How to Host a Baby Shower on a Budget
Baby showers are a joy to host because they are a celebration of new life, but like any party, they can become expensive between the cost of renting a location, catering, purchasing a cake and renting table ware. However, with some simple planning ahead and group effort, it is quite possible to host a lovely baby shower on a budget. The key is to remember that the celebration of a new baby is not about elaborate expenditures, but an atmosphere of fun and encouragement for the new mother. This atmosphere can be created with simple decorations, food from friends and fun activities. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Computer with Internet access
- Email addresses for everyone on the guest list
- Basket
- Note-card sized pieces of paper
- Pens
- Sheet cake
- Frosting tube
- Confetti
- Paper goods
- Plastic ware
- CD of baby songs
- CD player
- Sheets of paper
Instructions
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Instructions
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Choose a location that does not cost money to book, such as your own home, the home of a friend or family member, or a church hall or office space that is offered for free. Make sure the space is big enough to comfortably accommodate the number of guests you are expecting, as well as tables for food and gifts.
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Use a site such as Mypunchbowl.com or Evite.com to create and send free online baby shower invitations. Be sure to include information about who the shower is for, where it will be held, when it will take place, and where the guest of honor is registered.
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Arrange for close friends and family of the mother-to-be to bring food that fits the time of day you are hosting the shower. For instance, if the shower is in the morning, ask a few people to bring bagels and cream cheese, a breakfast casserole, muffins, coffee and juice. If the shower is in the afternoon, ask people to bring salads, cold cuts, rolls, condiments and soft drinks.
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Gather a small basket, note-card sized pieces of colored paper and pens. Set these out at the shower with directions for guests to write words of advice from their own experience with children for the new mother. Once guests have written their advice, they can place their note cards in the basket. Arrange these in a scrapbook after the shower, and present them to the mother as a special gift.
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Purchase a large sheet cake the day before or the day of the shower from a wholesale club such as Costco, Sam's or BJ's. Write the name of the baby (if the parents have chosen one and are willing to reveal it), or a message to the mother-to-be using a frosting tube purchased at your grocery store.
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Purchase baby-shower themed confetti from your local party store along with paper table cloths, paper plates, napkins, cups and plastic ware. Paper goods in solid colors are often more reasonably priced than patterned goods. Cover the table on which you will be serving the food with a paper table cloth and sprinkle confetti over it. Arrange food and paper goods on the table to create an attractive buffet. Decorate the gift table in the same way. If you are having the guests sit down to eat, cover their tables with paper table cloths and sprinkle confetti on them as well.
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Find a CD of songs including the word "baby" or download them onto your computer from a service such as iTunes and burn them onto a CD. Bring a CD player to the shower and tell the guests you are going to play a game in which you play the first 15 seconds of each song and they have to guess the title. Provide them with sheets of paper to write their answers and go over the correct answers at the end, awarding the CD itself or another prize to the winner with the most correct answers.
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