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Thursday, September 10, 2009Beach Baby Shower Ideas
Be ahead of the curve by throwing a baby shower that everyone will talk about. The tropical baby shower is in style, along with a growing trend towards a beach baby shower theme. You’re never limited to the conventional when you can be host to your guests in the great outdoors. Indoors or out, crank up the Beach Boys or calypso music and set the mood!
The color selections are endless and your own backyard setting can be transformed into the tropics with some garden torches and colorful patio lights along with your own garden flowers. If you go with the beach baby shower theme, small buckets of sand with sand toys and sea shells can decorate the tables that you can cover with large beach towels instead of the usual tablecloths. Use a child’s wading pool to float colorful flowers or beach toys. If the weather doesn’t permit, you can bring in a touch of paradise with just a few inexpensive supplies. Use beach chairs as space permits draped with beach towels or pass out sunglasses and leis. Skirt your tables with hula skirt material or decorate a bassinet hawaiian-style to receive gifts.
Choose tropical baby shower invitations showing a tropical scene to help set the tone before the big day. The food you serve can also continue the tropical baby shower theme. Set out a platter of mango, passion fruit and strawberries along with a cool refreshing beverage spiced up with a cocktail umbrella. If your tropical shower is close to mealtime how about a barbecue? Hamburgers, hotdogs and ice cream treats to remind you of your own childhood days at the shore.
The beach ball toss is a nice ice-breaker. Hand the ball to one person and have them state their name, something interesting about themselves or how they know the mommy-to-be and then pass it along to the person next to them. Of just let a beach ball volley around during the gift opening. If your guests are really relaxed, some may choose to particpate in a hula lesson or contest you have planned ahead.
Need a tropical baby shower favor that you can make yourself? Send your guests away with a mini-bottle filled with sand and a little thank you tag attached from mommy and baby. We also show several tropical theme shower favors in our article about tropical bridal showers.
Don’t let tradition hold you back. Some of the most memorable and enjoyable baby showers are those that don’t fit the mold.
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Want more beach baby shower ideas? Here are some ideas we found on the web:
- Beach Baby Shower table decorations using a sea theme are very well done here.
- Gorgeous Beach Baby Shower cakes from Pink Cake Box cover several theme variations. She has ocean theme, more formal cakes with shells and a beautiful sand castle cake.
- An adorable Beach Baby Shower cake on Webshots by bearytastee features a baby oriented theme, complete with shovel and pail. She also has a sample of a charming Hawaiian theme shower cake.
- This colorful Luau party kit could work for a beach luau baby shower.
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Friday, August 14, 2009Peas in a Pod Baby Shower
Got a little sweet pea on the way? Or a pair of sweet peas? If you are planning a pea pod baby shower theme, you will find many adorable options for pea pod baby shower favors, invitations, decorations and gifts! One of our favorites is this baby pea pod cake. Read on for great pea in a pod baby shower ideas and cakes.
Begin with pea pod baby shower invitations from Naptime Productions. Our sweet pea shower invitation is only outdone by our twin peas in the pod invitation! Your custom wording is printed with our little pea pod and tied with a bow to make the cutest pea pod baby shower invitations ever!
For pea pod baby shower favors, your options are many. We found pea pod salt and pepper shakers, pea pod "bath bombs", and pea pod favor kits you can fill with candy. Your pea in the pod baby shower centerpiece could be a gorgeous pea pod baby shower cake. The three shown here win our award for the sweetest peas.
If you are crafty, consider finding a baby pea pod knitting pattern to create something for the shower. An adorable gift and decoration, it is sure to cause some "ooohhh"s !
Have fun!
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Thursday, August 13, 2009Baby 2 Bee Baby Shower
If mom-to-be loves bees, make her shower all the buzz with a baby-2-bee theme baby shower. 
Once you have selected your date, time and venue, you can get your bee baby shower invitations mailed. Be prompt, sending them at about 4 weeks prior to the shower! Invite them to bee there with a bee baby shower invitation from Naptime Productions.
The next item to plan is your bee baby shower menu and decorations. For a bee baby shower honey is a must! Perhaps tea with honey, honey cakes, or biscuits with honey. Compliment with tea sandwiches and salads for an easy buffet, with bee-shaped cookies or cake and fresh flowers to decorate the table. 
For bee party favors, we found these cute-as-can-bee soaps, scented in a delightful citrus scent. Honey jars would also make fun, useful bee party favors. Or perhaps a corsage for each guest? With a little chenille bee in each corsage?
A special touch added to the gift table or even as a decoration would be these bee-autiful bee shoes, available in mary janes or tennis shoe styles. Baby 2 bee will look great in them!
A bee diaper cake can double as a table decoration and gift... topped with Burt's Bees products of course. Worried about over-doing the bee theme? Just keep them small! Big bees are scary!
BEE BRIDAL SHOWER
If you are planning a bridal shower for the bride-2-bee, a bee theme will work for you, too! Use the same ideas listed above... skipping the the baby shoes and diaper cake! (That may bee a little presumptive.)
Be sure to let all your friends and family know about the bee wedding shower with memorable invitations, like this one. They will want to bee there since this match was meant to bee!
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Saturday, July 11, 2009Sip and See = A Floating Baby Shower = Baby Shower Tea
Count the diaper pins in a jar. Baby find-a-word puzzles. Guess the circumference of the expecting mommy’s tummy. Dreading the invitation to the same old baby shower? Well, there’s a new trend in baby showers that accommodates everyone’s busy schedule and eliminates the inevitable diaper folded napkins and baby bingo games, while still giving you the opportunity to show the newborn just how glad you are that they’re here.
What is a floating baby shower?
They come with different names such as “Meet the Baby Shower”, “Floating Baby Shower,” “Sip and See Baby Shower” or a “Baby Shower Tea Party,” but the premise is basically the same... a relaxed open house feeling without the structure of the conventional baby shower. 
Sip and See showers are best thrown after the baby is born. They are informal and give the guests the opportunity to stop by at their convenience during predetermined times. Let guests know that this is a come-when-you-can shower, and indicate what hours they may drop in on the baby shower invitations. Since it is informal, even emailed invitations are appropriate. And, because the new parents are on a hectic schedule themselves, limit the sip and see party to a 2-3 hour time span.
For Sip and See Shower or Floating baby shower invitations, be sure to clarify on your baby shower invites what format the shower will be. You can choose any design appropriate to a baby shower but should specify that the event will be "open house" or "drop in" so that your guests understand, as many of them may not have heard of an Sip and See or Floating shower before.
Because all of the guests will not be present at the same time, you could possibly schedule "drop-in" games. Baby shower games to play at a sip and see, such as "guess the birth time", write out a tip for the new parents, or the jelly bean guessing game can be set up at a table near the baby shower food buffet for optional participation.
Sip and see party decorations can be very simple. Baby shower ideas may include an “It’s a boy/girl” banner and maybe include the baby’s name. Use balloons, candles or a bouquet of flowers to add a festive touch. The sip and see baby shower is probably people’s first chance to meet the baby so scattering photos from their birth to the present gives your guests an opportunity to see how much the baby has grown!
A Baby Shower Tea party held before the baby is born is missing the "star" of the shower, of course, but still offers a pleasant alternative to a traditional shower with it's unstructured format and delicious treats.
What to have at a Sip and See:
With a “Sip and See” shower, or floating shower, beverages are the main item for your menu. Both alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages are served with a light appetizer selection, like an afternoon tea. The open house format of a baby shower tea party calls for a buffet-style presentation. Foods that can be prepared in advance and will keep unrefrigerated for the length of the open house are essential. Croissants along with a meat and cheese tray, tea sandwiches, vegetable trays, pasta salads, fresh fruit and an assortment of desserts are a great way to feed the hungry visitors without the host needing to hover over the buffet table. Delicious baby shower tea recipes and menus are plentiful online!
Sip and See Party Favors:
Drink mixes for each guest are nice Sip and See party favors, or how about a "babies are sweet" sugar cookie mix? A favorite personalized party favor would be to take a picture of each guest with the new mommy and baby and mail them out along with the thank you notes. Your baby shower tea favors could have a china teacup or tea pot theme, of course. Most importantly, your gift for coming needs to be a special something your guests want to take home, to thank them for attending.
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Monday, July 06, 2009Baby Footprint Shower Ideas
Little baby footprints are timeless, recognized and appreciated by all generations. They can easily be used to make a charming and easy baby shower theme. Here is our recipe for a simple, colorful baby shower that the mom-to-be will love!
- Choose your color. If you are expecting a blue or pink bundle, you can simply decorate your shower in pink or blue, of course, but also consider green, or a combination of colors. Selecting a color theme pulls the look together and makes the trip to the party store for napkins and party-ware easy and less expensive because you can buy the bigger packs of single color items. Then add footprint accents for baby shower. For best results, choose a medium color and accent with a paler shade or white. Consider tying footprint ribbon from your local craft store around your napkins.
Begin
with a baby shower footprint invitation. Naptime Productions offers an
elegant baby shower footprint card in pink or blue, and an inexpensive
one in pink, blue or green. Be sure to include all your party details
so your guests know what to expect, but common baby shower etiquette requires that
you not mention gifts on the invitation. The generally accepted
practice today is to quietly mention a gift registry at the end of the
invitation in small text. Don't forget matching thank you notes!
For baby footprint shower decorations, add white footprints to the tables (cut from paper or painted on the table covers). You can get a free footprint clip art stencil here. To make your own footprint themed baby shower decorations, you could use potted flowers with a matching ribbon tied around each pot. Use white paint to put footprints on the pots.
These can double as party favors or prizes.- Plan your meal. Since the guests will likely be bringing gifts to welcome the new baby, you want to thank them in advance by making the shower a real treat with delicious foods, good company and a special touches. Your baby shower menu ideas may include the mom-to-be's favorite appetizers, a selection of beverages, like iced tea, lemonade and coffee, and make-ahead, crowd-pleasers like turkey tetrazzini or spinach spaghetti casserole.
Favors like these pink or blue footprint soaps add color to each place setting and are fun to receive. Another easy to make yourself baby shower favor idea is to get color coordinated hard candies and fill these favor boxes for each place setting. Either will double as baby footprint shower decorations to carry through the theme and color. 
For the dessert table, a footprint theme cake can work as your centerpiece. This wonderful cake, from Carolyn's Cookies, is decorated with iced cookies... cute on the cake or off! These chocolate footprint cookies from Eden Cakes are almost as cute as the actual piggy toes! 
Make your own footprint cookies with foot cookie cutters, or perhaps give footprint cookie cutters as shower favors. Another popular idea is to use a footprint theme diaper cake as the centerpiece, and let it double as a gift for the baby. You could wrap the diaper cake in footprint ribbon from your local craft store, and perhaps top with cute baby shoes and socks.
Baby shower gifts with a footprint theme include onesies, hand and footprint kits, this fun "what's kickin?" t-shirt for mommy, and gift boxes like these.Have more footprint baby shower ideas? Send them to us and we will add them here!
Posted By: Naptime Productions @ 7:04:03 PM
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Sunday, June 28, 2009Cowboy Baby Shower
The new little cowpoke is nearly here. Time for a western style baby shower to welcome the little fella with friendship and fun. How can you make your little cowboy baby shower round-up a delight to the guests and mom-to-be? Don't hold back the horses! Let 'er rip with color, flavor, fun gifts, conversation and hopefully some cowboy/cowgirl memories for the scrapbook. 
Invite your guests with western theme baby shower invitations that sets the scene. Our little buckaroo cowboy shower invitation sets the mood to welcome the little boy. Your decor and menu can continue the western theme with colorful bandanas, cowboy hats, western decorations and a delicious country-style spread! Making the party especially fun for your guests adds to their excitement about the little buckaroo on the way, makes them glad they came and thanks them for the baby cowboy gift they brought!
Set out the welcome mat with fun western decor like we found on the web. (Just click the links below to go straight to these items.) Besides cowboy baby shower paper goods, decorations and favors, extend your decorations to a toddler cousin? Do you have a toddler you can put in a western costume during the party? The little cowboy will create a lot of fun conversation. For the centerpiece, consider a "cowboy diaper cake," like the adorable one shown here, that doubles as a gift for the baby!
More cowboy baby shower decorations can be made using bandanas and cowboy hats:
tie a rolled bandana around a small potted plant as a shower favor and/or table decoration. You can find bandanas in almost any color to match your cowboy shower color theme. Red? light blue? navy blue? All will work well for a baby cowboy!- put a cowboy hat on each table. They can be worn by the guests who enjoy the theme, and taken home. A tiny baby cowboy hat would get some ooohs and ahhhs!. For color, you could tie a rolled bandana around each hat.
- fold bandanas into fun origami shapes, silverware pouches or tie them in a knot around each bundle of silverware
Don't forget, while planning your shower, the simple rules of baby shower ettiquette. Don't assume your guests will bring gifts, or tell them what to bring on the invitation. Choose your activities with your guests preferences in mind. And, make it a special party for the mom-to-be AND your guests! Lastly, the new mama needs to send personally written thank you notes for each gift received. You could help her by providing a copy of the address list from the shower invitations.Make your shower gift a huge hit by playing on the theme... cowboy gifts that will be fun to give at the shower, and fun for the parents later! Check out these adorable cowboy theme gift ideas for baby and cowboy baby room... from baby cowboy toys to cowboy baby booties.
Posted By: Naptime Productions @ 9:13:10 PM
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Friday, June 26, 2009Cowgirl Baby Shower
If the little cowgirl on-the-way is busy kickin' mama's insides, it is probably time to get cookin' on the pink cowgirl baby shower plans. So round-up a list of friends and family who are excited to welcome this new little cowpoke, and let's plan some fun.
First, figure out where and when. Then you can get moving on the cowgirl baby shower invitations. Once that is done, you can work on shower details that will make your cowgirl shower fun for everyone. If your group is comprised of game lovers, you can plan a few light-hearted games. Since most crowds are a mix of game-lovers and game-haters, you many want to pull back on the reins and limit yourself to one or two games. 
What people enjoy most at a shower is sharing in the mom-to-be's excitement, enjoying a delicious meal, and catching up with common friends and relatives. For this reason, the games that work best are conversation starters and funny games. Also wonderful are activities that provide items for cowgirl baby's scrapbook, like parenting advice cards from the guests. Sharing cards handed out at the shower are filled out by each guest and put into a scrapbook for the mom-to-be.
Bright pink plates and table covers can be accented with western bandanas and daisies for a great cowgirl look. A cowgirl theme shower can play on the fun of being a girl, hopefully tie into the mother's plans for the cowgirl nursery, and give you a focal point for your menu and decor. For cowgirl baby shower decorations, consider pink paisley bandana fabric, or pink gingham for a country look. Pink bandanas could work for napkins or shower favors. These paisley tote bags would make great shower favors, too. For cowgirl shower decor, how about scattering pink cowgirl hats and pink paisley wrapped mints on the tables?
We found some beautiful cowgirl shower gifts including wall art, blankets, a brown and pink western diaper bag, and the cutest cowgirl boots you ever saw! Click these items to link to the site where they are sold.
Yee ha! Time for a western theme cowgirl baby shower!
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Monday, June 15, 2009Forest Animals for the Baby Nursery or Baby Shower
Is your nursery going 'au natural'? Of the wooded variety? If you want ideas for decorating forest theme and want appropriate artwork and baby nursery bedding for your forest theme bedroom, take a look at these forest friends. KidsLine has a forest crib bedding line, shown here, and beautiful forest artwork will turn a simple room in forest colors into a dream baby nursery. Baby Raccoons, owls, bears, rabbits and fawns are great baby nursery ideas for your baby nursery / forest theme.
To use the same look as your baby shower themes, begin with a sweetly natural fawn or bunny baby shower invitation.
For forest baby shower decorations, go with natural tones, lots of leaf green and wood tones, and plush baby animals hidden among the gifts and furniture.
Great forest theme baby gift ideas... 
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Thursday, May 14, 2009Noah's Ark Baby Shower Ideas
For twins, or even single babies, Noah's ark is a timeless baby shower or nursery theme that combines the joy of the bible story with the fun of double animals.
For your Noah's Ark baby shower, begin with a cute invitation and follow up with favors, gifts and a cake capturing the theme. Scan these finds below to see a great selection of Noah's ark items and ideas... from table wear, to cakes and favors. Even a gift or two.
All aboard!
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Wednesday, March 18, 2009Baby Shower in the forecast!
Perfect weather for Ducks
If
you are planning a shower, choosing a duck theme for the shower
decorations is a natural, especially in the spring. Between unisex duck
bath items, cheerful bath and bubble accents and the timeless rubber
ducky toy, your decorations are sure to bring a smile to all ages. 
Pair yellow gingham, rubber duckies, daffodils or other spring flowers,
and some fresh green accents for a lively baby shower table. We found
some cute duck shower favors (below) and gingham favor boxes online. If you want all yellow paper and plastic ware in one purchase, check out this party kit.
How about a bubble machine near a baby bathtub filled with gifts or favors?
A rubber duck floating in the punch or atop a bowl of mini-marshmallow "bubbles"?
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