1). Work with a theme
My friend's nursery theme was purple and stars, so we used that throughout the shower decorations, invitations, and more. It was a simple, basic idea that was fun to incorporate into various elements of the shower.
2). Decorate with items from your house, or with items that can be used in the baby's nursery later
For instance, I painted these wooden stars and hung them on ribbon to decorate my door. My friend Em took them home and hung them in her baby's room.
Another friend made a starry mobile that we hung from the chandelier over the food table--another decoration that was later put in the baby's nursery!
On a side table I used a bowl of shower favors (purple and pink star-shaped lollipops) for decoration, with a baby quilt of my daughter's underneath it that coordinated perfectly!
3). Divide the workload!
I hosted the shower at my home, and as such handled a lot of the shower items. BUT I was able to reduce my stress and workload by asking many friends for help. I had a friend who made the mobile that decorated the dining room, others who made food items and donated their serving trays/dishes for the food, a friend who provided the party favors, and yet another lady made name tags for the group. It made for a beautiful, fun shower that I didn't have to slave over!
4). Use nametags if the ladies will not know each other. Sometimes everyone knows everyone at a baby shower. At other times, the shower is a combination of multiple groups of people. In either case, having attendees wear cute, shower themed name tags cuts back on the stress of remembering everyone's name!
5). Try to take a group picture. If you have time and ability, it is great to get a picture of the honoree with each attendee, but sometimes that is impossible. If nothing else, aim for a group shot that can be a 'record' of who attends. Note--it may take one or two tries:-)
Take 1-
Take 2-
6). Provide an activity that will be a permanent record for the day. At Em's baby shower, we decorated a large pillowcase/small laundry bag by sewing on small star shaped buttons and signing our name by the star. A friend had painted a Bible verse and sky scene on the pillowcase, so the stars were the 'finishing touch'. When my friend uses it for her baby's laundry, or for decoration in the room, she has a concrete record of the friends who love and support her.
7). End with a time of prayer. To facilitate this, we printed Bible verses on index cards and handed them out to the ladies in attendance. After an opening prayer, we simply went around the room and prayed the Scripture verses over the baby. The attendees could take the cards home to remind them to be praying for the baby, and the mom could take the extra cards to see what people would be praying for her and her family. Having a guided time of prayer involved everyone in the group, but did not put anyone on the spot since they had something written in front of them to read.
These are just a few of the ideas that worked for a baby shower, but we would love to hear your ideas. Please share them with us!!
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