be wonderful.