Yesterday I had the honor of co-hosting a shower for my good friend Natalie, who is expecting her first child in April. We were so happy to be able to help her celebrate with her loved ones, and had a great time preparing for the shower! Here are some of our best ideas from the shower, some of which could be applied to any shower, not just a baby shower.
Invitations
Always scour the internet for the best of invitation deals! If you’re lucky, you’ll hit VistaPrint on the right day and get invitations for free + shipping! We actually didn’t use VistaPrint for this shower, but I use them for almost every one I do (as well as for my own stationary needs!) and have always been pleased with the quality of the invitations. Here are my favorite ones for baby showers:
Decorations
My decorations for showers are always ones that double-task as crafts or something useful for the mommy to be. My new favorite craft is painting onesies, which double as decorations once they are hung and are perfect for the new baby. Plus, it is a good substitute for a game, which as it happens is one of my least favorite things about showers.
I was able to get these onesies on clearance thanks to a tip from another savvy deal blog, and borrowed the paints from my wonderful friend Anna. It made for a great frugal craft that the mommy-to-be loved!
Another great decoration idea is a blessing tree (thanks, Caroline for this great idea!). You basically use scrapbooking paper and ribbon to make little individual blessing papers for guests to fill out and hang on a tree for the new baby- these can later be compiled into a book to keep in the nursery. Some people also choose to make a blessing book out of these so that they are already in one place. You can also use branches in a vase to hang the papers on.
Flowers
Flowers are another important part of shower decorations, and boy did we get lucky for this shower! Remember this deal from 1-800-Flowers we posted on in November? I was able to sign up both myself and my husband for the deal and had an $80 credit to work with. Along with a 15% off coupon code, we were able to get all of the flowers for the shower for only $2.33. Here are my best tips for flowers at showers:
Make your own arrangements- don’t have the florist make them for you, or buy them ready made! Flowers are much less expensive if you buy them in groups- a bundle of spray roses, a bundle of tulips, etc and arrange them yourself. Above are the three bouquets I made for the shower- one for the table, one for by the drinks, and one to go by the favors on the table.
Keep an eye out for promotions or internet deals- like I said earlier, I was able to get all of these flowers for nearly free just from using the deal we posted here on our website. I usually don’t purchase flowers from the internet (Publix or Whole Foods work better for me locally as far as prices) but this was a deal I couldn’t pass up!
Food:
Get creative, and make most of the food yourself. Pick foods that can be made 2-3 days in advance to spare yourself the stress of preparing items the day of the shower.
Our menu: chicken salad with croissants, fruit salad, petit-fors, layered sundried tomato and basil pesto torta, cheesecake tartlets, and fresh strawberry-raspberry lemonade. All of these with the exception of the punch can be prepared 1-3 days in advance, meaning that you can simply place them on the table the day of the shower!
Favors:
I usually prefer hand-made favors over purchased ones- they’re much cheaper, and can be yummy as well. Here’s a picture of the baby carriage cookie favors I made for this shower:
They’re tasty, adorable, and go along perfectly with our pink and green shower theme. They also come with a total price of about $5 for two dozen (basically, the cost of the bags and the ribbon! If you have sugar, butter, and flour, you’re in business!)
These were our best ideas for the baby shower we threw yesterday; we hope you enjoyed them! As an added bonus, here is the recipe for my mom’s fresh Strawberry-raspberry lemonade. It’s simple and incredibly delicious!
Mom’s Strawberry-Raspberry Lemonade
4 packages frozen stawberries in syrup
4 containers frozen Minute Maid raspberry lemonade
1. Thaw and puree the frozen strawberries
2. Prepare frozen lemonade per package directions
3. Mix, and serve!
(Add Sprite if a more punch-like taste is desired)
To see more DIY projects we’ve done check this out!
Featured on:
Toot Your Horn Tuesday
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Thrifty Thursday
Show & Tell
Beyond the Picket Fence
Flaunt it Friday
Sugar & Spice
It’s a Blog Party
Making Monday Marvelous
Lucky Linky Tuesday
Idea Sharin Wed
Now it’s your turn- what are your best shower ideas for a budget?
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Perfect timing on this post… I am throwing a baby shower this weekend and was looking for a fun activity that isn't a game – making onsies is brilliant! And stencils for the less crative people is awesome. THANK YOU!
great ideas…really enjoy your posts. Could you please post your baby carriage cookie recipe too? Where did you find the cutters?Thanks
That's a lot of work, but it everything turned out beautiful!! Great job!
I'm interested in how you made the baby carriage cookies? Do you have the recipe and how did you do the icing?
You can really use any type of cookie, it just depends on what you are going for. I usually just use a basic butter cookie recipe like this one: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Classic-Butter-Cookies-I/Detail.aspxThe cookie cutters can be found at any craft store (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, etc)The icing is a bit more complicated and takes up a few pages in my cookbook, but google "flood icing" and you should find some good articles and recipes to look at to give you an idea of how to go about it!
Thanks for linking up–those are some great tips. I love the onesies!
Great ideas and recipe!Thanks for linking up to Tales from Bloggeritaville.LeighTales from Bloggeritavillewww.lbratina.blogspot.com
oh I love these ideas!!! Thanks for stopping by my blog. Don't you just love vistaprint? I love all their free stuff and am always ordering stationary for friends as gifts. But they don't know it's free! I really like your blog, thanks for stopping by, i'll keep browsing through.Blessings SITSta!
Thanks SO much for joining my first Flaunt it Friday party! What a great shower!! Your sugar cookies are darling, they look like they are from a bakery! Also love the flowers and can't believe how cheap they were! I'm following now, can't wait to see more of your great ideas!
i love this idea, of the blessing tree, the onsie idea I have done 3 times and it never gets old, your sugar cookies are so good you could go into buisness sellign them
These are some great ideas! I am not a fan of shower games either… I always do one non-invasive game, like Celebrity Baby Names or Name the Cartoon Character. People tend to get into these ones and they don't take too much time.Thanks for linking up with Sugar & Spice.
good ideas! come on over and link up to MMM
Thanks for sharing these ideas. I am helping throw two baby showers this summer. We will definitely be using some of your great tips.
Most excellent ideas! The menu itself was a stroke of genius.
Such great ideas! Thanks for linking up!~Liz
What a beautiful shower! Happy SITS Day.
What a beautiful shower? Where did you get the cellophane bags and ribbon for so little?I have done several showers on next to nothing budgets. We used flowers from my garden, had food but no favors or games, and had both water and lemonade on the table (the water went quickly!) I made homemade french bread as well.I printed my invitations, but I have used Vista Print for other things (like baby announcements!)
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