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Help me plan my baby shower..
that's in a week....yep...FML....If I hear about the effing crib one more time and she just doesn't do parties...one more time, I'm going to FLIP, so I told her I would just do it and tell her what to do. But of course she has an opinion on everything.
So..Favors? My grandmother made enough cookies for everyone to take home 3 wrapped in netting (though this is exactly what we did for the wedding..because of course that was a debacle and it ended up being the easiest the week off...)
The reason I was thinking no on the cookies was the dessert is ice cream with strawberry sauce, so I thought having cookies with that would be nice...unless we did a cake/cupcakes?
My friend thought cupcakes should be the favor, but my concern with that is most of the people that ended up being able to come are 50+ years old, so what's the likelihood they want a cupcake as a favor?
The other ideas are a candle with a saying about lighting the candle when the baby is born to help guide his/her way. Or a small single flower or spice plant planted in its own pot.
OR...others???
and any games that aren't painful for people to do? Or other activities? Last Saturday, MIL did onesie decorating, so we have plenty of decorated onesies now and don't really want to do that again.
And decor...are candles on the table enough and put some snoopy stuffed animals around since the invites had snoopy on them. Does that sound like enough?
I really hate that I have to do this. I love planning parties..just don't like that I am planning my own!
Re: Help me plan my baby shower..
If I lived close by I would plan it for you. You should not be planning this! You mother is making me mad FOR you.
I like the cookies as favors. People may be fill from the food and may not want to eat the cookies there. I like your idea of snoopy stuffed animals on the tables. I think it is cute
I am not much help on the games. You could do a baby pool. Older people LOVE those. Get a big posterboard. Have it pre-made with lines and columns. Let everyone take their guess on sex/weight/date or any of those/all of those.
You totally already know about how I feel about this situation...I'm sad for you.
At my shower everyone decorated onesies which was fun. You could have fabric pieces with iron on interfacing on the back and people could cut out and you could have someone iron them on, or other people could do that.
Or you could use puffy paint.
We also had a fun game where on a poster board, everyone guessed which trait they thought the baby would have-like taking after the parents. It ranged from eye color to temperament, I'll try to find mine and post it.
I always I always like baby shower bingo, where people fill in squares of items they think you'll get and then mark them off as you open gifts. I think they may sell some pre-made if that's easier.
I also like word games - like unscrambling baby-related words or seeing how many words you can make out of the husband and wife's names, etc.
My sister had everyone write a note to the babies on cardstock and put them in a photo album that the boys could read when they're older.
For the favors - I think something edible or useful (like seeds) is better than something that will sit around on a shelf.
Sorry you're in this situation, especially so close to the date!
I can't wait to see pictures from the shower and see your Snoopy stuff!!
Tell your mom if she brings up the crib one more time she'll reallllyyy be pisssed when she finds out she'll need to pay for all of your nestie besties to fly to your house so we can have our own personal shower for you. But don't worry-if she pays our tickets, we'll take care of the rest. Anyone game?
Your mom is making me angry. Just sayin.
I'm in!
Im in too! I feel so bad that you have to deal with all of this! I can't believe how rude and insensitive your mother is being! Ugh. Han I there
As for games, bingo is usually good because it lets the guest pay attention to all of the gifts you are opening. You could also fill a large baby bottle with some type of candy, and have the guests guess on how many pieces are inside. A pool would work too since you dont know what you are having. All thegiest can guess your due date, gender, time, and length/weight of the baby. You could also make a board for the guests to sign with your ultrasound picture in the center. These are just some ideas.. Any type of favor that is edible is my favorite choice- so I think the cookies would work out great! The snoopy's on the table sound like a cute idea as well.everything will work out- try not to worry!
I think this is cute: http://laurenmakes.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/freebie-wish-cards/
I think it's a nice alternative to a game and it gives you a keepsake to hang on to.
I also like the cookie favor idea. You could also do Hershey kisses or something similar wrapped up.
I hate that you have to do this yourself. It makes me so angry for you!
We did the "guess what melted chocolate bar is in the diaper and looks like poop" game at my shower. Everyone filled out a paper with a guess about baby's birthdate, weight, height, etc along with wishes for the baby and advice for mom which was cute. They could just fill them out at their own pace and hand them in before they leave.
At my BFFs baby shower we did the diaper game too, people loved it. Just a headsup, we had to put the diapers in the microwave for a long time. Do about 30 seconds at a time.
I like the idea of bingo while your opening gifts. At my friends shower it was a little awkward at the beginning because no one was talking and just watching her open.
I wish I could be more help, but I've only thrown one shower.
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Thanks ladies :-) I appreciate it. It sucks a lot. I guess I should be used to it by now...but it never gets easier to deal with. I just feel like such a pain to her. I pray that my child never feels like that because of me. It's my biggest fear.
I made up prediction cards that people can fill out and then I can put them in a little photo album,which can be my guest book.
I'll do the cookie favors. It will be easier since they are already made. I'll make up little tags with a baby snoopy on it that say "Thank You"
Do you think cookies & ice cream are enough for dessert or should I do cupcakes/cake?
Personally I would ditch the favors.
I like Wnedy's bingo game idea that is cute.
There weren't any favors or any games at my showers and they were tons of fun!
Personally, I would outsource the favors-buying something at a bakery food wise, and ignore the games. I'm more of a hang out and celebrate the baby type. Maybe you could do a new mom advice book or buy a nice box of cards and have guests write a little inspirational message to you and dh or the baby in there, then seal it and open one a day until LO arrives. Just say something like "Extra support for he last few weeks!" when you present it. It's cheap, easy and everyone can do it.
Sorry your mom is sucking the life out of the shower. If we were closer already I would be happy to help you out!
I'm so sorry about your Mom. I can't imagine how upsetting all her bs must be for you.
I think the desserts you have planned are definitely enough.
At one shower I went to, there was a game where they put baby things in brown paper bags and you had to feel them and guess what it was. That has been my favorite game at any shower I've been to and I'm not much on games. At my cousin's shower, they just did a timer and if she was opening your gift when the timer when off, you got a prize. So not really a game, but does give your guests a little extra something.
What do you think of this (just found it online):
Baby's First Alphabet Book
Ahead of time, print each letter of the alphabet on an individual sheet of paper. Once your guests are seated, pass out one sheet of lettered paper to each person along with a supply of markers, crayons, colored pencils, and stickers.
Ask each guest to decorate her page with things that relate to her letter ? for example, whoever has letter "A" might draw pictures of apples, alligators, and ants. Your guests should also put their name on the page somewhere and can include a note to the soon-to-arrive baby if they like.
After the shower, laminate the pages and bind them together, then give the collection to the guest of honor. It's her baby's first alphabet book! If you have more than 26 guests, you can also add pages with numbers or shapes, or you can have more than one person work on each page.
That sounds kind of neat, but I would personally hate it because I can't draw and would feel like my page sucked
Dont over think things too much. You don't need to have a ton of activities. People with visit, mingle, etc. It's definitely not YOUR job to entertain them.