How to Host a Cheap Baby Shower

You're broke, but you're in charge of hosting a baby shower? While baby showers for enthusiastic planners can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, there's no need to rack up credit card debt when planning a baby shower. With a little creativity and a lot of work, you can plan a classy, inexpensive baby shower for the mom-to-be.

Things You'll Need

• 3 different sized cake pans
• flowers
• vases
• candles

Instructions

1. Make your own cake. Custom-made cakes can easily cost $100 or more. An easy way to make a classic three-tiered cake is to simply get three cake pans of varying sizes - for example, one that is 10 x 2 inches, one that is 8 x 2 inches and one that is 6 x 2 inches. There is no need to fuss with cardboard or other assembly items. You'll want to spend extra time on the frosting - do you have a friend who's artistically gifted? Now is the time to cash in on a favor.

2. Make your own food. Catering is costly. However, you don't want to make your baby shower a potluck. Guests are already required to bring gifts and diapers - you don't want them struggling with casserole dishes. Plan to have your baby shower in the early afternoon and serve finger foods. Great baby shower foods that are cheap to make are: fruit and vegetable platters (don't buy pre-made platters!), cheese and cracker platters, salads and finger sandwiches. When presenting the food, presentation matters. Everything should be laid out prettily on platters. Your guests won't notice how cheap the food is if it looks and tastes good.

3. Make your own decorations. Balloons and crepe are tacky. Steal some flowers from a neighbor (or two), and borrow as many vases as you can. Flower arrangements strategically placed around the rooms where the baby shower will be held is an excellent, no-cost way to decorate.

4. Offer cheap door prizes. There are numerous sites that offer free baby shower games, and you'll need some door prizes. The best baby shower prizes are candles. Your guests will probably all women, and most women love candles. You can buy them for $1 or less at most places.