Generally speaking, baby showers have traditionally been comprised of all women but these days people are inviting men to the showers as well. It really depends on the man and whether or not a baby shower sounds like something he would enjoy.  The first thing to remember is that the baby shower should occur during the third trimester. This is not necessarily written in stone but it is considered, in many circles, to be bad luck to plan one prior to that.

If the gender of the baby is known then the theme can be geared toward a boy or a girl. If there are twins and one of each then it will be all the more fun to decorate! For girl baby showers a pink and frilly décor usually works nicely and for boys the traditional blue. Everything down to the cake can be specific when the gender is known. Of course, even with modern medicine there are still some couples who do not want to know the sex of their baby. If that is the case then a general décor like yellows and other neutral colours are best.

Bio: Shower My Baby provides almost everything imaginable in regards to baby showers, from baby shower favours, games and decorations to gifts for mum and baby.

This is not a problem with the “Purfect Room in a Box” collections. The Purfect set contains literally everything mum could want for the nursery to run with the kitty décor whilst ordering the entire set from the “Room in a Box” collection at Bedebyes can save dad a ton of money. When you take the time to add up everything that comes in the set, you will see that it just isn’t possible to purchase all those items separately for such a low price.

Each set contains tab top curtains, quilt, bumper, sleep bags in 2 sizes, laundry bag, fleece blanket, nappy stacker, flat sheets, fitted sheets, cuddle and dry pack, 2 wall canvases, a light shade and of course bedding sets for baby nurseries. These bumper packs save approximately £45 so dad is happy and he is happier yet when free delivery on every order is factored in. When decorating baby’s nursery, remember each item purchased separately can add up to quite a bit of money. By ordering a Bedebyes Room-in-a-Box it is possible to get the cutest nursery sets at prices that aren’t possible when purchased separately.

Baby essentials. No matter who the family is, you can be absolutely sure of one thing: the baby will need nappies, baby wipes, bottles, and bibs. These are gifts that you know will be put to good use as soon as the baby is born, and they are also some of the least expensive items that you can find, just in case you’re on a budget.

More expensive baby items. If this is the family’s first child, they are likely to need baby furniture, as well, such as a crib, bassinet, and high chair. If you are a close family friend or a relative, giving the parents one of these items could be a gesture of your anticipated role in the baby’s life. Plus, these furniture items can be used again if they have more children.

Educational items. Many people make a beeline for the toy section of a store when they hear that a baby is on the way, but you can make an even greater impact on the little one’s educational development by giving a book, CD, or DVD that he or she can use now or later to stimulate the mind. Lullaby tunes are a good choice if you would like your gift to be put to use now, and perhaps a book that reminds you of your childhood will make an excellent bedtime story one day.

Gift certificates. If you really don’t know what to get the family, a gift certificate to a big retailer will always be appreciated. They are destined to have to make a store run in the future for an item that they forgot, and a prepaid card will come in handy when they do. Try to choose a store close to their home to make it more convenient to use.

Starting a savings account or fund. If you’re a grandparent or a godparent, starting a financial account for the baby is a great way to invest in his or her future. The account can be for college or some other personal or professional endeavour when the child reaches adulthood. Even an amount as small as £100 could be a nice financial seed to plant.

These are just a few gift ideas for a baby shower. If you still find yourself at a loss, you can look up the expectant parents’ registry if they have created one. You could also try looking online at luxury lifestyle sites like Achica Living to get more gift ideas. And if all else fails, don’t hesitate to talk to the parents and ask what they really wish they had but haven’t received.

Traditionality and Baby Showers

The traditional baby shower was thrown in order to shower the baby with gifts, and it was generally only accepted to be thrown for the first born child, I’m sure we all remember having plenty of clothes handed down! The baby shower would also be an opportunity for the parents and family members of the parent-to-be, to pass on knowledge that they had gained through the various pregnancies they had been through. While this probably still happens, there is no doubt that the original premise has been hijacked. Today parents throw a variety of different showers, both with friends and family, and it is generally expected that guests bring presents for the baby. There is no doubt that someone who had a baby shower in the US in the early 1900s would be extremely shocked by the kind of baby showers we experience today!

A “Modern” Baby Shower Nightmare

Although we’ve reached a point where baby showers are more about the gifts and the company you have, rather than passing on advice, the modern baby shower does not necessarily run smoothly; much like some pregnancies! Sometimes the baby shower is ‘organised’ by parents, and they seem to forget that the baby shower is for your own baby, not theirs. This might lead to some very awkward games being played with people you barely know, when all you wanted was to share a few drinks (strictly non-alcoholic!) with your friends. That being said, people have experiences baby showers where one too many drinks have been consumed by Auntie Mabel who you haven’t seen for 10 years, and she regales you with all the horror stories of her pregnancy.

Perhaps a pointer would be making sure you control the guest list! If you want the baby shower to be as successful as you would like it to be then organise it yourself, the last thing you want to happen is your baby shower to be one to forget. At the end of they day, your pregnancy is your pregnancy, and your baby shower should be your baby shower – whilst remembering your soon to be born baby as well.

The whole event is organized using themes that best describes how the parents see their new born. The theme is what puts life into the event; it ensures that the held party is fun, entertaining and a very memorable experience for both the parents and the guests.

Before selecting a theme, it is really important to jolt down points about the baby shower theme that you are going to use. Important points such as where is the event supposed to be held, what will be the food, what will be the location decorated with and whom to invite.

Many women like the idea of a theme that surrounds around a tea party; there are gift baskets that go along with the tea party. Gift baskets are ideal for any theme as they provide life to any theme that is decided.

You can make a special bouquet and present them with unique decorations. You can put pacifiers in the middle of the bouquet to give it a unique look.  Take some small red and green silk flowers; wrap them around to form a cone. Cover the cone with gold foils and tie it with a ribbon which would wound itself around the pacifier’s base and comes out of the loop of it.  In addition to this, you can add a diaper pin on one side of the foil with a pearl in the middle.

You could also make a cot using origami. Make dozens of these and wrap them with red and yellow ribbons around their tops to give a feel of quilt. In the middle, you can attach a pacifier with small silk flowers on them. These unique baby shower theme ideas can really bring out your love for the new born.

You can start by making mint bags out of mesh. The requirements for these bags are two yards of netting for 15 bags each. After knitting the bags together, you can put chocolates or mints in them and cover them with a colorful ribbon. The next step is to make floating candles, which are easily made in home and adds up to the overall theme. The requirements for making these are wine glasses in the shape of a goblet. You can decorate their stem with flowers and ribbons. You can then purchase a set of candle molds and melt the wax and put it into the mold.  When the wax gets hard, you can carefully remove it.

Another popular idea amongst many mothers is a diaper cake. These cakes are easily made and can be decorated with diaper rash cream, spoon set or any items you would like.

For a girl, a theme can be as simple as putting up the color pink. Start with invitations, color your cards with bright pink and make cute little hearts on it. Choose pink blankets, pink banners and any other items that match the color of the theme. You can also highlight the theme as a shower for the cute little princess. Pink baby booties can be perfect for a sprinkle theme, where the invited guests are only asked to bring basic gifts for the parents. You can make a diaper cake with pink bibs and decorate it with cute toys.

A theme consisting of cute animals can also be a good idea for a girly theme; girls generally tend to love cute animals. You can decorate your theme by animal paintings that represent farm animals or jungle animals. Disney’s Pooh is a great idea to go with if you decide on going with the animal theme.

Regardless of age, any boy enjoys comics. Comic themed showers are very popular for parents expecting a boy. There are various superhero movies and comics available, and almost everyone enjoys a comic themed party. It doesn’t necessarily means that you have to make your guests wear costumes on the event.  You can simply start the idea by making invitation cards with speech bubbles and drawings of characters in a comic strip.  For the decorations of the theme, you can simply put logos of famous super heroes around the location, such as Spiderman’s web around the corners; batman’s logo on the walls and chairs, Superman’s logo on the table cloths, etc. To make it even more interesting, you can put up a menu on the dinner table with speech bubbles on them.

Harry Potter

Of course the Harry Potter series became almost a classic from when it was first written. The books start off as fun with lots of lovely magic and imagination. The series does darken as it goes on and the age that they are suitable tends to rise with each book. The later books are also very thick and so would only appeal to those children that really like reading. However, if you can master this series then you are capable of reading anything really. The books are exciting and do appeal to boys and girls and they do have a great moral line running through them as well as managing to capture the imagination. Of course, there are always the films to fall back on if the books just become too tedious.

Narnia series

The Narnia series have been popular for generations and so are likely to continue to do so. Many people have read or are familiar with ‘The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’ but this is not the first book. The very first book focuses around a different set of children visiting Narnia and the later books have different children in as well. However, one good thing about the books is that you do not have to read them in order for them to make sense, although it does help. Which means that if you like certain stories more than others, you can just reread those.

The Hobbit

The Hobbit is the precursor to the Lord of the Rings and is far easier and shorter. It is more aimed at children with some fun songs and a happy ending. It does have a fight but it is nothing like as nasty as the one in the other series of books. It is a great book for boys and girls, especially those ith a good imagination.

Heidi

This is one for the girls. It is a lovely story about a girl who is dumped by her mother to live with her Grandfather while she goes away to work. The grand father is miserable but the girl melts his heart and then learn to love each other. The girl is then sent to live in the house her mother is housekeeping at and she hates living in the town after living on the hillside with her grandfather and running freely in the meadows. It has a lovely ending and shows how a happy child can really help to soften an old man’s heart.

The Famous Five

Enid Blyton is always going to be a classic author. Some of her fairy books do not really appeal to everyone but her Famous Five series is great for boys and girls because it has boys and girls in the story and includes an element of problem solving and excitement. There are a lot of books in the series which means that there is plenty to keep children quiet and they can be read in any order.