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Baby Shower ThemesStep #3 of the 8-Step Planning Guide© baby-shower.com
Themes, can you truly host a baby shower without one? The answer is - certainly, but a theme adds a special element to the party, and it can reflect so much about the soon-to-be-mom and possibly her host. Themes may reflect the traditional colors signaling the gender of the baby, bring in elements of the nursery, show the many sides of a new mother or simply be something fun or whimsical. Whatever the theme, it is important to decide whether or not you will have one and, if so, what it will be. When deciding the latter, always keep in mind what the expecting mother would like. This is the first step to take before you choose invitations, decorations, and even food. If you are deciding against a theme, it is important to understand that there will still be an element of theme involved. Let’s face it, a women’s only baby shower is still themed based, as is a couple’s or work baby shower. Sure, there won’t be cakes decorated with blue and the balloons, if there are any, will be a random ensemble of colors (my personal favorite I might add) that have been pulled from a variety balloon bag, but the initial underlying theme will be there. Don’t be too discouraged if you are trying to avoid a theme because the type of shower is only a minor step in the theme process. Since we have covered not having a theme, let’s look at what you need to create a wonderful theme and how to decide if it will be traditional or not. We have already mentioned that the type of shower is an element of the theme. A women only shower will open the door to more possibilities than a couple’s shower since women are more likely to enjoy the more feminine themes. Things like tea parties, spa showers, or makeover showers are not going to be the best theme if you are inviting men. Once you have determined the type of shower you will be having, it’s time to figure out the theme. Planning a theme can be more fun than the baby shower itself because you will not only get to remember all the wonderful stuff from your childhood, but you will also get to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt. Let’s face it, a baby shower centered on everyone’s favourite red dog Clifford is not going to be an easy theme to accomplish. It can be done but you will have to be inventive and able to search through stores both online and in malls to find all things Clifford. Maybe you are certain you would like a theme, but you want it to be one of the more traditional ideas. No problem. Nothing says traditional more than a small baby shower in the comforts of your home, surrounded by women and the finer things in life. Keeping the decorations toned down, having lots of finger foods and playing traditional baby shower games such as diaper pin or candy baby bottle is the perfect way to keep it traditional. The key element of a traditional baby shower is the showering of the gifts and the knowledge that the other women can share with the expecting mom. Don’t worry if you have never been pregnant or raised children of your own; I found that I could keep up with the advice giving when I was as young as 16 and I only pulled from the experiences I had babysitting or simply being around young children. It is amazing the funny stories or even seeds of advice you can garner without even realizing it. If you are nervous about not being a part of the conversation, bone up on the latest in parenting advice and you’ll do just fine. When you are creating a theme, it is best if you purchase everything at the same time. It may seem like a large expense all at once, but it will help in avoiding problems such as items being sold out. Trust me; products not being available happens often so don’t become frazzled by not having the items you desire. Purchase the invitations and the thank you cards with the same or similar image and give the latter and one of the former to the guest of honor as a present and keepsake. Next find balloons and decorations that will match your theme, i.e. pink balloons, streamers and centerpieces for a pink themed shower. Don’t feel like you are stuck with the same old decorations that you see with everything else. If you are going with a garden themed baby shower, having baskets filled with fresh cut flowers and delicate ribbons will be all the decorations you need and you won’t have to rely on the old standbys. Food and everything that you use to serve it with should also match the theme. A pink themed baby shower could have pink napkins, pink paper plates and a pink and white cake, while a garden themed shower may have flowers on the napkins and plates. For a traditional tea party, you may want to pull out the fine china and use linen napkins. The decorations and little details say more about a theme than any invitation or gift can. Lastly, try to plan games that are appropriate to the theme, a fun theme will have louder games where a tea party may have more games that you play while sitting around a small table. Make sure your prizes also reflect your theme as well as the gift bags you are giving out. Don’t feel like you have to keep the gifts and prizes theme based but try to have a 10 to 25% ratio of theme-based prizes. One last thing before you dive into the world of baby shower themes - an eclectic theme can be as wonderful as all the rest and all it takes is the ability to pull together ideas from the many other themes and make them work. Never hesitate in borrowing ideas to mix and match, making them into an eclectic masterpiece. Baby-shower.com has a wide list of baby shower themes for you to use and we are always adding more, whether they are submissions from our very knowledgeable readers or little gems that we have gathered ourselves. You will never lack for ideas and we are here to answer all your theme and baby shower questions. So what are you waiting for, let’s get planning! After you finish reading through our above themes in the blue column and also the great ideas contributed by our visitors in the pink column, please continue reading the 8-Step Planning Guide below: Go to Step #4 of the 8-Step Planning Guide >> |
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