Making Baby Shower (For Baby #2) Special

I'm so happy you are helping to host. I hear so often about second pregnancies that don't have showers because "we already have so much from the first". Anyway, my favorite pastrychef in town is Pastrygirl. All custom and afordable. Her name is Laura Widener and she can be reached at ____@____.com. Wonderful stuff!

One of the most wonderful things from my shower was the "babysitter list" and the "I Love You list". Basically, I had two clipboards: one that said "I love babies, add me to the babysitter list". The other said "I'm not great with babies but I Love You and would be willing to help with other things". Each page has room for name, phone # & email. Now, when I need a babysitter, or some help around the house, or an adult to have coffee and conversation with I don't have to think too hard. I just go to the appropriate list. Its great way for people to give the gift of love and assistance, especially to a family who maybe already has a lot of baby stuff.

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Hi C.--
Something really special and unique you can do for your sister-in-law is to have a "blessingway" instead of a traditional shower. There are many different things that can be borrowed from this originally Native American tradition, but the essence of the blessingway is that you and your women friends and family create a strong circle of love and support for her (especially nice since it has been a difficult pregnancy.) It not only celebrates the baby-on-the-way, but celebrates the mother (and moms in general), pregnancy, and the birth process. My favorite part is everyone brings a bead of some kind and a story to share about motherhood, moms, etc. and everyone sits in a circle and has a great, heartfelt bonding session as a necklace is strung together (later on the necklace is a great symbolic piece to treasure and even focus on during labor). Dont know if this is up your alley at all, but it is very nice, and there are other things like doing belly hennas, massage, foot baths, etc. so it is very centered around the mom to be, but includes everyone too. At another friend's shower, she had done a belly cast prior to the shower, and everyone at the shower painted it together. Getting a bunch of onesies, bibs, socks, etc. and decorating them with fabric paint, stencils, etc. is really fun and different too, and then she has some one of a kind mementos for the baby! Hope you can use some of these ideas, and whatever you choose to do, hope it is a beautiful day for all and your sister-in-law has a great birth! Good luck!

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Hi C.,
I have given several baby showers over the last few years and have tried very hard not to duplicate any games. These are some of my favorites:
1. "Draw the baby" Everyone has a paperplate and pen/pencil/crayon. They need to put the plate on their head and you call out body parts (Head/hair/eyes/mouth/ears/body/nose - everything down to the toes). They try to draw the baby with the plate on their head. Have the mother-to-be pick the winner. (You'll be surprised at how good some turn out!)
2. "Playdough surprise" Give everyone a small container of playdough. They have 3 minutes to create something out of playdough that represents a baby (could be a diaper, pacifier, anything baby related).
3. "Baby Balloon" Blow up a balloon for each person attending. Inside each one (before you blow it up) put a baby name inside on a piece of paper. Make sure one of them has the name that the mother-to-be has selected. On the count of 3, everyone pops their balloon together by sitting on it. Whoever gets the "right" name, is the winner.

My sister-n-law is due in September so I am going to give her either a Tea party or a manicure party. Oriental Trading has some very inexpensive gifts for showers.

The frozen food idea is great. Just make sure everyone brings them in disposable dishes so you don't have to worry about giving the dish back. Friends did that for us and it really does help that first couple of weeks.

Have fun :)

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Sorry no great shower ideas but a special thank you idea that was given to me. With each thank you note a photo of the baby was dressed in what the person gave the baby or pictured with the gift. Very personal and was thrilled to see the baby wearing my gift.

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I hosted a baby shower and I did pretty good. I was not happy at all with how the cake turned out. I ordered it from a local bakery. I could have done better myself.
I think that you should make her a mommy corsage. I don't really know what they are called but when I was in high school, in the lower 48, we would order these for prom. They were made of large ribbon with small ribbons included to tie on things like footballs, if you were going to prom with a football player, etc. The top of it is like a bow. I have seen some cute plastic sleeping babies online and you can add immitation items like baby brush, rattle etc. You don't want to make it too heavy. You could probably find these in the toy section of your local supermarket or big chain store. It is pinned to her and she wears it all day.
I like playing bingo and there is a game that you ask questions about the mom on things that happened when she was little and you give a multiple choice for everyone to select from. Like what is ? nickname when she was a toddler? peanut, boo or chunky monkey. The guest that gets the most right, wins. Crosswords are fun and easy to make. I think you can make them online. You can also download some games for free online. If she is into scrapbooking, you can have everyone write in special wishes for her and baby so she can later put it in a scrapbook and have the memories last a lifetime.
I had a game where you fill in the missing word of a nursery rhyme. I know they are said sometimes different but it has to match your answer. That was a lot of fun. The older ladies really like this.
Good luck.

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If you are looking for a unique and affordable cake, I have a friend who bakes and decorates cakes. She is very artistic, and does an amazing job. She has done cakes for a few baby showers, you should take a look at her cake blog and see the kind of work she does. The blog address is: www.cakesbysummer.blogspot.com.
At my second baby shower the organizer purchased one of those picture frames with alot of matting around the picture, so people could sign it or write a note to mom or baby #2, it was really sweet.

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My girlfriend and sister-in-law threw me the best baby shower. One of the best things that my girlfriend did was she purchased a large pack of plain white baby socks and provided fabric markers so guests could decorate the socks. It was great fun dressing my daughter each day and picking socks that brought special memories of my closest girlfriends!

To add to the birthing necklace story, we did the same thing but also had everyone bring a candle to burn during labor and birth.

Providing tree seeds or seedlings as a favor is always a good idea. People can plant them when the baby is born. Also, it's a favor that will get some use instead of being placed in a drawer somewhere. Picking a tree native to your area is a good idea because it will not require as much work to care for it.

Also, I don't think it would be so bad to do the picture frame idea. You could talk ot her about it in advance and tell her how special it was for you. That way you are paying her a compliment and her friends get really great momentos!

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A fun idea is to take baby food jars and make your own lables. Example "C.'s Baby Shower April 3 2008."
Baby Gizzmo experiation date May 2, 2008. Ingredients Love, hugs, family, etc. Then cover the lid with fabric that will sort of match the new nursery and fill with jelly beans. My sister did this for me for my first and I stillhave the jar it really ment a lot. We didn't know what we were having so she filled the jar with pink and blue jelly beans and put on the lable 50% chance boy 50% chance girl. It was really cute.
Also a fun idea is to take a picture with eveyone and after take the photos and place in a book with a note from each guest. I had this done for my second and the notes were to my unborn child and what they could expect from their new family. Some were very sweet and made me cry others were very funny.
Good luck

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Here are some ideas: with the invitations, send out a cute little blank card for each person to write something that is helpful to a new mom, either a memorable mothering moment (funny or touching), a bit of advise, a favorite scripture, or whatever. Encourage each person to be creative, they can even attach a photo. Then you can collect them at the shower and put them in a nice little album. Also, encourage each person to bring a homemade frozen meal. Our church always has people provide meals for new mothers for the first week, but it usually takes much longer that the first week to get back into the groove of life. It is so nice to have homemade soups and casseroles that can be defrosted and baked. Disposable pans make it even even better!!

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i have done several babyshowers where you take the photo of guests with the mom while they are there. then each guest gets, what we in the scrapbooking business call a journaling box. it is a small,pre-decorated, lined piece of paper. each guest writes a note to the baby about one of a couple things. ideas: how they met her mom, 2)why she-baby is so lucky to have a mom like... 3)their favorite story about her mom to be read later 4)parenting tips etc. then, in a small scrapbook, the photo of the mom and guest is adhered to the page with the journaling box of good tidings. it is a TREASURE and always well received! you can call me ###-###-#### or email me off-line ____@____.com if you wanna chat more details or have questions. i like heather's idea too!

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I just helped with the games at my sis-in-laws baby shower a few months ago and we did trivia games. Some of the questions were like "what were all six names of the brady bunch kids? What's the kids names from the 80's show family ties?" I would print all of the questions and fill in the blanks on a piece a paper and everyone has to fill them out the best to their knowledge in a certain amount of time. Another thing we did were predictions: What time will she have baby? Hair color? Eye color? length? and advice on a piece of paper for guests to fill out and then put it in a sealed envelope. I took it to the hospital after my sis-in-law had her son. It gives them something to read during the time in hospital. Good luck

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I have a great receipe for Melt a way cookies, and the frosting for the cookies..you can dye them pink for a girl. They are extremely devilish cookies. If you want the receipe just let me know.
One of the neatest things I saw at a Birthday Party, but I think you could use it for this.
Each person went around the room and said something really nice about the person who is having the special day! How great a mother she would be ...just encouraging things.
Someone could right them down so she could have them whenever she needs extra encouragement...Just an idea
Good Luck!
S.

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I just went to a baby shower for #2 for a friend. They did the cutest thing. When people arrived they were asked to cut a piece of ribbon to what ever length they wanted, without knowing what it was for. Then we all sat around and each person had to wind the ribbon around their finger and each time they winded they had to tell us somethign about themselves. So - I had about 10 inches of ribbon so I said my name is C., I have a 3-year old, I have two dogs, etc. etc. until my string was completely wound up. It was so fun! We got to know a lot about each other and those who had really long ribbons got pretty creative about what they shared!
Extra nice, mailed invitations are always nice too. Paprys has beautiful invitations that can be printed on your computer printer so you can customize them.
You could also make a diaper cake. If you want the 'recipe' let me know and I'll send it along. These are always a hit. :)Good luck!

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I had the CUTEST and most delicious cake at my baby shower back in August. Family and friends are still talking about the adorable baby shaped cake from Celebrity Cake Studio of Tacoma (located right by Tacoma Dome). The flavor was a pink champagne and was a huge hit. So much so, that my sister requested it for her shower this past February. The cake cost about $60 was once again a hit! When ordering the cake, I found the staff extremely helpful and creative in making the cake uniquely my sisters and not just 'the same cake'. Good luck and have fun becoming an Auntie once again!

http://www.celebritycakestudio.com/soc_baby.shtml

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I hosted a shower for a friend once and I really enjoyed the following games:
1) "The Price is Right" --where you buy 6-7 baby items like one package of wipes, diapers, pacifier, etc. and take the price tags off and put them on a table. Then people come by and try to guess the price of the items without going over. The one closest to the total price of all the items wins a little gift. Also at the end, you give all the items to the mother as a gift.
2) "Name That Tune"--where I played familiar and not so familiar children's songs on the piano (the main melody line) and all the ladies had to guess the title of the song I was playing. The person with the most correct answers wins.

Another thing I am doing for my friend for her shower coming up is to have a Mexican theme for the food because she LOVES Mexican food. You could do the same for your friend by finding out her favorite and having people bring side dishes related to that theme.

Hope that helps!

H.

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hey there. a cool thing that we did at my celebration (it was more of a blessing way), was have everyone bring a special bead with them. when the time comes, have everyone stand in a circle, have a thread ready to go, and pass the thread around, making a necklace. but as the guests thread their bead, they make a blessing or wish for baby and mama, either to themselves or aloud. it is very emotional and special. i wore mine during my birth and thought of all the people who loved me and my baby at those real hard parts of labor. now it sits around my buddha's neck. i show my daughter the different beads, about the people who gave them to me, and about her birth. anyways, i loved it. much luck~ S.

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Hi C.,
A friend gave a shower for me a couple years ago and had a friend of hers make a special cake. It looked like it had grass on it that was made out of chocolate I think. Anyway it was pretty special. Also she gave me a scrapbook for the baby and let each of of the guests decorate a page with encouraging words and stuff. You could have all the guest write their address on envelopes for thank you cards. This will make things easier for your SIL and the guests will enjoy getting a thank you card in the future. (not that she wouldn't take care of it anyway, but it is a busy time for a new mom) Another nice thing to do for your SIL is to make a nice list of what everyone gave. It will make thank you notes easier and will be a nice keep sake.
Women like getting little presents. You could find some cheap but nice little favors, such as candles, candy, etc. from the dollar store and wrap them in tissue paper and ribbon. You could use them as prizes, or just give one to every one who comes as a nice thank you. Sometimes games can get quite competitive and some people may feel sad if they weren't able to "win" anything. I would maybe just give them as a gift and have fun with the games with no prizes, or make it something funny like a little candy, on top of everyone getting a little gift.

Hope this helps

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Corvilla:
There is a WONDERFUL bakery in Silverlake (Everett) called L'Artisan French bakery. My friend and her busband own it. Her husband is from France and is the guy who bakes all the wonderful breads, pastries and cakes. Check them out, the website is: http://www.lartisanfrenchbakery.com/

A special favor my sister and sister-in-law made for my wedding shower were cookies- they personalized it with our names.

Games-
1. the different chocolate candies melted in diapers and you have to look and smell and guess the candy bar.
2. how many toilet paper squares it takes to go around the mother's belly.
3. Make a diaper cake and place it on the table as a center piece, when it's time for games, remove the diaper cake and ask the guests to write down the items on the diaper cake. Then the mother gets to take the diaper cake home as a gift :)

Hope these help and if you choose not to go with the bakery I suggested, you need to go there some day and try their delicious pastries, etc! You'll be hooked!

Good luck,
Steph

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Sweet Concentration or Candy Concentration is always a fun baby game. You can find variations online...everyone has to guess what the answer is to the clue...only the answer has to be a candy bar. Example:

Clue - What you hope your doctor does not have.
Answer - Butterfingers!

Clue - The hospital bill.
Answer - 100,000 bar!

Clue - Sex life after baby.
Answer - Zero!

You can find more of these by doing a google search for "sweet concentration baby shower game" or something along those lines.

We did it with a large board, put answers on covered up by clues. Someone played "Vanna" and asked the questions and turned over the answers. When the correct answer was shouted out, we tossed the actual candy bar as a prize to the winner.

If the crowd is open-minded, they will be howling by the time it's over. Very very fun!

I just had a baby shower for my friends daughter. One new thing that we did was to hang a clothesline (ribbon)or two lines with one a little lower, across the fireplace and have little baby clothespins on it. When a gift of clothes was opened, I hung the outfits on the clothes line so that everyone could see them. It was really cute!

Get a photo of her when she looked the best during this pregnancy, if you can find one and enlarge it. Have the guests all sign it and put little quotes or sayings around the edge of the photo. You could also present her with a "coupon book" with special services from you and all the guests that can be fulfilled after the baby is born to help her out. I hope this gives you some ideas! H., mom to Ethan(4) and Emma(3).

This is a great game/activity for a shower. I have a couple very cute animals in my stock, visit www.FunPartyForKids.com to choose your animal. Order the animal un-stuffed and it will come with everything you need to stuff the animal and the instructions.

At the party pass out a small peice of paper to each guest and a pen/pencil. Place an open ziploc bag inside animal. have everyone write a wish or prayer for the new baby and place it in the baggie. Be sure to have them tell the mommy what they wrote. Seal the bag and have the mommy stff the animal and make a wish on the star and seal the animal per the easy to follow instructions. Now Baby had a very special animal fulled with all the love, wishes and prayers of all those that mommy holds dear.

When my husband and I had our baby shower (it was co-ed) Our friend came up with a couple different games. When you first got there you got a set amount of monopoly money, and a couple of baby like clips. The big game 'don't say baby' and some one takes your clip...but at the end of the night who ever had the most clips, got more money. Playing the different game (Like guessing the melted candy bars in the diapers) who ever won got more money. and so on and so forth. Well at the very end of the night we had an auction. She had stuff from the doller store, a candle, stuff that met something for her and i, in paper bags. Everyone who was there (or couples) bid on the different bags. It was the highlight of the night. Family and friends bidding against each other, it was a sight! I hope this helps with planning the babyshower and I hope you all have a blast!

My favorite cake (its a bit pricey but really special) is called a champagne cake and its made by Bittersweet Bakery on the south hill. Its not decorated in any fancy way (though they could probably do that) but boy is it yummy!

One of the gals who did my shower had cloth diapers and premanent markers. She had the guests draw designs on the diapers that we then used as burp clothes. It was fun and we really enjoyed having them.

I'm sure she will appreciate whatever you can do!

I've heard of Mama pamper showers, where guests each pamper the new mama with different gifts (massage, hair do, bring a meal, share a favorite product, read a poem), and focus on how special it is to be a mother. In our church, we give showers for every baby born, because they are all just as special, whether 1st or 10th. Seek the needs of the new mom and strive to fulfill them. She may need a good nights sleep over a new onesie, so getting her a body pillow may be a more appropriate gift. Know what I mean? It's wonderful she has such a thoughtful sister-in-law.

I recently attended two baby showers for some friends. At one shower they had double sided scrap book paper cut into a 3 inch flower. Over the top, they had a little smaller flower glued on. Everyone was given a flower to write a little 'welcome to the world' comment. It was then put on a piece of ribbon and Mom was going to take it to the hospital to have when the baby was born. What a wonderful keepsake!

The second shower was pretty fun and the hostess had a frame and mat with room for an 8 x10 picture. Everyone signed the mat with best wishes for Mom, Dad and baby. Then the hostess took a picture of my friend looking about as PG as you can get with all of us around here. Another great memory.

Have fun! V.

For my baby shower, my cousin bought a bunch of white onsies and some fabric paint, and instead of a game, she had the guests make personalized onsies for my little one. They were a real blessing to me, and everyone had a lot of fun.

I made homeopathic type stuff for baby shower gifts once. Made rice and spice packs to be warmed up in the microwave as a heating pad, made flax seed and lavender eye pillows, and bought cute little bottles from pier one I think and put bubble bath it them and lotion in another. Just an idea... Good luck

I help people host fun baby showers where everyone makes scrapbook pages for the new mom. I only charge for my supplies and I don't do any selling while I am there. It's all focused on the mom. I did one for a second baby where we made pages for the first baby's book as well. It's always a really fun time! Let me know if you want to know more.

L.

A friend of mine recently went to a baby shower and the hostesses gave her a great gift. I'm hoping I can use the idea someday. They bought plain white onesies in a variety of sizes and ironed on pictures found online. I think they bought the paper used to iron on the pictures at an arts and crafts store. She showed me the onesies and they were too cute! At the shower they had them hanging on clothes lines with clothes pins so everyone could see them. It's an inexpensive and very creative and practical gift. Hope this helps.

Hi! I just co-hosted a shower for my best friend who is pregnant with her second child. One idea that we had which everyone raved about was to take a clothesline and string it across one wall and hang baby clothes from it which the mother will get to take home with her. We also did M & M's that were inscribed with the baby's name and due date (scheduled c-section) and put them in organza bags with silver footprints on them (Michaels). We also got the father of the child involved and had him order her favorite flowers in a vase that was blue since the baby is a boy. One of the games that we palyed was a game that the guests had to guess what trait or characteristic that the mother would want the child to have. I.E.--mom's eye color or dad's dispostion. I hope that this helps.

Ask all the guests to write something nice about her, what a great mom she is, just nice stuff about her. Provide some nice stationary or some nice paper, so it all matches. Put the paper together in a little book for her to keep. She will always apreciate that book for the rest of her life!

You could buy a cute frame and mat, and have everyone that attends the shower write a blessing for the new baby or even just write her name on it. It might be cool to have the baby's name written by everyone, but everyone's handwriting would be different.
A fun game that we had at my 2nd shower was where there was a bag of baby goodies from Target (could be any store) and the guests were asked to guess the prices. The person that guessed closest to the actual amount won. (Then I got all of the goodies!) Things like pacifier, onsie, socks, bubble bath, wipes, diaper cream, teething ring etc.

Have fun and just know that your gift of a shower for her is a blessing.

you could give all the guests a small pot with a bulb in it - a symbol of new life =) maybe even have the guests help decorate a big one for the mom-to-be. she could keep it forever!

i found some funny baby shower mad libs online too.