How to Decorate for a Baby Shower

Baby showers are no longer simple afternoon tea parties with women sitting around playing word scrambles. Showers today often have fun themes, though finding fun and original decorations can be a challenge. If you want to decorate in a way that will impress your guests, here are some great ideas.

Things You'll Need

• Specialty balloons
• Diaper cake
• Empty baby bottles
• Bath salts
• Candy
• Baby tub
• Baby toiletries
• Tulle and ribbon
• Baby toys
• Disposable diapers
• Clothesline
• Clothes pins

Instructions

1. Order special balloon arrangements from a local balloon shop. Retail party stores will only have ordinary latex balloon bouquets, but a balloon shop will be able to make over-sized pacifiers or other shapes designed to fit your theme. Since they are helium-filled, use baby bottles or sippy cups filled with jelly beans as weights that can double as shower favors.

2. Make a diaper cake as a table centerpiece. It is not only a great way to decorate a table, but it is made with items the new mother can use so it is practical too.

3. Fill baby bottles with bath salts, chocolate candies or jelly beans and set them around the room in various places. As guests win a game, allow them to claim one of the bottles as their prize.

4. Buy a baby tub and place several items in it like baby soap, shampoo, wash cloths and lotion. Then fill it with small blue or pink balloons designed to look like bubbles. Use it as a decoration for the shower and them let the new mom take it with her when the party's over.

5. Take several yards of white tulle and hang it along a wall bunching it up every three to four feet so it hangs like a swag. To bunch it up, tie a ribbon around it that's color coordinated with your other decorations and dangle a baby toy from it. Use light objects like pacifiers, rattles or rubber ducks. If your shower is in the evening, you can string white Christmas lights through it for an added effect.

6. Make a banner by stringing a clothesline across the room and hanging disposable diapers on it. On each diaper write one letter to spell out the words "Baby Shower." If the baby is already born, you can spell out the name instead.

Tips & Warnings

• Diaper cakes aren't difficult to make and you can find instructions on ehow.com.

Resources

• 4Showers.com for Baby Shower Decorating Ideas